Michael Jordan, considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time, once stated, “I’ve missed more shots than I’ve made. I succeed because I fail.” Jordan knows that he is highly regarded in the world of basketball, so he is not shy about admitting his basketball failures.
In a similar way, highly intelligent people, in their voyage to acquire knowledge and learn as much as possible, discover that what they know is a fraction of what there is to know. They also realize that all intelligent people have huge gaps in their knowledge, and therefore feel no shame in admitting their lack knowledge in a particular area. Like Michael Jordan, they recognize that admitting to a gap in one’s knowledge is necessary before it’s possible to rectify the deficiency.
On the other hand, people who think of themselves as uniformed may be reluctant to admit a lack of knowledge for fear that people may regard them as uneducated or unintelligent. It’s important for all humans to recognize that everyone carries with them their unique set of facts and information and every highly educated person can learn something from an individual who is schooled in another area. If you planned to climb Mount Everest, who would you choose as your guide: a math professor? a great orator? or a Sherpa?
