Do You Feel Smart and All-Knowing?
Do You Feel Smart and All-Knowing?
If you’re absolutely certain you’re smart and know everything, you’re probably the fool. This realization can be the start of wisdom.
The fool is the last to realize he’s the fool
Blinded by his confidence or fearful ignorance, he walks the Earth blind, deaf, and stupid. The irony is that the more we believe we know everything, the more confident we are in our opinions and beliefs, the greater the chances we know nothing.
“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.” - Bertrand Russell
Don’t believe me? Who are the self-believed, smartest, most infallible people who know everything on this planet?
Teenagers.
Teenagers won’t listen to adults, authority, or teachers, don’t read books, and don’t take advice because they already know it all. They have inherited all of the knowledge from the universe the moment they pop their first pimple.Drunker men in a bar.
Drunken men in a bar could solve all world problems and make scientists, doctors, and politicians look like fools in comparison. All the answers are simple, and staring them right in the face. Every beer opens their minds further to new knowledge, like a pandora’s box of infinite wisdom.Religious, political, and ideological fanatics.
Religious, political, and ideological fanatics don’t believe anything - they know everything! What they know needs no proof and cannot be questioned, and we must all accept it as the truth or face ridicule, imprisonment, or worse.
There are more, to be sure, but these three categories jump out as the smart-asses of society.
What do all these seemingly unrelated groups have in common?
They believe they know everything and are right and will not accept other opinions or new information. They just know!
You can’t talk to them about what they feel they know as they consider them sacred, resolved, and factual, and they are extremely protective of their beliefs.
They don’t require proof, don’t need to explain themselves, and aren’t open to debating their points with solid arguments.
They base their whole identities—a sense of who they are—on the beliefs they “know” to be true.
When confronted with opposing ideas or new data, they react extremely emotionally and violently, burying their heads in the sand.
They feel personally attacked, and instead of rationally explaining their position, they want to crush all opposition.
They won’t listen to reason and will not entertain the idea that they might be wrong. They’re not interested in facts. Nobody could possibly know something they don’t.
They don’t believe that there is anything more they could learn. They know everything already, and don’t you dare suggest otherwise.
They are, coincidently, almost always wrong about practically everything!
What about the vocal intellectuals and pundits, you might ask?
Well, I suppose those often believe they know everything as well, but they differ from the above categories. They express their opinions passionately but are at least willing to engage in open debates.
Most are smarty pants wannabe intellectuals blinded by their perspective, as most of us are. You could easily count most non-fiction “internet writers” among them, including yours truly.
The moment we mistakenly believe that we know everything and vehemently deny the possibility that we are wrong, we also become those fools.
The internet, high schools, parliaments, churches, and bars are full of “know-it-alls.” None of them, of course, know it all, but they do speak as though they’ve eaten all of the universe's knowledge and are spewing out facts with every word, blessing their audience with but crumbles of infinite wisdom they possess.
A quick check to see if you’re a fool
Are you absolutely certain that you know what you’re talking about?
Do you know all the facts and have missed nothing?
Do you consider what “you know” to be an opinion, a belief, a perspective, or the ultimate truth?
Do you feel personally attacked or insulted when someone has a different opinion than you?
Do you feel anger, defensiveness, and rage rise within when challenged to explain your position?
Is it difficult for you to admit that you are or have been wrong?
Is it rare and challenging for you to change your mind on things you’ve said?
Do you often find yourself arguing with other people?
In short, whenever you emotionally attach to any idea and are unwilling to entertain the possibility that you are wrong, you’re probably the know-it-all fool.
Awareness is the first step
Most of us go through that process if we’re lucky enough to realize the errors in our ways. Most never do. The sooner we realize we don’t know anything and have been prisoners of our beliefs and EGO, the better. Only then are we open and willing to actually learn more about the world and ourselves and can better see something resembling objectivity.
You cannot learn anything new if you believe you already know everything.
You cannot open yourself up to new ideas until you’re emotionally and identity-wise detached from the ones you currently hold.
A fool is a fool until he accepts that he’s a fool and decides to no longer be a fool but embark on a risky and uncomfortable path of seeking understanding without forming firm beliefs.
When the pain of being a fool becomes greater than the pain of being wrong, you may begin the journey of wisdom.
Shy? Don’t worry. I’ve got you. I’ll start by saying:
“I’m a fool. I have been wrong an infinite number of times. I have argued and fought with others to protect my fragile beliefs because I identified with them. Being wrong felt like the death of my EGO. If I was proven to be wrong, then I was an idiot, and people would laugh at me.
Older and wiser, I now accept that what I believed I knew was just an opinion and a flawed one. I was wrong. Often. There, I said it. I didn’t know what I know now. Today, I don’t know what I will know in the future. It’s okay to be wrong and to change your mind. It is a sign of wisdom and maturity.
I realize that I don’t have all the information and all the knowledge of this world and can be blinded by my own perspective. This realization has set me free. I now flow with information, seeking understanding without getting attached to ideas and beliefs. I accept that I will have different opinions than other people, and that’s okay.
I accept that I will be wrong. I accept that I can probably never know the whole objective truth, and that’s okay. I am a seeker of knowledge, not a defender of ideas and beliefs. I am a fool, but at least I know it.”
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