I Don't Know Anything
Just looking into the night sky can be a gut check of the highest order. It forces us to acknowledge our own stupidity in the face of infinite knowledge. I love this feeling. So much so, I drew this imperfect doodle as a little reminder, and pinned it above my desk. At first glance, you’ll notice three circles. But there’s actually five…
Here’s what they mean to me:
The space inside the first circle represents WHAT I KNOW, but you can’t actually see it. At least not in the image above. It’s there, but it’s small. One could argue it doesn’t really exist. And yet, inside of this circle is the totality of my knowledge.
The space inside the second circle (looks like a small white dot) represents WHAT I KNOW I DON’T KNOW. It’s everything I’m aware of, but can’t explain in any meaningful way, such as consciousness, quantum mechanics, or why anyone would wipe back to front.
The space inside the third circle represents WHAT I DON’T KNOW THAT I DON’T KNOW. It’s all the knowledge I could know, but it never showed up on my radar as something to know in the first place. Are you still with me?
The space inside the fourth, outermost circle, represents WHAT’S UNKNOWABLE. Things no one will ever know, and we probably never will.
The space inside the fifth circle represents THAT WHICH CANNOT BE DEFINED. It’s much larger than the confines of this card. It’s as vast as space, and as timeless as infinity. How do I know it’s there? I guess I don’t. But it’s fun to play with ideas. So for the time being, I call it the space of infinite mystery.
Which brings us back to that first circle… The one which represents WHAT I KNOW. It’s hard to see, but when turned over and held to the light, it illuminates. And much like a starry night, it brings to mind a simple truth: I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING.
