All of my "heroes" are dead.
Some of them have been dead for centuries, but the lessons that their lives brought to the world are immeasurable. One individual taught me one of life's greatest lessons: "I know that I know nothing."
It's something to think that one could conclude that they know nothing.
Postulating the idea that it's impossible to know everything in one lifetime.
If you're unfamiliar with him, Socrates was, as the Oracles foretold, the wisest man to ever live. His wisdom lay in recognizing his own ignorance. Therefore, the wisest among us are aware of their knowledge gaps.
Fast forward a few hundred centuries, and Einstein also echoes Socrates' wisdom when he said, "The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know."
I, too, came to this realization a few years ago.
I wanted to learn frontend development, but I was way out of my depth.
Nevertheless, I persevered, learned the basics, and made progress--but still, I know how much I don't know.
There's no pressure to "catch up" because no one knows everything.
We're all doing our best to stay ahead.
Why Learning Makes Us Feel Less Certain
People with minimal familiarity often overestimate what they know.
As you dive deeper, you uncover gaps, which can kick-start that wave of humility I was talking about earlier. This is known as the Dunning-Kruger Effect.
Genuine learning brings intellectual humility--accepting the limits of your knowledge. Those who embody it are more curious, open-minded, and accurate in assessing what they know.
Beyond psychology, philosophies like Kant's remind us that our understanding is always filtered by perspective; some things may remain forever beyond our grasp.
Overcoming (Or Working With)the Paradox
Instead of battling the paradox, leverage it.
First, embrace intellectual humility. Reframe "being wrong" as fuel for growth, not failure. Seek honest feedback and listen--actively and deeply.
Use exercises like adopting third-person perspectives or arguing from someone else's viewpoint to build self-awareness.
Second, build up your metacognitive muscle. Recognize what you don't know. Calling out your blind spots gives you ground to grow. Question your beliefs and assumptions--especially when they feel comfortable.
Third, lean into a learning culture (even solo). Foster environments--at work or among friends--where admitting ignorance is safe, and not shameful.
This is something I'm very big on in my group of friends and in the business that I conduct. A phrase I learned during my time at Apple still rings true today: "I don't know, but let's find out."
That's the best part about not knowing everything. It allows you to learn something new.
So I challenge you to confront the unknown.
Fight the arrogance of knowing.
Nurture humility.
This week, practice saying: "I don't know, let's find out." It's the simplest doorway to growth.
Love your perspective on painting and embracing humility in learning. I never thought of this angle before. Very interesting take. Thank your for sharing! And you are most welcome 😊🙌🏾
When you spoke about embracing humility in learning it reminded me of painting. Every blank canvas humbles you no matter how many times you’ve done it before. The brush almost teaches you something new about patience and perspective every time. I find the same is true in journaling. I often sit down thinking I know exactly what I’ll write but the words reveal blind spots I wasn’t aware of. Your ‘I don’t know, but let’s find out’ motto is such a powerful guiding principle that I wrote down in my journal to remember. I want to carry that into both my creative practices and my everyday life. Thank you for keeping me inspired to keep learning Idris Elijah!