I read an article which is an interview with Dr. Ashok Vaidya which has this title and I am compelled to think on this topic because it is such a wonderful thought!
We need to read the title carefully. The title does not say that science means saying I don't know. But it says that Science means learning to say I don't know.
Not knowing is neither crime nor a credit but generally people consider that if they will give this answer of "I don't know", they are making some crime and hence as per a source, people in India misguide instead of saying that they don't know if they are asked a question whose answer they are not aware of.
Saying I don't know does not mean shrugging off responsibility always. It can mean so many other things. It means that the person is honest. It means that the person probably knows something other but not this particular information. It also means that the person is not interested in that field and do not want to continue to think in the same line of logic.
One is not supposed to say that they don't know but they should learn to say it in a creative way. In the end no one knows everything and there is no one who does not know anything. So saying that we do not know simply means that we do not pass a particular standard of knowing about that issue in that field. It does not mean that we do not know anything at all.
My experience is, the more I say this sentence, the more I am inclined to solve that problem because I secretly feel guilty for not knowing something. Its possible that if some wrong answer is given, the person who asked the question will also forget it and the person who gave answer will also forget what he shared because he answered only for the same of answering. In contract a person who pauses and says that he does not know might think about it later and may take it up as a challenge to know the answer.
Saying I don't know is difficult. Hence people avoid saying it and give some wrong answer instead. We should throw away the burden to know everything.
I remember that when I met Himmatrao Bawaskar, he shared with me that if does not understand something about a patients symptoms, he asks them to wait and starts reading the book in front of them and tries to find out the correct diagnosis in front of patients! What a great level of honesty! I love such honest people from the bottom of my heart and my salute to them!!!
Let me tell you from my own experience what happens when you give this answer of I don't know. Nothing much happens most of the times. In most of the cases, the person asks you to find out the information. You request for some time to gain the information and next time you give information confidently. Let me share with you that in this process, people's trust increases on you. So though it might feel momentarily painful and embarrassing to show the ignorance, in the longer run, it is always the best policy. It prevents harm, it prevents damages arising out of actions one might take because of ignorance.
Naidu sir had said once that "No question is a silly question". So let's not be afraid to ask questions and when we are asked a question and if we are not aware of the answer, lets not be afraid to say (because we can always start the process of finding it anytime) - I don't know!
One is not supposed to say that they don't know but they should learn to say it in a creative way. In the end no one knows everything and there is no one who does not know anything. So saying that we do not know simply means that we do not pass a particular standard of knowing about that issue in that field. It does not mean that we do not know anything at all.
My experience is, the more I say this sentence, the more I am inclined to solve that problem because I secretly feel guilty for not knowing something. Its possible that if some wrong answer is given, the person who asked the question will also forget it and the person who gave answer will also forget what he shared because he answered only for the same of answering. In contract a person who pauses and says that he does not know might think about it later and may take it up as a challenge to know the answer.
Saying I don't know is difficult. Hence people avoid saying it and give some wrong answer instead. We should throw away the burden to know everything.
I remember that when I met Himmatrao Bawaskar, he shared with me that if does not understand something about a patients symptoms, he asks them to wait and starts reading the book in front of them and tries to find out the correct diagnosis in front of patients! What a great level of honesty! I love such honest people from the bottom of my heart and my salute to them!!!
Let me tell you from my own experience what happens when you give this answer of I don't know. Nothing much happens most of the times. In most of the cases, the person asks you to find out the information. You request for some time to gain the information and next time you give information confidently. Let me share with you that in this process, people's trust increases on you. So though it might feel momentarily painful and embarrassing to show the ignorance, in the longer run, it is always the best policy. It prevents harm, it prevents damages arising out of actions one might take because of ignorance.
Naidu sir had said once that "No question is a silly question". So let's not be afraid to ask questions and when we are asked a question and if we are not aware of the answer, lets not be afraid to say (because we can always start the process of finding it anytime) - I don't know!
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