Ignorance Is Not Bliss

Having recently read an article where, at a public meeting to discuss how land was to be used and one person was unfamiliar with protocol, I wondered if ignorance is in fact bliss. I am struggling to think of a scenario where this often used saying might be helpful.

I can only suggest that it might be useful to avoid worrying about something, although even this is unhelpful at best. Regardless of whether ignoring something helps to stop worrying, whatever it is that you are worrying about continues on unchecked.

I suggest the ignorance is not bliss, it is lazy, stupid, and possibly dangerous. What if you ignored a health issue, ignored a debt, ignored an emergency, ignored someone who was struggling?

The opposite of ignorance is knowledge, education, and intelligence. Learning about things has more advantages than does ignoring them;

  1. It stimulates your brain - research shows that learning something new opens up areas of the brain and can even reduce ageing of our brains.

  2. It opens your mind - being open-minded allows you to see things in different ways and assists problem solving.

  3. It generates conversation - knowing about a subject allows you to talk knowledgeably with others thus encouraging socialisation.

  4. It energises - the more you learn the greater the thirst for knowledge, dopamine is released into your brain when you learn something new.

  5. It brings an understanding - what might seem normal for one person may seem foreign to another, knowing more about the other person assists with an appreciation.

Understanding each other is the way to bring clarity, to nurture communities, to bring wisdom, to bring humility.

When someone suggests that ignorance is bliss, ask them why they think that is the case. I doubt that they will have a valid reason.

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