We Can Only Be Saved By Those Who Don’t Know

The power of admitting our ignorance is terribly underrated

a woman shrugs and admits she doesn’t know the answer to a question, minimal, futuristic digital art — by DALL·E

Saying “I don’t know” requires significant confidence. Yet, admitting our ignorance is the only effective way to combat it.

The modern world demands assertive, confident leaders. People will look up to us and expect us to have answers. Regardless of the field, if we are in charge of something, we must show absolute command. If we betray an inkling of uncertainty, those who once followed us will pounce on us like a pack of wolves. Indeed, the planet won’t be a kind and fair place until it asks for leaders to be honest and inquisitive.

Even in our daily lives, we see the allure of confident folk. They walk about with such a powerful gait we cannot miss them. They seem so sure of themselves and so secure in the limitations of their intellect and wisdom that others will follow them without hesitation. Conversely, we will struggle to heed the advice of those who doubt, regardless of how cleverer and better informed they may be.

While it is indisputable that intelligent people must develop the confidence and assertiveness necessary for survival, we must also stop falling for the tragic appeal of those who cannot tell right from wrong. We might have to learn to show conviction and decisiveness about…