Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share The More We Know, The More We Know What We Don’t Know (EP.84)
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
The More We Know, The More We Know What We Don’t Know (EP.84)
Summary
We have all heard the saying, “A Little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” When that saying is used, it means that the person with the small amount of knowledge is assuming that they know all they need to know on the subject at hand, then they act accordingly. It is not that they don’t know everything, but that they think they do, that is the “dangerous thing.” Having some knowledge, and knowing the limits of that knowledge, is a plus. For example, knowing how to dress a wound is a good thing; thinking that you can do open heart surgery with that ability is dangerous.
For the next 10 minutes, we will unpack how having a little knowledge is taking a giant wrecking ball to our communities and our country.
Transcript
We have all heard the saying, “A Little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” When that saying is used, it means that the person with the small amount of knowledge is assuming that they know all they need to know on the subject at hand, then they act accordingly. It is not that they don’t know everything, but that they think they do, that is the “dangerous thing.” Having some knowledge, and knowing the limits of that knowledge, is a plus. For example, knowing how to dress a wound is a good thing; thinking that you can do open heart surgery with that ability is dangerous.
For the next 10 minutes, we’ll unpack how having a little knowledge is taking a giant wrecking ball to our communities and our country.
Let’s start with a fun, sweet story and video featuring a circus clown, Emmett Kelly, who performed in the early and mid 20th century. Kelly was a former successful trapeze artist turned clown. “Weary Willie” was Kelly’s invented, depression era-like hobo character who the delighted kids and amused the adults of his time. Kelly would be seen sweeping up the circus rings after the other performers. He tried but failed to sweep up the pool of light from the spotlight. His routine was revolutionary at the time: traditionally, clowns wore white face and performed slapstick stunts intended to make people laugh.
As the circle of light, the spotlight, that Kelly was “sweeping up” got smaller, the lit circumference in contact with the dark also got smaller. The smaller the area of light in his act, the smaller the circumference where the light touched the dark. Things happen the same way with what we know and what we realize that we don’t know. The light is what we know, and the light circumference where it touches the dark represents what know that we don’t know. As things like our knowledge and wisdom expand, the area of light expands. And so does the size of the circle contacting the dark, representing what we know that we don’t know. Simply put, the more that we know, the more that we know what we don’t know. And with a little knowledge, a smaller lit circle if you will, we have little understanding of what we don’t know. That’s the danger.
Today’s key points: 1. We all know what we know, and what we know that we don’t know. Vastly larger than both of those two together is the area of what we don’t know that we don’t know. And what we think we know that just ain’t so is part of what we don’t know that we don’t know. And 2. What we don’t know that we don’t know is where the danger lies.
Let’s take a look at an issue that you and I and the USA are facing today (that was fun), and how the little knowledge danger makes issues like this one all but unresolvable. Socialism is often in the news, with older people generally against it, and younger people far more often being for it. The little knowledge issue raises its ugly head here because there are three different flavors of socialism, and everyone is talking about the only one, pro or con, the only flavor they know to talk about. Classic Socialism calls for government ownership of business, making it quite the opposite of capitalism.
View all episodes
By Will LudenSummary
We have all heard the saying, “A Little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” When that saying is used, it means that the person with the small amount of knowledge is assuming that they know all they need to know on the subject at hand, then they act accordingly. It is not that they don’t know everything, but that they think they do, that is the “dangerous thing.” Having some knowledge, and knowing the limits of that knowledge, is a plus. For example, knowing how to dress a wound is a good thing; thinking that you can do open heart surgery with that ability is dangerous.
For the next 10 minutes, we will unpack how having a little knowledge is taking a giant wrecking ball to our communities and our country.
Transcript
We have all heard the saying, “A Little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” When that saying is used, it means that the person with the small amount of knowledge is assuming that they know all they need to know on the subject at hand, then they act accordingly. It is not that they don’t know everything, but that they think they do, that is the “dangerous thing.” Having some knowledge, and knowing the limits of that knowledge, is a plus. For example, knowing how to dress a wound is a good thing; thinking that you can do open heart surgery with that ability is dangerous.
For the next 10 minutes, we’ll unpack how having a little knowledge is taking a giant wrecking ball to our communities and our country.
Let’s start with a fun, sweet story and video featuring a circus clown, Emmett Kelly, who performed in the early and mid 20th century. Kelly was a former successful trapeze artist turned clown. “Weary Willie” was Kelly’s invented, depression era-like hobo character who the delighted kids and amused the adults of his time. Kelly would be seen sweeping up the circus rings after the other performers. He tried but failed to sweep up the pool of light from the spotlight. His routine was revolutionary at the time: traditionally, clowns wore white face and performed slapstick stunts intended to make people laugh.
As the circle of light, the spotlight, that Kelly was “sweeping up” got smaller, the lit circumference in contact with the dark also got smaller. The smaller the area of light in his act, the smaller the circumference where the light touched the dark. Things happen the same way with what we know and what we realize that we don’t know. The light is what we know, and the light circumference where it touches the dark represents what know that we don’t know. As things like our knowledge and wisdom expand, the area of light expands. And so does the size of the circle contacting the dark, representing what we know that we don’t know. Simply put, the more that we know, the more that we know what we don’t know. And with a little knowledge, a smaller lit circle if you will, we have little understanding of what we don’t know. That’s the danger.
Today’s key points: 1. We all know what we know, and what we know that we don’t know. Vastly larger than both of those two together is the area of what we don’t know that we don’t know. And what we think we know that just ain’t so is part of what we don’t know that we don’t know. And 2. What we don’t know that we don’t know is where the danger lies.
Let’s take a look at an issue that you and I and the USA are facing today (that was fun), and how the little knowledge danger makes issues like this one all but unresolvable. Socialism is often in the news, with older people generally against it, and younger people far more often being for it. The little knowledge issue raises its ugly head here because there are three different flavors of socialism, and everyone is talking about the only one, pro or con, the only flavor they know to talk about. Classic Socialism calls for government ownership of business, making it quite the opposite of capitalism.