The main reason we fail to own up our ignorance is the discomfort of not having control

the EXISTENTIAL DREAD, truly

It’s better to rub a bromide in one’s own face than to face the abyss

 

But the other reason is that we’re so tribal

And tribes optimise themselves for homogeneity

And no matter how much you rave about your independence and individuality — unless you’re taking risky contrarian bets, with your life and opinions, with SKIN in the game — then maybe you’re not so independent

 

And ACKNOWLEDGING ONE’S IGNORANCE can itself be one such contrarian bet

More so than what you’d like to call “contrarian”, when in reality your precious little tribe entirely has your back

The tribe can be small but it’s not about its size or power — it’s about the comfort it gives you

If it’s this epistemic comfort that you’re so desperately reliant on — then your group can be the most contrarian misfits under the sun — you’re still an utter conformist fucking pussy

 

So yes, in a world where everyone has a fucking opinion,

it’s courage to not have one, and it’s contrarian

And in a world where everyone is virtue-signalling — it’s courage to do none of that, do one’s duty quietly, when no one’s watching

And in a world where everyone takes a side — it is courage to not be compelled to take one

 

And finally,

in a world where it’s so “COURAGEOUS” to “stand up for the cause” — without taking ANY REAL risk mind you, other than annoying the tribe that already hates you anyway,

it is ACTUALLY COURAGEOUS to NOT pretend to have that “courage”,

it is COURAGEOUS to look like a fucking coward

because you have the courage to be resole about things you actually believe in,

and you had the courage to develop actual strong beliefs, not inherit them all via osmosis, even if you think they are all so peculiar to you and dear

and that would of course require the courage to be ignorant,

to face one’s ignorance