Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance. – Will Durant
I have one of those Quotes of the Day things on my iGoogle homepage. One of today’s quotes was, “Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance,” attributed to Will Durant. That quote totally sums up what I have been going through lately.
When I was in my 20s, I thought I had everything all figured out, but now that I am in my 30s, I feel like I don’t know anything. It is such a strange feeling.
It’s not that the amount of knowledge I possess has decreased. In fact, it has increased. I have been reading non-fiction books on heavier topics, learning more about history and other subjects through homeschool teaching, and reading more informative pieces on the internet, rather than just opinions and fluff. I know a lot more than I did even a couple of years ago.
What has happened is that I have discovered just how much there is to know in this world, and how little of it I do know. It kind of scary, but at the same time, kind of freeing. I do not have to have all the answers because I can’t. What a relief!
In this age of everyone’s an expert on everything, the reality is that most of us don’t really know very much about a lot of things. Yet, that doesn’t stop us from having an opinion about it.
I’m not saying that non-experts can’t have opinions. On the contrary, progress is borne by people who are willing to challenge the experts.
I’ve just reached a place where I realize how much I don’t know, how that is really okay, and how much we can really learn – and need to learn – from each other.
