"There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know."—Donald Rumsfeld
No One Knows What the F*** They're Doing (or "The 3 Types of Knowledge")
11–20 of 84 posts
Re: No One Knows What the F*** They're Doing (or "The 3 Types of Knowledge")
#12Sometimes, in conversations with others, I hear them say with complete confidence stuff that I know is total crap. It's like I just can't get over how absolutely wrong they are and yet how absolutely right they believe they are. So I start wondering how many times I do exactly the same thing. I mean, how can I know what I don't know? How much is there? How do I even know if something I really believe is true or not?…
You can't argue against someone's reality. However, you can get them to believe in your reality. For example, what is easier - convince you a) that the Martians are attacking or b) that I believe the Martians are attacking? a) Convince the girl that she is interesting and sexy or b) convince her that you believe that she is interesting and sexy
b, and if they think they're not, neither. (based on personal experience) The second 'b' tends to come after some acceptance of the second 'a'.
Re: No One Knows What the F*** They're Doing (or "The 3 Types of Knowledge")
#13Talking about shit don't know you don't know without referencing Rumsfeld's "The Unknown" almost feels like plagiarism.
Re: No One Knows What the F*** They're Doing (or "The 3 Types of Knowledge")
#14"There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know."—Donald Rumsfeld
Žižek's fourth type of knowledge: "What he forgot to add was the crucial fourth term: the 'unknown knowns', things we don't know that we know, which is precisely the Freudian unconscious, the 'knowledge which doesn't know itself', as Lacan used to say."
Re: No One Knows What the F*** They're Doing (or "The 3 Types of Knowledge")
#15I'll come right out and say it: Most of the pleasure in my work comes from agreeing to do something I know I don't know, and then figuring it out.
Now, what disconcerts me is that, given the same situation, if I say "sure, I can do that" people believe me, but if I say "I don't know how to do it, but I can figure out" others hesitate. I think this has to do with most people wanting you to know a lot, instead of wanting you to know a lot of what you don't know. I'm a firm believer that the latter is far more useful.
Re: No One Knows What the F*** They're Doing (or "The 3 Types of Knowledge")
#16Re: No One Knows What the F*** They're Doing (or "The 3 Types of Knowledge")
#17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swan_theory
Did you read the book? If so, would you recommend it?
Re: No One Knows What the F*** They're Doing (or "The 3 Types of Knowledge")
#18Re: No One Knows What the F*** They're Doing (or "The 3 Types of Knowledge")
#19Sometimes, in conversations with others, I hear them say with complete confidence stuff that I know is total crap. It's like I just can't get over how absolutely wrong they are and yet how absolutely right they believe they are. So I start wondering how many times I do exactly the same thing. I mean, how can I know what I don't know? How much is there? How do I even know if something I really believe is true or not?…
Right or wrong, NOT acting is often a far worse sin. Do you live your life in hesitation, questioning your every move? The silver lining is that everyone is as equally wrong as you. The world rewards those who cause motion, who act. Energy excites.
It is also interesting to consider that you might be wrong about how wrong somebody is. What if you are both right, that you have not considered their issue in a context they perceive?
We perfectionists strive to be right and worry too much about being wrong. How complicated we make our lives.
Re: No One Knows What the F*** They're Doing (or "The 3 Types of Knowledge")
#20For me, the most worrying thing about working in technology has been how as I keep working, I learn more and more about technology. And it gets easier to forget how large that 'shit you don't know that you don't know' category is, compared to when I was a snot-nosed high schooler and painfully aware that I didn't know pretty much anything...
I'm still not sure how to go about maintaining that perspective. It would be nice if there was a reliable technique one could apply but I suspect it requires frequent 'oh, I just f--ked up' gut checks, like taking down a production website. Maybe the mark of a truly brilliant person is that they're able to maintain that perspective better than others?