Seems that in the “information” age we all should be rushing to accumulate knowledge. Right?
After 30 years of looking at the world on behalf of all types of organizations, we’re convinced it’s just the opposite. The more we know, it seems, the less we tend to learn. The less we learn, the further behind we’ll find ourselves as the world evolves.
Let’s parse this a bit. We certainly do want to be on top as much as we can about what’s going on around us. The Good People Research Company would have no purpose (or clients!) if this were not important. But there’s a difference between “knowing” and “understanding,” and it takes some discipline and skill to keep a wall between the two.
“Knowing” assumes that we fully possess something. Knowing says “I have the answer.” As researchers aligned with the principles of the scientific method, we believe that all learning is temporary, no matter how convincing. So instead of “knowing” things, we try to maintain a “state of curiosity” about the things we’re studying. This posture keeps up poised to learn more as soon as our understanding legitimately comes under pressure to change.
In other words, even though we learn a lot, we try to know nothing, or close to it. This is an art, a high art. It keeps us open to learning at all times.
Socrates made this point a long time ago ⏤ he considered himself wiser than most because he knew that wise people don’t assume they know things. The same is true of a long line of scientists who, by the very nature of their work, take pride in the phenomenon that good scientific inquiry raises more questions than it answers. Consider that until 1534 (although some say more like the year 275), we “knew” the sun revolved around the earth. Then one day that year, suddenly, the earth began circling the sun. How did that happen?
At The Good People Research Company, we work hard to enter each project with few or no assumptions about what we might find. This enables us to discover patterns in thought and behavior not possible if we were to lean heavily on our past experiences and biases. In effect, knowing nothing enables to us to learn more.
The most pressing social problems we have today ⏤ bigotry, political tribalism, mistrust ⏤ are actually due to knowing too much, and understanding too little.
You might fear not knowing something. Fear not. We think it may be more important to guard against knowing too much. Rather, it’s the curious among us who are best positioned for what’s to come.
Know nothing. Stay curious, instead.
