The Fact of My Ignorance

I doubt I will ever write many articles that fit better into the theme and mission of this blog than this one.  And despite the fact that the piece it’s based on is over 3 years old, it couldn’t be more topical.  There was an article in the New Yorker in December of 2005 entitled “Everybody’s An Expert” that discusses a book by UC Berkeley Psychology Professor Philip Tetlock called “Expert Political Judgment: How Good Is It? How Can We Know?”.  The article is a fascinating read and I’d encourage you to go through it if you’ve got a few minutes.  But it is long so I’ve tried to draw out the more important and politically relevant points and I’ve added them below, along with a little of my own commentary. Continue reading

Socrates - humble intellectual extraordinaire

Well after years of talk I’ve decided to finally start a blog.  Not the public diary kind mind you (we have one of those here) but the kind where I can discuss politics, philosophy, religion and other of life’s more weighty matters.  Even those who know me well are probably unaware of the enormous percentage of my daily free time that’s devoted to researching these subjects.  It’s far more than I’d care to admit frankly.  But I’ve long been without a significant outlet for the information and ideas that are constantly swirling around in my head and I’m hoping that this blog will rectify that situation.  But more than just an online sounding board, I’m hoping that this blog can become a place for similarly-interested individuals to discuss these complex issues with dispassionate rationality and constructive debate.  Which brings me to my next topic.

So why the stupid name?  After much thought I’ve decided to name my blog for one of the principles that I hold most dear: Intellectual Humility.  This is a perspective, born of knowledge and honest self-reflection, that recognizes that what we know about the world and life pales in comparison to what we still have yet to understand.  Its a principle that Einstein talked about frequently, and Lao Tzu touched on, but which Socrates said most succinctly when he said, “I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance”.

Interestingly, this kind of intellectual humility tends to grow with increasing knowledge.  This principle has been clearly demonstrated to me since starting medical school, as I’ve already learned far more about many subjects than I knew there was to learn.  The subject of immunology is an instructive example…   Continue reading