Ignorance is defined as a lack of knowledge or information. Some people take offense when being referred to as ignorant because they confuse the meaning with "stupidity" or "being unintelligent", when in reality it is simply a state of unawareness. For example, I am completely ignorant to oceanography, which is the study of marine science.
All too many are ignorant of the impacts of food on their bodies. These are not stupid people; rather, they are simply unaware.
I am a believer that we must continually empty our minds, pretending that we know nothing in the name of constant and never-ending improvement. We must always learn and adapt over time. Our very existence has depended upon this principle. If we go around thinking we know it all and that we have it all, then there will never be any room for improvement and this is why we should at least pretend as if we know nothing when given the opportunity to learn. The following are some of my favorite quotes which illustrate that ignorance is definitely not bliss:
1. "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." - Derek Bok
2. "It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument." - William G. McAdoo
3. "If ignorance is bliss, why aren’t more people happy?" - Thomas Jefferson
4. "The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about." - Wayne Dyer
5. "Not ignorance, but ignorance of ignorance, is the death of knowledge." - Alfred North Whitehead
6. "Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is poverty. Ignorance is devastation. Ignorance is tragedy. Ignorance is illness. It all stems from ignorance." - Jim Rohn
7. “There is no worse blind man than the one who doesn’t want to see. There is no worse deaf man than the one who doesn’t want to hear. And there is no worse madman than the one who doesn’t want to understand.” - Ancient Proverb
8. "The unexamined life is not worth living." - Socrates
9. "Ignorance is not bliss. Bliss is knowing the full meaning of what you have been given." - David Levithan
10. "Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn." - Benjamin Franklin
11. "Be ever questioning. Ignorance is not bliss. It is oblivion. You don't go to heaven if you die dumb. Become better informed. Lean from others' mistakes. You could not live long enough to make them all yourself." - Hyman Rickover
12. "Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion." - Philip Wylie
13. "Many people, especially ignorant people, want to punish you for speaking the truth, for being correct, for being you. Never apologize for being correct, or for being years ahead of your time. If you’re right and you know it, speak your mind. Speak your mind. Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is still the truth." - Mahatma Gandhi
14. "You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant." - Harlan Ellison
15. "Ignorance is not bliss, ignorance is ignorance."
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Onward and upward,
Jordan Paris, NASM CPT
