Nothing

I had to write something that described my life philosophy at this very moment, as if I were writing a eulogy for myself or something... This was the product...

 “Any artist should be grateful for a naive grace which puts him beyond the need to reason elaborately”

-Saul Bellow

 

 

 

This I believe. I know nothing. I can tell you how many people are killed on average by donkeys every year. I can tell you why if you pour alcohol on a scorpion, or anything with an exoskeleton, it boils and dies. I can tell you how a hurricane is started by the slight friction of hot and cold air molecules at sea, how that friction causes drafts, how those drafts cause a pocket and tension, and how that tension is eventually turned into a devastating and magnificent storm. I can tell you lots of meaningless facts about everything and anything, but I know nothing.

 

People in general are afraid of what we don’t know. We want answers to explain the unexplainable so that we feel less vulnerable. We yearn for knowledge so that we can have some power, so that we can be in control of our lives instead of controlled by unknown forces. But the thing about knowledge, is that the more we learn, all we really learn is how little we know. Our thirst for knowledge is therefore impossible to satisfy and instead of comforting us with its safety, we simply create more things to be afraid of.

 

Besides, even if it were possible to discover the answers of why and how nature works the way it does, removing the fear of the unknown, we still know nothing. For things like religion, and day to day interaction all consist of a knowledge that is completely opinion. They consist of truth, and one man’s truth is another man’s lie.

 

Truth is a fluid and constantly changing thing. It varies from one person to another, making it impossible for there to be such a thing as a universal truth or a universal right and wrong. We all think that we are right, the enlightened or at least the educated. We believe that we know what’s best for others as well as ourselves and as a result try to enforce our truth on others to believe the same truth that we do. It is with this delusional belief, that we know what truth is, that people do the most harm. Countless wars have been fought, bodies buried, hearts broken, and minds destroyed in the attempt to enlighten the rest of the world. Truth, and knowledge, are nothing but trouble and the only thing that they result in is widespread misery and unhappiness. It would be a service to the world if we never tired to share our knowledge ever again.

 

I live my life comfortable with the fact that I know nothing. When it’s required or asked for I give my opinion, but I never pretend to know anything for certain. In fact, I usually am the first one to tell you how little I know and that my opinion means nothing and has no weight to it.

 

The worst thing in the world—well, the worst thing after pretending to know anything—is telling someone that they know more than they do. It’s better to pretend to be stupid, so people don’t expect much of you. And that way, when you do manage to get something right they actually care and are proud of you. But when people think you’re smarter then you actually are, then all you’re destined for is disappointment, awkward silences, and anger with no real direction.

 

I have received countless report cards and comments from teachers reading “Annalisa has so much potential, if only she would work a little harder” when in reality I’m working my butt of to the point where I forget to eat and cannot sleep. Even when I go to a teacher or an adult asking for help because I don’t understand something, the usual response is “You know this, just work on it for a bit”. All of those good intentions, meant to motivate and encourage me, only made me withdraw further. How come when others asked for help they received tutorials where the teacher actually worked with them? Grades fell, teachers became disappointed, parents became angry, and I failed to care. Each individual knows what they can and cannot achieve, so the best thing you can do is take what people say and believe it, or if you hate someone tell them they know more than they actually do.

 

People get too caught up with trying to figure out what the answer is that they miss some of the truly beautiful things in life. We’re too worried about getting the right answer on a test that we stop enjoying the subject that we’re trying to learn. We forget about the process, and loose the enjoyment in making something that when we finally complete the task we’re disappointed and wonder why we did all that work for nothing.

 

 I know nothing, and shall always know nothing. That is the only thing that consistently gives me comfort. Knowing nothing allows me to step back from the word and remember what is important and what isn’t. It allows me to step back from reality and all of it’s “truths” and figure out what is necessary for me to be happy and stay sane. But knowing nothing isn’t for everybody, so go find your own comfort. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author's Note

This is loosely (actually just barely) based on the structure of the This I Believe series that NPR did a while back.

Reviews

[No one]

I liked the message that some questions are better left unanswered, and that we must not spend so much time searching for meaning in life that we wake up one day in the near future and realize that we'd never really remembered to LIVE.

But when people think you're smarter then you actually are, then all you're destined for is disappointment, awkward silences, and anger with no real direction.