Is admitting you don't know the answer, really a bad thing?

I have posted this in the rant section because I'm not sure how to classify it. It's not so much a rant as a plea to our logical side. I know everyone of us has the ability to rise above our beliefs and opinions and just say to the world,"I don't know the answer". I understand this is a difficult thing to do as we all have a belief or an opinion to share with the world.... I have been guilty of that in the past... Even the recent past. So I don't see myself as better then anybody. I am at times ruled by my emotions, as are quite a few on here, and respond to threads in kind... Only to regret my post because I let my emotions get the better of me.

I consider myself an Agnostic... Because, I don't know... And I know there is no one out there who does. I used to take the stance against the religious as an Atheist, only to realize that I can't prove them wrong... I can only point out contradictions to what they believe... So I have stopped slamming them for their beliefs... As long as they are good people then so be it... I do get angry when they insult non-believers for their views... I also get angry with those Atheists who insult them for what they believe....


My awakening started when I discovered Santa Clause was a lie... It progressed to my faith... I was raised as a Catholic. I started to ask questions about things that didn't make sense. The answer I was getting is that it was "Gods will..." From there, I moved into the usual conspiracy theories. Some I think have some substance, some I feel are based on some truth... Others, are complete bunk... But that's only my opinion....

So I guess my beef is, why can't we just pull back from the insults, arguments and what not and just say, "I don't know the answer...But this is what I believe...." And the rest of us just respond without the insults and arrogance that is undoubtedly undeserved... For those defending their belief, you need to concede that you don't ACTUALLY have the answer... This is your belief... We need to start showing respect for others beliefs and opinions... I am, like I said before, guilty of that... This is a journey, a growing experience....

I hope I made myself clear... I know there are some on here that have no concept proper decorum.... Or respect... Some are here just to derail others... I was one of those... So, sorry to all those who I might have insulted...

Thank you for reading.

001ggg100

When I don't know an answer it will bug me so much that i have to look it up or something or else my head will explode

I don't know.

Didn't hurt a bit!

Wisdom is knowing what you don't know!

reply to post by 001ggg100


I will attack a topic, an absurd notion, or the idea behind someone's wrong-thinking, but I will not attack a person unless they attack me first. It usually begins the moment someone starts writing sentences with 'you' in them. If people avoid this word in heavy debates then there can be no personal insults thrown.

Originally posted by jiggerj
reply to post by 001ggg100

 

I will attack a topic, an absurd notion, or the idea behind someone's wrong-thinking, but I will not attack a person unless they attack me first. It usually begins the moment someone starts writing sentences with 'you' in them. If people avoid this word in heavy debates then there can be no personal insults thrown.

.... I have seen the same thing over and over again myself.... And I have respond in kind.... That's the problem... Too many of us attack the OP for what we may think as a ludicrous thread... I've read many posts from you jigger and know you will attack an opinion that seems way out there... No problem with that... I'm talking about those that attack the author.... We all have opinions that don't gel with our own... We need to consider the position of said OP and if we feel they are misinformed, address it as such... I was one of those A-holes that attacked the OP.... Not proud of it....

reply to post by jiggerj


I often back the false narrative...just because, well, sometimes I have to be that guy. I can be wrong and sometimes I just have to see if I can get the other to change their veiwpoint. I can talk a good game when I want too. I don't do it a lot though. It has it's drawbacks when you tell them the truth.

reply to post by Magister


...It didn't hurt did it? Unfortunately, most people feel they will die if they question their beliefs...

reply to post by TDawgRex


... The Devils Advocate... Been there too... But I would insult the OP's intelligence... Not a good thing to have done... I'm no better then anyone out there... I just different opinions on some things... But ultimately, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER....

reply to post by Casualboy100


...When I don't know the answer, I just don't respond.... Maybe I should respond more, just to say, "Hey, I don't know, what info do you have to convince me.... Other then belief..."

I much prefer an "I don't know" response over a B/S response.

often takes alot for people to admit they dont know ..
nothing wrong in admitting that one doesnt know something. I respect those who admit they dont know something rather than feeding me a load of bovine fecal material..
will admit when I dont know something then do my best to learn what can about it.

Originally posted by Expat888
often takes alot for people to admit they dont know ..
nothing wrong in admitting that one doesnt know something. I respect those who admit they dont know something rather than feeding me a load of bovine fecal material..
will admit when I dont know something then do my best to learn what can about it.

...And it took me a long time to come to that conclusion myself. I don't have the answers, and I think for a lot of lifes big questions, no one else does either... I want to know... But I don't think I will find the answers to the BIG questions here.......




......Or maybe I will.....

reply to post by 001ggg100


You're absolutely correct! We, as a whole, don't know sh@t. My monicker TheLieWeLive is a form of that. We live a life of lies starting from birth.

Just like Joe Rogan once said.

"A lot of people don't like to think that human beings came from monkeys and it's usually for religious reasons. You know, you'll talk to people and they'll tell you they came from Jesus."
"All I'm saying is maybe God made a monkey that doesn't like to think it's a monkey and lies a lot"

I'm here right now because I don't know sh@t. I come here to see what epiphany I may receive with the help from someone here. When I do learn something I'm careful not to force that thought or opinion onto someone else because I may find out tomorrow that I was wrong yet again. I know many people personally and on ATS that has changed my view of certain subjects and I'm not ashamed when it happens. I'm enlightened.

At the age of 43 I have admitted many times that I didn't know the answer to countless questions and look at me now, I'm still at the bottom rung of a ladder of an industry in which I have worked since I was 18.

Now look at the super-ego of Sheldon Cooper.... Oops, Dr Sheldon Cooper and his like. To admit that you don't know the answer to a problem is to admit failure or even worse, invite ridicule from ones peers.

Mamma's-Boys are always seeking approval, a pat on the head, a gold star to show the world of their worthiness of praise. Intellectual recognition is the Manna for which they strive. Intellectual recognition is a goal worthy of deceiving and back-stabbing one's own peers.

Look at 2 children at the dinner table.
The child who continually talks about their achievements in school and is in constant need of parental approval, will probably grow up in a white collar, intellectually based role. As an adult it will be harder for this person to admit they are wrong, as they also see wrong answers as a weakness in others.

While the child who who fights for the extra food and answers their parents questions with one syllable answers will most likely go into a physically based profession, a sporting career would be the ultimate goal. As an adult this person doesn't mind saying that they don't know the answer to a question, because their ego says to themselves "I am better than everyone else" so they don't really care what other people think.

There are many questions for which I seek the answer, and for those that I cannot find I always say to myself,
"Ignorance is Bliss".

Originally posted by TheLieWeLive
reply to post by 001ggg100

 

You're absolutely correct! We, as a whole, don't know sh@t. My monicker TheLieWeLive is a form of that. We live a life of lies starting from birth.

Just like Joe Rogan once said.

"A lot of people don't like to think that human beings came from monkeys and it's usually for religious reasons. You know, you'll talk to people and they'll tell you they came from Jesus."
"All I'm saying is maybe God made a monkey that doesn't like to think it's a monkey and lies a lot"

I'm here right now because I don't know sh@t. I come here to see what epiphany I may receive with the help from someone here. When I do learn something I'm careful not to force that thought or opinion onto someone else because I may find out tomorrow that I was wrong yet again. I know many people personally and on ATS that has changed my view of certain subjects and I'm not ashamed when it happens. I'm enlightened.

That's why I'm here... Unfortunately, I wade through a lot of # to find anything that might resemble truth... But I'm now more aware not to attack the op for their views... There is SOOOO much attack of the person that it just ruins the whole experience... It's becoming a pissing match... The thing is, posters are more in tune with the T&C and find ways of getting away with it... The mods need to be more vigilant with the personal attacks....

reply to post by 001ggg100


You're talking about faith.

If you believe in something then you have faith. You believe the sun will rise in the morning thus you have faith.

Either you believe, have faith, in a god or you don't believe. It's simple.

Yes or no / red pill or blue pill / the truth or a lie.

Originally posted by Trubeeleever
At the age of 43 I have admitted many times that I didn't know the answer to countless questions and look at me now, I'm still at the bottom rung of a ladder of an industry in which I have worked since I was 18.

Now look at the super-ego of Sheldon Cooper.... Oops, Dr Sheldon Cooper and his like. To admit that you don't know the answer to a problem is to admit failure or even worse, invite ridicule from ones peers.

Mamma's-Boys are always seeking approval, a pat on the head, a gold star to show the world of their worthiness of praise. Intellectual recognition is the Manna for which they strive. Intellectual recognition is a goal worthy of deceiving and back-stabbing one's own peers.

Look at 2 children at the dinner table.
The child who continually talks about their achievements in school and is in constant need of parental approval, will probably grow up in a white collar, intellectually based role. As an adult it will be harder for this person to admit they are wrong, as they also see wrong answers as a weakness in others.

While the child who who fights for the extra food and answers their parents questions with one syllable answers will most likely go into a physically based profession, a sporting career would be the ultimate goal. As an adult this person doesn't mind saying that they don't know the answer to a question, because their ego says to themselves "I am better than everyone else" so they don't really care what other people think.

There are many questions for which I seek the answer, and for those that I cannot find I always say to myself,
"Ignorance is Bliss".

I am the child who was sort of ignored... Wasn't much expected of me.. That is what drove me to ask questions no on else wanted to ask... I always found the ones who were mama's boys don't ask the big questions.... But I could be wrong about that...

Originally posted by gotya
reply to post by 001ggg100

 

You're talking about faith.

If you believe in something then you have faith. You believe the sun will rise in the morning thus you have faith.

Either you believe, have faith, in a god or you don't believe. It's simple.

Yes or no / red pill blue pill / the truth a lie.

...Yes, that is true.. But I am hoping that people will walk away with the concept of rational thinking, which is lacking here.... Not by everyone mind you.... I was a believer, but I applied rational thinking and worked my way through the faith based mind set... Being rational about what info I'm fed has opened up my way of thinking... In a sense, it has made my life more difficult... Because now, I've become obsessed with finding the truth...

What I'm getting at is if you want to win with someone who is blinded by faith, we need to remain unobstructed by blind faith... Allow our intellect to take control and say, "yeah, I don't have definitive answers..." and go from there... Not an easy thing to do...

I feel that when I admit that I really don't know the answer, it actually reinforces everything I stated to know before hand considering it's impossible to know everything.

Admitting ignorance is wise and is a great step towards acquiring more knowledge.

There's nothing wrong with saying "I don't know" to a question you really don't know.

I'm also an Agnostic (even though I was raised Roman Catholic), and became that way because some of the things I've experienced indicated that what's in the "written texts" may not be everything that's out there (I mean, I doubt that aliens believe in Jesus - then again, for all I know, they have their own alien Jesus). Do I know what lies ahead, after my body goes to waste? No. I do have a hypothesis on what happens, but testing will have to wait 80 or so years .

When I sat in a couple interviews for my work, I got to see how several people would respond when they didn't know an answer to a question - If the person tried to "beat around the bush", they actually got negative points when it came time to pick one to hire; those that said they didn't know, or asked for an example scored higher (and were the ones that got hired).

Finally, I think it's hard for some people to accept that they don't know the answers to everything that is asked of them - to admit they don't know is to admit that they have a weakness. Better admit an uncertainty than claiming that something will work, and have it fail.

-fossilera