Sometimes in a history-lecture, there were students that raised their hands to a specific topic and then they started talking about a theory that I haven't heard of before. And then they engaged into a lively discussion with the lecturer. Or they referred to a certain book that seemed to be ground-breaking, but I haven't read it. Very often I tried to banish the blank look from my face that screamed "What the hell you are talking about" all over. Actually, I had been told that I looked very interested and thoughtful in lectures. But inwardly, I panicked. Or felt extremely stupid for not knowing something that others clearly had a very deep understanding of.
Now, for some reason I heard the saying "ignorance is a bliss" in various contexts lately. Or the slightly milder version that goes along the lines of "It does no harm, not to know everything". And of course, it is ridiculous to think one person could ever comply every knowledge there is in the world in their brain. But, to think being ignorant doesn't harm, or even helps is in my opinion an extremely condescending, over-generalizing and even harmful attitude.
Condescending in the sense that people just assume that it is best not to tell someone something because they decided that is best for them. You don't know if that is really best not to tell your partner that you cheated on her or him. You just happened to make that - often very selfish - decision on your own. You just decided that someone can't handle something. That, in my opinion not how you treat someone you believe to be equal. That is how you treat someone that you don't trust in handling something themselves. And that is just plain arrogant.
Over-generalizing, because just most people would most likely react badly to the news of being sick, doesn't mean that it will apply to that certain person. Sure, it can be devastating to someone to hear that you are seriously ill. But that doesn't mean it will for everybody. Not everybody will be happy to find out much later that they have been ignorant about something. Some might be, but many will feel the complete opposite.
Which leads me to harmful. One might think and often means well if they don't tell their partner that they cheated. Most people don't want to hurt their partners. But the fact remains that you cheated. Now, I would never advocate here how anyone has to handle their relationships, but consider this. Cheating often means something deeper. Something mostly is not quite right. Whatever it is, it made you to mess up. And to not come clean about it, doesn't magically make the problem disappear. In worst case it will continue getting worse and worse and worse until it blows up in your face with no chance of fixing it anymore. And that is just an example about a relationship.
Just imagine it concerns your health. It is not a bliss to not know that you have diabetes. Not knowing does not mean, you are not a diabetic. You are a ticking time bomb. You could be driving and suddenly your lights go off and you kill yourself and even others. Even if patients claim that they have been happier when they didn't know about, I think there are being angry. Suddenly doctors tell them to stop eating chips every night or have that beer in the evening. And that what pisses them off. And of course that is no fun. But claiming that it would have been better to not know and just being able to carry on like you did before, is just idiotic. That bowl of chips you have eaten every night, the beer you drank a little bit too much was the problem. Not that someone told you that you developed diabetic. Now, you have at least the chance to react.
Coming back to my own ignorance. For a long time I kept telling myself I can't know everything. But in truth, I just tried to avoid to face consequences that I caused myself. Ignorance is not a bliss. It is a recipe for ensuring that you will get stuck in the same state you are in and in worst case it will drag you down.
However, there is only one thing that is worse then ignorance. Not admitting it. Like I said, no one will ever know everything. But to pretend that you know something, while inside you go "How do you spell that word, can you eat that?", then you neither helping yourself, nor the person you are talking to. So, even though it is embarrassing sometimes, I try to admit it right away, when I just don't happen to know. And then I might not be "blissed" with ignorance, but something much better. I gain knowledge. And of that one can never have enough.
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen