The More We Learn, The Less We Know

in #philosophy7 years ago (edited)

This has been called "the learner's paradox". Humans have inhabited the earth for millions of years, according to modern-day science. Many of us now, and in the distant past, have spent a lot of time and put in a lot effort into trying to figure out how the Universe came into existence. We're still trying to get our heads around just how vast it is.

YouTube channel, RealLifeLore, has a mind-boggling video on how the Universe is bigger than we think.

The creator of this channel puts in a lot of effort to produce excellent quality videos which are very informative. I recommend you watch at least a few of his videos. Anyway, Albert Einstein said, "the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know". Socrates said, "I know that I know nothing". It should be clear that we still know close to nothing when you compare it to the infinite (theoretically) amount of knowledge that exists.

Does a normal human being have gaps on their knowledge? Of course. Even a person with a photographic memory won't have 100% accurate knowledge of historical events. Even if a historian specialized in let's say only European Diplomacy, they still would not know everything about European Diplomacy. Even historical records are not accurate and, often, there are different accounts about particular historical events. So, even just that little bit of knowledge we're aware of isn't perfect.

It wasn't too long ago that there was only black and white television. We didn't even have telephones not too long ago either. A hundred years is not even equivalent to like a split second when you compare it to infinity (infinite amount of time - present or past). As more and more information, knowledge, technology is created, our world becomes increasingly complex. To be able to fully comprehend all its complexities becomes difficult, or moreover, impossible.

The reason for this is because our existence is finite. The thinking and processing capacity of our brains is finite. So, it is impossible for us to process an infinite amount of knowledge or information. There's also something called the law of insignificance, which basically says that everyone is born at a certain time and they die at a certain time. That time period is so short compared to how vast and infinite the universe is that their existence is completely irrelevant.

Millennials often complain about information overload. Who can blame them? It seems like if you went to university even 5 years ago and then you open up the textbooks that have come out recently in that field, it seems like you only went to college to attend a few courses. That bachelors degree you earned 5 years ago seems like an associates degree. Millennials, it seems like, have more challenges to face since they have more knowledge to navigate through. We've also got way too many options as far selecting your major is concerned. With so many choices for just about everything, it's difficult to make decisions so we experience choice overload.

There are many things around us about which we don't know anything about except for what to put in (input) and what to expect in return (output). We know that we put food into a microwave and press some buttons to heat it. We've got our input (cold food) and our desired output (hot food). However, try sitting down and figuring out how the microwave works. Sure, you might even end up building your own microwave.

You can invest time and effort into figuring out how to even build your own car. However, it is impossible to do that with every single thing around us. So, we have to settle with that black box model pictured above. Even when you are learning to become a computer programmer, you use code and templates that have already been developed by programmers before you. In order to use this code, a programmer simply needs to know what type of input to provide before the code executes. And, what type of output to expect after the code finishes executing with the given input.

It might be worth noting that it is not necessary to be able to know how every single thing works. What's more useful is being able to use the right tools to accomplish what you are trying to accomplish. This could include, and is not limited to, discovering new things or even inventing new things.

Source:
https://maamarketingblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/29/the-more-we-learn-the-less-we-know-does-expertise-even-exist/

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@omarf Yeah, I agree with you.

I think we must use the heritage and all that stuff is given or available to use.

We shouldn't invest our tie in reinventing the wheel rather use the resources whats available and take another step towards success and also help other people around us to make this world a better place.

What do you say about it?

BTW I came across you from other post and liked our writing style. I follow you and upvote your post

Also I write about philosophy, spirituality and if you like to please take time to go through my post, hope you'd like it.

I agree. We should not try to reinvent the wheel. We should take what has already been done and improve upon it. Thanks for taking the time to read my post and commenting. I will follow you and check out your posts as well.

I forgot to tell you that I already follow you & upvoted your post and I'm there to give you a hand :)

Together we can move the mountains so my philosophy is to help each and other and grow

Thank you

You're welcome. Will be reading more of your posts soon.

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