Ignorance

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An ignorant mind is precisely not a spotless, empty vessel, but one that’s filled with the clutter of irrelevant or misleading life experiences, theories, facts, intuitions, strategies, algorithms, heuristics, metaphors, and hunches that regrettably have the look and feel of useful and accurate knowledge. This clutter is an unfortunate by-product of one of our greatest strengths as a species. We are unbridled pattern recognizers and profligate theorizers. Often, our theories are good enough to get us through the day, or at least to an age when we can procreate. But our genius for creative storytelling, combined with our inability to detect our own ignorance, can sometimes lead to situations that are embarrassing, unfortunate, or downright dangerous—especially in a technologically advanced, complex democratic society that occasionally invests mistaken popular beliefs with immense destructive power.

— David Dunning

Analysis

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The French mathematician and writer Blaise Pascal once wrote: “Clarity of mind is clarity of passion, too; this is why a great and clear mind loves ardently and sees distinctly what it loves.” It is an attractive equation. How convenient would it be if by simply assessing pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses, we could rationally steer inclination, transform chaos into order? However, rationality, or excessive calculation, can do more harm than good in certain realms of life.

We cannot predict our feelings based on analysis. Equally, we cannot forecast romantic outcomes. Some factors in a decision will always remain hidden from conscious reasoning. In other words, reasoning may stifle emotion and thus not expose our truest intentions, resulting in poor choices.