21. Difficulty in delimitation of own knowledge

I do not know what I do not know. It is tempting to subconsciously think that we personally know everything that is important to know, even in outline. This leads to a false sensation of omniscience, conducive to intellectual blindness and an unwillingness to accept new data. Albert Camus said that the only system of thought that is “faithful to the origins” is one which “notes its limits”. We should always be keeping an eye out for unknown unknowns, and realize that they must exist, even if we cannot currently imagine what they are.