Varieties of ignorance

Varieties of ignorance

Dwight: I’d like us to delve into the different types of ignorance.

Aiko: That's an intriguing topic, Dwight. Are we starting with categories like willful ignorance, accidental ignorance, or something broader?

Dwight: No. There are much more fruitful ways to explore this. Let's start by outlining two top-level categories of ignorance:

Things we know we are ignorant about, such as (for me right now) not knowing current weather in Kathmandu, understanding ChatGPT deeply, or performing kidney surgery—causing the least problems.
Things we think we know but are wrong about and could easily discover we don’t know (at least don't know for sure). This type causes the most suffering and damage because we cannot know we were wrong until we learn otherwise. For instance, positive expectations underestimate risks ("Of course, my friend will keep their promise"), and negative ones overestimate them ("She’d never go out with me, so why ask?").

Aiko: You’re right, Dwight—I missed the subtlety about realizing ignorance only after discovery. Let’s refine our focus on these mistaken certainties. What do you want to unpack first?

Dwight: The heart of this second type of ignorance lies in not realizing how often we believe things we don’t truly know. This lack of awareness allows us to be repeatedly deceived by ourselves. We fail to cultivate the habit of questioning beliefs, especially those causing us suffering. For example, when we assume no risk in trusting a friend's promise, we feel betrayed if they fail us—yet the betrayal stems from our own unwarranted certainty, not from their actions alone.

Aiko: That’s a powerful point, Dwight. Developing the habit of questioning beliefs seems crucial.

Dwight: Although it seems like we could overcome rather easily this second type of ignorance by cultivating skepticism toward our automatic thoughts, especially in areas where we repeatedly experience upset, we are often deeply motivated to avoid questioning these patterns of ignorance.

Aiko: That resistance makes sense—it’s hard to confront patterns tied to emotional comfort or identity. What do you think drives that motivation to hold onto these false certainties?

Dwight: Many of us habitually indulge in "positive" ignorances, like assuming "Everything will go according to plan," promising "After I get that raise, I'll pay you," or believing "My wife would never cheat on me."

Aiko: These examples highlight how comforting but fragile such assumptions can be.

Dwight: These "positive" ignorances provide short-term benefits: they help us feel safe, boost our confidence, and let us enjoy counting our chickens before they hatch—all without the discomfort of skepticism.

Aiko: The short-term comfort and excitement are alluring.

Dwight: On the flip side, many of us also indulge in "negative" ignorances, such as deciding, "I won't ask for a raise because they won't give it to me," "I won't say 'no' to my friend because they’ll be too upset," or "I won’t express what I’m really feeling because they’ll think I’m weak."

Aiko: These are powerful examples, showing how fear-based assumptions can limit us.

Dwight: Indulging in negative ignorances lets us justify our inaction to ourselves and others, offering immediate comfort by avoiding discomfort or risk in the moment.

Aiko: That makes sense—it’s a way of protecting ourselves from potential rejection or failure.

Dwight: While we've discussed interpersonal examples of believing what isn't so, we must also address the chronic indulgences of the intrapersonal kind that affect nearly all of us.

Aiko: Good point—our internal misconceptions often shape our external actions. Which intrapersonal ignorances do you think are the most pervasive or harmful?

Dwight: A common intrapersonal ignorance is believing we’ll remember something in the future at the right time, yet failing to put a system in place to ensure it. For example, saying, “I’ll call you on Thursday,” but not immediately setting a reminder to ensure it happens.

Aiko: That’s such a relatable habit.

Dwight: Despite abundant evidence that our memory often fails us, we continue to "trust" it far more than it deserves.

Aiko: It’s fascinating how we cling to that trust.

Dwight: An even more damaging pattern is trusting that our future selves will be willing to follow through on what our current selves are promising or planning for them to do.

Aiko: That’s a tricky one—our future selves often have very different priorities.

Dwight: On the flip side, we sometimes “know” there’s no way our future selves will follow through on what our current self desires, and we fail to explore ways to make it more likely that our future selves will align with those wishes.

Aiko: That’s such a limiting assumption.

Dwight: Another powerful example of believing what isn’t so, due to its addictive payoffs, is the belief in "choice." Specifically, the kind of choice that allows us to blame ourselves or others for doing something "wrong" or failing to do something "right."

The harms caused by this wrong-making are easy to observe, but it takes more reflection to see that the certainty of "no choice" can be shown to almost to the level of our certainty of "no ether" and the "laws of gravity" in physics.

Aiko: That’s a profound observation. If we let go of the belief in this kind of choice, what do you think would replace blame as a motivator for accountability and growth?

Dwight: I’ve already explored what replaces blame as a motivator in my suite No Choice.

Aiko: Of course, Dwight.

Dwight: To re-emphasize, the main reason we continue believing things that aren’t so isn’t a lack of ability to reduce this ignorance, but rather our strong motivation to avoid using that ability due to the short-term benefits those ignorances provide.

Aiko: That’s a critical insight.

AskDwightHow.org 365/24/7

14m 24s