AES25 Not Knowing

In today’s culture I think the phrase “I don’t know.” should be a more acceptable thing to say. Some people are so allergic to the thought that they may not have the best take on everything, they confidently spout off misinformation and baseless claims. Muddying the waters of discourse and making honest discussion more difficult for the people genuinely trying to learn more. When you admit you don’t know something, you’ll actually earn more respect for your honesty rather than trying to salvage your pride by pretending to know. It is a sign of strength, not weakness, when you own up to your shortcomings. This is something that most people need to understand.

In some areas where you don’t have enough information and perspective to put forward opinions or make judgements, it is best to refrain from making unsubstantiated claims based on your feelings on the matter. It is okay to have uninformed opinions on things, what’s dangerous is when people treat the uninformed opinions as facts. When you’ve been around the Internet for long enough, you know how easy misinformation spreads and evolves, we need to do our part to not participate in the campaign of disinformation. 

It’s okay not having all the answers, what’s important is that when you realize you’re under equipped for a subject, you make a commitment to learn more about it and come back more knowledgeable and nuanced than you were before, that’s how we grow as human beings.