Must We Know Everything?

[Cato]

I hope there's someone who knows the answer to the question and that while you might love her, you don't think she's god.

Shit no! She's the one screaming god. If she's not talking about me then there's some invisible son of a bitch getting credit without putting in some ass rpm.

[Anomalocaris]

The ability to say "I don't know" is the mark of an adult. Making peace with the limits of one's knowledge teaches humility better than any Bible verse I've ever read.

Saying "I don't know" also marks one as knowing what one still needs to find out. It therefore confers the real possibility of rectifying "I don't know", a possibility which is forever denied those who thinks "God did it" is an substitute for knowing.

[Jenny A]

Saying "I don't know" also marks one as knowing what one still needs to find out. It therefore confers the real possibility of rectifying "I don't know", a possibility which is forever denied those who thinks "God did it" is an substitute for knowing.

Exactly.

[Surgenator]

The ability to say "I don't know" is the mark of an adult. Making peace with the limits of one's knowledge teaches humility better than any Bible verse I've ever read.

Fuck making peace. I'm going to find some fucking answers!

[Whateverist]

Yeah, but it's tough to have fallen in love with the wrong theory when the right one comes along.

[Mudhammam]

I think due to our limited perspective and the fact that we depend on concepts alone we can only grasp a trivial amount of knowledge in comparison to a compete account of the depth and breadth of reality in and around us. The lengths to which "ultimate truths" can be put into words and ideas leads me to suspect that we largely and contentedly live in a fiction arranged by our biology and traditions.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

I don't know what the skin between my balls and asshole tastes like. I also don't know what god tastes like. Therefore, god is the skin between my balls and asshole.

Now you gotta convince people to worship it. Get down on their knees and 'pray'.

OP,

My partner is a microbiologist and even she comes up with 'I dont know' to a lot of her own research. It's the scientific method, working out what you don't know, working out how you might get to know about it, and testing repeatedly till you do or you know you currently can't.

I know you already obviously know this, but it's still disheartening to see so many people come across a conclusion and jump on it as the only conclusion, and worse, dismiss alternatives when presented out of hand simply because it's not the same conclusion.

[abaris]

I'm quite comfortable with accepting that I won't know certain things within my lifetime. Though not knowing certain things makes me kind of sad sometimes. And they have less to do with the universe and it's origin and more with history or the understanding of animals. I'm always amazed what scientists fid out these days about the cognitive capabilities of our fellow creatures.

[robvalue]

I can't personally understand what it's like to crave knowledge of absolutely everything. I am naturally curious, and want to find out as much as I can, but I care about whether I'm learning true things or bullshit. I'd rather know a few things and get them right than pretend I know everything and be wrong about most of it.

It seems human brains are naturally super curious, but do not always have the critical thinking skills to hold that curiosity in check.

[Thumpalumpacus]

The ability to say "I don't know" is the mark of an adult. Making peace with the limits of one's knowledge teaches humility better than any Bible verse I've ever read.

Fuck making peace. I'm going to find some fucking answers!

Yeah, I didn't mean to insinuate that passive acceptance is the appropriate response. "I don't know" is the beginning of the journey, not the end.