Gaining knowledge is what has helped us succeed as a species. Are there circumstances, though, where ignorance is preferred?
Across the planet, different species fit a particular environmental niche. The native plants or animals tend to be adapted for the environment, to stay warm in cold temperatures, or have long necks to reach the tall trees, and so on.
Humans are, on paper, a middling species, at best. We’re not the strongest, or the fastest. By almost every measure, there is some other type of life form that is better.
One of the few exceptions has to do with gaining and retaining knowledge. We puzzle out why things work the way they do. That has led to a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the world and how it works.
And once we learn something, we share it with others. We write it down, or speak it aloud as much and as far as we can. That combination, figuring stuff out and then telling everyone about it, has allowed our species to spread across the globe and thrive like few other animal species have.
Is knowledge, though, always a good thing? Once learned, it is not possible to unlearn something. Are there instances where knowing something is objectively, or subjectively, a bad thing?
For example, would we be better off not knowing how to make atomic weapons that could destroy the world several times over? On a more personal level, does it serve any benefit to learn that your co-worker makes significantly more money than you do? Or that your partner cheated on you years ago?
Can you think of things, from your own life or your imagination, where you have regretted learning something? Is more knowledge always a good thing?
Related questions: Does knowledge have inherent value? What can you learn from loss? Is faster better?
I’m conflicted. Do I want to know more? Absolutely! For example, I want to learn more about heirloom vegetable gardening to better steward rare seeds and increase the amount of real, good food consumed in my household. I also want to know more about persuading people about my passion for ending homelessness. I love that I am constantly learning about both of these things. And I won’t stop learning and acting upon my newly acquired knowledge.
That said, I think it’s essential to raise two examples of when more knowledge is not better.
The first is that the desire to know more can lead to paralysis on the individual or small group level. Someone or a group may labor too long, hoping to learn as close to everything as possible about a topic before acting. This can lead to frustration and eventually missed opportunities to use the adequate information already acquired to act upon what is known.
The second caution of knowing too much pertains to who gets to use acquired information. Is knowledge power? Sure. Well, I contend that the use of information is power. And there’s the rub. Some information is only useable by those with power and resources. And that power and resources can be used to control me and ordinary folks or can be used towards ends I disagree with.
Regarding the former, I am not, for the most part, okay with tech giants using algorithms to control what I see on my social media feeds. Regarding the latter, I despise that industrial giants can appropriate pure research conducted through government funds to control agriculture even more than it is now—forcing small farmers out of business while dangerously restricting our food supply options even more than they already are.
I could provide more examples, but you get the picture.