We've created a culture where everyone feels entitled to comment on everything. We've become disinterested in gaining knowledge for knowledge's sake. Instead, we're more interested in following what a celebrity did on father's day or challenging someone else's posted opinion with our own. Social media has led this charge with an army of Social Justice Warriors in pursuit of some moral victory. We all want to prove we know things, but we forget the importance of our own ignorance. We forget that it's better to be kind, better to inquire than it is to be "right."
In the video above by the RSA author, producer, and comedian John Lloyd challenges us to embrace our ignorance. Lloyd touches on the concept of knowledge and how good questions drive discovery.
Lloyd's argument is a biting one: We don't know 96% of the universe and it's ignorance that drives discovery. Anyone can find truth, but it takes a great person to use their intelligence to ask the right questions. We all know what is fundamentally right, but it's what you do with that knowledge that counts. Pick your battles and always be kind.
Making the choice to commit to our personal truths can be a destructive practice. To quote Neil Gaiman, "It is a fool's prerogative to utter truths that no one else will speak."
The RSA is a non-profit organization looking to empower positive social change in the 21st century through encouraging creative thinking. Enlighten yourself on their YouTube channel. The video features design from TOGETHER edited to an audio clip from Lloyd's lecture on our lack of knowledge, titled 'General Ignorance'.