“I don’t know” is usually the best answer,

Because why would you know?

The world is infinitely complicated

If you’re interacting with the world — you should be stumped all the time

 

Likewise “NEUTRAL” is usually the best attitude

For the same reason

Usually you don’t know what you’re dealing with

Not entirely

You don’t know what will happen, clearly. Who knows the future?

 

So unless you must make a decision — then NEUTRAL is probably the best attitude to take

 

The matter of our preferences shouldn’t be much simpler than the matter of the knowledge in general

Aren’t we complex creatures?

We may know our preferences about a finite set of objects

How would you know your preference when encountering an unknown object? A not-fully-known object?

Just like with all of the unknown — how could you know?

 

So maybe you learned to say “I don’t know” when you’re asked about something you’re less than competent in

And yet with matter of preferences — you confidently say “I don’t like this” — even if you’ve little experience with that thing

 

Indeed epistemic arrogance applies to self-knowledge too, and self-world relations

 

And how limiting it is too

Just like asserting understanding when there is none precludes you from searching for the truth,

Likewise asserting one’s attitude or preference when one couldn’t actually have one — precludes one from exploring that thing

Leading to an unexplored opportunity

Unexplored life

What a fucking waste of life

 

This is thus the core of the so called “limiting beliefs”,

You assert you don’t really like something or that it’s hopeless or that you don’t want to — and lose that opportunity

 

It’s the core of so much hostility and conflict — when your unacknowledged timidness and insecurity lead you to label others less-than-flattering things, even though you don’t know them.

 

You should always assume you “don’t know”

You still must make decisions — make them the best you can. But otherwise know that you don’t know,

AND LIKEWISE

ASSUME A NEUTRAL PREFERENCE

Show some humility before the wealth of possibilities

You’re probably NOWHERE NEAR experienced enough to have a refined preference on every subject,

 

…and even if you do — isn’t that a little limiting?

Of course have strong preferences when the stakes are high, where the risk is high and reward is high,

But if stakes are low — WHY NOT TRY?

And when risk is low — again — you basically must try

It’s positive expected value gamble then

So many such exist, but you assume you hate it, ergo essentially misappraise risk-reward ratio

That’s no way to get high returns in life

 

Finally, have courage to be neutral

You hate being neutral — because your opinion makes you feel comfortable

And it allows you to decline a ton of things

Including yourself

And it reduces your exposure to unknown, which you ultimately fear

Have courage to be NEUTRAL and NAIVE

 

NAIVE indeed is the word

Children are curious and neutral

They don’t have fucking opinions on politics

They don’t think their play is stupid

They don’t think it’s cringe to confuse two words

And that’s how they learn so fast

And that’s why they have so much fun

 

And that’s the courage you lack

Because you’re no longer neutral about those things

You don’t have the courage to be NAIVE

You’re so serious and opinionated, instead

You don’t want to look stupid, trusting the wrong person, trying that thing which will surely fail

And the fuck you got for it?