#150: Be quick to admit that you don’t know

When does real learning happen? Real learning begins when you admit that you don’t know. This is not as obvious as it sounds, because often we simply don’t know that we don’t know.

It’s like a child learning to ride a bicycle. At first, she does not want your help. She believes that she can do it, because other kids make it look so easy. But every time she tries, she falls over. Soon, through her tears, she will admit that she does not know how. Now the teaching and the learning can begin.

The same applies to you as an adult. For real learning to happen, something must make you admit that you don’t know. This is the critical moment, because in admitting that you don’t know, you open yourself to new ideas, to weird concepts and to help from unexpected sources.

The sooner you admit that you don’t know, the sooner you will know that you know.



I’m james@nonsenseatwork.com

Copyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh

James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
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