It Is Better To Be Thought A Fool in Silence . . .

     I was occasioned to remember a quote that I heard when I was a child.  It has been reworked many times but, essentially, the passage is, "It is better t be thought a fool in silence, then to speak and remove all doubt."(Abraham Lincoln or Socrates).  The reason why this is the subject of my post, today is that, during my college career and in life, I have come to the realization that I don't know ANYTHING.  This is true for most people.  Now, I don't mean that people are stupid, it is just that we don't seek information that could be detrimental to our world view.

     An example of this is a person who I have become recently acquainted with who lives in my dorm.  This comes from a very sheltered home life and has a very limited view of the world.  Anytime that you try to introduce a new side of an argument/statement/discussion with him, he tries to make it fit his view of things, even if he is wrong.  You could tell him something that is a fact, a verifiable fact, and he will get upset and say that you are calling him ignorant and being dismissive.  I told him that I wasn't criticizing him, I was just letting him know that he was misinformed and pointing him to the truth.

     Another example of this is someone who makes up facts just to fit their argument.  I get furious when someone is making an argument and you can just see them making up the "fact" just to make their point.  Instead of admitting they may not have the full answer, they will just plow through, trying to justify themselves.

     However, more directly, I see this in my classes.  I see this a great deal.  Especially with the younger kiddos.  The will argue with people with PhDs over things that are a settled fact/theory just because it doesn't go with the "thing my brother's best friend's sister who worked as a secretary for so-and-so said".  It is funny how they want to be right in the face of being wrong.

      In these cases, you have people who are trying to make an argument with incomplete/missing information.  Many of us have been guilty of this, myself included.  The difference is, if you don't know, say you don't know.  Because, when everything comes out, you end up just looking stupid if you don't have your facts right.  And even when we are wrong, we should be able to admit it.  It makes you look more intelligent by acknowledging that you were not correct and that you are open to changing.

     That's my take.