You Don’t Know Jack

Transcript

Welcome, beautiful thinkers! Let’s talk about “You Don’t Know, Jack.”

Because a lot of people like to refer to Socrates.

And they say, “the only thing I know is that I know nothing.”

Actually, there is whole long story about that. I don’t know how historically accurate this is. But it went something like this: People were very curious. They believed that Socrates was the wisest man in the world. But they couldn’t be sure.

So they traveled, I think, perhaps somewhere near Carthage.

And they saw an oracle, this oracle is this. It’s like a pit where strange gases come up from this pit, and people around there get sort of high from these strange gases. And then they interpret the visions that they have.

And normally, when somebody would ask a question of the Oracle, the Oracle would respond with these very vague answers, like something like a fortune cookie, that didn’t directly tell you the answer to your question that at least provided some provocation.

So you could try to figure it out yourself.

Or trying to think about it from a different angle, maybe providing some. or stimulating some cognitive flexibility.

So you could solve your problem for yourself.

Then in this case, the men went to the Oracle, and they said, “Oh, great Oracle, please tell us. Is it true? Is Socrates the wisest man in the world?”

And the Oracle came up with this answer and return to her a slip of parchment.

And it simply said, “Yes, Socrates is the wisest man in the world.”

And when they return, they went went to see Socrates.

And they said to him, “Look, this is what the article has sent to us, like, I can hardly believe it. It’s highly unusual. But the word is you are the wisest man in the world.”

And Socrates was kind of skeptical.

But at the same time, he treated the words of the Oracle very seriously.

This is perhaps a cultural thing, or perhaps he had known, seen from his own experience that the Oracle spoke the truth.

So he started to question himself.

And he said, “How could it possibly be? Because I am just a man. Just a man, right? There’s nothing particularly special about me. So how could it be?”

And he went, exploring and investigating and talking to other wise men.

And finally he figured it out.

He said, “Ah, here’s the thing. Nobody knows anything. The only thing that makes me different is the fact that I know that I know nothing.”

Now, the other day, I turned 38 years old. And I was in the gym with my buddy Anthony fare. And I said to him, y}”You know, I feel older. Not sure I feel wiser. Actually, sometimes I get the feeling that I really don’t know Jack.” And he said, “Well, at least you know that just like Socrates”.

And I do have this feeling sometimes.

Maybe it’s a kind of fear, perhaps, kind of imposter syndrome.

Maybe that’s an element to that.

I think I will probably have this fear for the rest of my life, or this mild discomfort. Whatever it is.

This knowledge that as I expand my knowledge the more I realize, I don’t know anything.

The more I expand my knowledge, the more I realize there is to learn. Even about simple things, I’m reading this book, it’s called “Difficult Conversations.”

A fascinating book, talking about things.

For example, talking about when we have difficult conversations, perhaps there are actually three conversations going on.

One is the conversation about the facts, the conversation about what happened, then this conversation about our emotions, which a lot of the time we don’t talk about directly.

And then there’s a conversation about our identity, which is even more below the surface. And I’m reading this book and thinking these things in here.

So simple, some of these things that I feel like I should have known.

I’ve been trying to communicate with people for years.

But I really have no idea about this stuff.

This is like the scales falling from my eyes.

Once again, I realize now I really don’t know anything.

I get this tattoo on my left shoulder about two and a half years ago, of the fools card from the Tarot to try to constantly remind myself every time I see myself shirtless in the mirror, I think, “Okay. So I really don’t know anything. And especially when I embark on a new journey on a new path, I do need to humble myself a little. So I can allow the new knowledge to come in.”

That feeling, that strange discomfort, that fear, that I really don’t know anything. I don’t think it will ever go away.

I think I’ll always have the knowledge, or the gut feeling that maybe things are just a little bit out of my understanding, maybe a lot out of my understanding.

And I think the best thing we can do with that is embrace it.

The only thing to do is to be comfortable with that constant discomfort, to know, deeply, to embrace the fact that you don’t know, Jack.