Release Date: September 2, 2022

DISCLAIMER: Some hard and difficult topics. If you are easily offended, this may not be for you. There are sometimes some hard topics and hard truths, and if you are not ready for it, i suggest maybe to revisit at a later time when you do feel more prepared.

Saying “I Don’t Know”

WELCOME TO ECLIPSED VIEWS

Where we take difficult topics and try to identify what’s blocking your view. Try to unlearn and rewash and possibly rewire our brains since we don’t seem to be having much luck changing other people’s views. Full Topics List

STREET EPISTEMOLOGY - SOCRATIC QUESTIONING

I got interested in doing these podcasts through Street Epistemology, which is a mode of Socratic questioning. You are asked questions to challenge your views, to see if the method you used to reach that conclusion is a reliable method to arrive at a conclusion.

How did you come to that stance?

Are those reasons legitimate enough to continue to hold that stance?
Is this process a useful and efficient process to figuring out the truth

CONJECTURE

Conjecture - inference or opinion formed based on insufficient evidence.

How often do we form opinions based on insufficient evidence? How do you know when you have enough evidence to form an opinion?

BIASES

Bias - a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment

We are all citizens, colleagues, professionals, consumers, friends, family-members, teachers, learners, human beings first. How aware are you of your biases when forming opinions? Does a credential or life-experience make a person more or less credible? Can you keep the same level of open-mindedness after learning such a thing?

WHAT’S BLOCKING YOUR VIEW?

So we form an opinion. What would it take for you to change your opinion? If it has changed, what DID it take? Could it change again?

Topic - Saying “I Don’t Know”

Guest is Chuy. A close friend since 2005.

Originally, this topic came to mind because I see people not using it enough. Meaning they would pretend to know more than they actually did.

Then I was made aware of the flip side, that people also use it as a dead end. Someone may ask you something you DO know about and say, "I don't know," as a means to not engage further.

So how do you know how much you don’t know about a subject?

Scenarios

State your position. At the end we come back and see if the needle moved at all.

People use the phrase, “I don’t know.” Some may be overusing it, commonly when trying to hide information. Meaning that you do know but would rather not say. There is also under using it. When you truly do not know, but pretend to know. Perhaps from fear of coming across as unintelligent, or incompetent. On a scale of -10 to 10. How do you use the phrase, “I don’t know?” -10 overusing it and withholding information, 0 being honestly not knowing, 10 under-using it and pretending to know information.
- Sal -4/-1
- Vero 3/0
- Chuy 2/4
On a scale of -10 to 10. How do you see others use the phrase, “I don’t know?” -10 over-using withholding information, 0 being honestly not knowing, 10 under-using it and pretending to know information.
- Sal 5/5
- Vero 7/7
- Chuy 7/7

Size of the Building

This scenario popped in my head to try to grasp how much you may not know. Can you tell the size of the building just by the room you are in. For example, say you are kidnapped and wake up in a room. Let’s say this room is set up like an escape room. The room does not have any windows. You have to solve puzzles to get out. And as you solve the puzzles, you get out of that room and lets you start exploring the building. You start getting an idea of how big this building could be, and if you are close to getting out or discovering all of it. But, could you tell from where you first started?

Questions to think about?

Shakespeare famously wrote “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”
Socrates - “The only true Wisdom is knowing that you know nothing.”
Impact on society from overusing “I don’t know.” How does it impact it when we withhold information, and impact when we pretend to know information?
Are there any instances when you should say it to withhold information? Or to pretend to know something?
Any particular areas/groups/organizations you see this occurring more than others? Who uses it too much? Who doesn’t use it enough? Politics, Religion.

So how about you? How often do you use the phrase, "I don't know?" And, how do you use it?

Saying "I Don't Know"