How To Be A Genius - Using Ignorance To Become The Smartest Guy In The Room

The Illusion Of Understanding

People think that they get shit. No matter what the discussion is about - We all think that we understand.  Everyone has an opinion, no matter how unfounded or mistaken it turns out to be.

The problem is that most people's concept of understanding is based on bullshit. 

Lazy stereotypes, simple truths and the opinions of family and friends mixed together. Creating a stew of misinformation. A world where everything you say makes sense and everyone opposing is an ill-informed fool. Mental laziness disguised as profound knowledge. A position where we are both perpetrator and victim -  Fooling others by fooling ourselves.

Falling prey to the illusion of understanding.

Solved By Ignorance

The way to fix this miserable flaw is simple. Yet not easy. Intellectually it only requires the knowledge of this problem itself. You know about it now. Congrats.

The not so easy part is the cultivation of the mental discipline necessary to act in a way that is unnatural to us. You have to act against the interest of your ego in the short term to give you the ego boost of a superior understanding of the world in the long term. Sounds fair, doesn't it?

What I mean by all that?

Whenever you are in a conversation about any given topic, you have to assume that you don't know shit about it - Even if you do. (!) Assume the position of ignorance. That way you will have to listen way more than you talk. It sounds simplistic but people tend to be bad at this.

We hate it if someone is opposing our thoughts. We get offended. Hurt even. And the worst part about it is our pitiful attempt to mask this vanity of ours . To hide It under the cloak of the moral high ground. We accuse people of being some kind of "ism". The universal weapon of the mentally lazy.

We attach our identities to our beliefs which leads us into a fragile world where every critique of our opinions is a critique of our core selves. A discussion becomes a fight. A fight where being right is the be-all and end-all. 

A realm where consensus is irrelevant. Where progress is impossible.

To avoid all that you just have to assume a position of ignorance. You will force yourself to listen more which will lead to more information for you to synthesize. This will give you a more complete view of the problem at hand and over time it will transform you.

From the stew of misinformation into a sparkling cocktail of wisdom.