I don't know
Faking intelligence is a cultural thing I've seen so many times. People pretend to understand and be knowledgeable about something when really they’re very clueless. They do this so they don't look stupid. Pretending to be smart is way easier than actually being knowledgeable.
This is still ignorance, a byproduct of a fear of not having an answer to something. Instead of admitting you don't know something, you just make a confident sounding answer and you're avoiding the question.
The longer you keep pretending you know the answer to something, the longer the gap becomes between your actual knowledge and the knowledge you claim to have. Eventually you reach a point where it's impossible to keep it up any longer.
Faking knowledge looks like a safe zone but takes a lot more guts than saying you don't know the answer. Saying "I don't know" especially in a room full of people is difficult. To actually fill your cup, you must first understand what being full means. Even if the answer to a question is one that you have, you need to be up front about it. The best thinkers love being direct about what they know and don't know. Not knowing an answer is not a reflection of your intelligence but rather a way of helping you develop and grow.
Let’s talk about embarrassment. Have you ever thought about where it comes from? We aren't born feeling bad about not knowing something. Children are naturally curious and do not hold back. So what happens over time? Why do we become fearful to ask questions? The answer is we let others crush our innate human curiosity and we unfortunately internalize it.
The not knowing does not matter. The only thing that does is pretending you know. What makes you ignorant is the unwillingness to learn. The minute you decide to learn is the minute you remove the power the ignorance once held.
You have to remove you from the answer and admit that you don't know it. I know that’s what real knowledge is.
