Ignorance

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‘I’d rather not know’: Why we choose ignorance

“Across the studies, the researchers found that when given an option, 40% of people chose not to learn the consequences of their actions. That willful ignorance was correlated with less altruism: People were 15.6 percentage points more likely to be generous to someone else when they were told the consequences of their choice compared with when they were allowed to remain ignorant.”

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“Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition. The problem with it is we see it in other people, and we don’t see it in ourselves. The first rule of the Dunning–Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning–Kruger club.”

— David Dunning

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“Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.”

— Charles Darwin

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The frog of the well

“Have you not heard of the frog that lived in the well? It said to the turtle of the Eastern Sea, “I am so happy! I jump about the railings of the well, rest at the crack on the bricks; when I dive into the water, they support my arms and chin; when I scramble in the mud, they bury my feet and toes. I interact with crabs and play with minnows; nobody can compare to me. Furthermore, I dominate the water in this well, and enjoy the joy of being in the well. Isn’t it wonderful? Why don’t you come down and have a look?” The turtle of the Eastern Sea tried to get in the well, but before his left leg could even enter, his right knee was already stuck. So, it circled around and went back, and told the sea, “A thousand miles cannot describe its vastness; a thousand fathoms cannot measure its depth. In the time of Yu, there were floods nine out of ten years, yet the sea did not increase; in the time of Tang, there were droughts seven out of eight years, yet the cliffs did not decrease. The sea does not change with the passing of time or the amount of water it contains, this is the great joy of the Eastern Sea.” When the frog in the well heard this, it was astonished and could not find words to reply.”

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“The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.”

— Wayne Dyer

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There was once a frog that lived in a well. One day, a soft-shelled turtle came by and told him about the sea. “The sea?” Said the frog. “Hah! It’s nothing but paradise in here. I assure you, there is no place in the world that is better than inside this well. Why don’t you come down here and share my joy?”

The turtle tried, and failed as the mouth of the well was too small. “Why don’t you go see the sea instead?”

Moral: Some ignorant people know nothing and refuse to know beyond their own world.

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We should tell ourselves we’re ignorant | Emma Kay Tocci | TEDxNYUAD