The Error of Certainty

As a very young adult, I tended to grab at bits of information, forming opinions and stating them with all the finality I could muster. Then, I matured into “knowing what I don’t know.” For some years, my statements were peppered with: I think, I believe, what if, do you think, perhaps. I was communicative, but modest.

In late middle age, however, I sense a tendency to revert to stating my ideas as facts without regard for my level of actual knowledge. Something “rings true,” and the impulse is to make it so with my voice. After all, there is the wisdom of age to respect. I am aging steadily, and so I should know things, right?

I say "tendency,” as I do not intend to give in to this. The surest way to not be heard is to speak an absolute. This is also guaranteed to prevent my learning more on the topic at hand. It effectively prohibits the exchange of ideas.

I will read and listen to information that does not support my point of view, in hopes of either making a change in light of new knowledge, or of clarifying my original position.

It’s necessary for me to discern between actual facts and my perceptions of them. I can state a fact, but I need to put forward a perception or idea. Lots of words, lots of terms, but it boils down to my again recognizing what I don’t know before turning my thoughts into statements of fact.