Ignorance is bliss. Great saying. That phrase goes all the way back to a poem written by Thomas Gray in the mid-1700’s. It gets even better when you learn the rest of the line. The whole thing is: “Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.” This isn’t a column about politics, but it sure does describe many of our “go-along-to-get-along” politicians, doesn’t it?

On the other hand, way back in the ’70’s, I took a picture of a sculptor who visited the Warren Art League. He was actually carving stone! I was ignorant about that and told him I never knew how it was done. He said. “There is no shame in ignorance. Suppose you took a man from the jungles of the Amazon and put him up in a posh New York Hotel. Suppose he broke up the valuable antique furniture, rubbed two sticks together and started a fire in the living room. Suppose he grabbed the neighbor’s best-in-show poodle and roasted it for supper. Is he ignorant?”

Hmmmmmm the guy is certainly ignorant of our ways, but a genius at survival. Ignorance and intelligence aren’t two ends of the same scale. 60 Minutes aired a segment where they actually did take refugees from a relatively primitive area of the world and moved them into an apartment somewhere in the U.S. They had never seen a stove before, They were completely ignorant of something that seems second nature to us. And when their sponsor showed them how the gas burners worked, the three or four guys backed up a little, and laughed, wide-eyed, while one reached toward the burner. He felt the heat, pulled his hand back and explained what he learned in his language to the nodding heads of his buddies. Then they all tried the knobs. They were smart, anxious to learn, and moved from ignorance to an understanding of our cooking system in minutes.

As for me, I’m not ashamed of my ignorance of some things. I know nothing about contemporary movies. I know nothing about how computers work. I don’t know what is in the 147 menus of my digital camera. I don’t hesitate to call a plumber or an electrician when something happens at the house. Oh, I’ve had the opportunity to learn this stuff, but it hurts my brain (and sometimes my fingers, and usually my wallet.), so I’ll actually use my ignorance as a reason to get help! See, no shame.

Then there are the things about which I no longer wish to remain ignorant. Like grammar – that sentence would sound and read better as: “Then there are the things I no longer want to remain ignorant about.” But the first sentence is grammatically correct.

If you don’t want to remain ignorant about a subject, do some research, take a class, find a mentor. What you will realize is that if you are really interested in the subject, you’ll learn plenty very quickly.

The joy in this is that you will gain confidence, respect, and a reputation for being wise. That’s a layer above knowledge because what you know is based on something beyond limited experience, gut feeling, hunches, and popular opinion.

Think about the truly wise people you know. They’re the ones who have learned by their significant experience. That means both good and bad experiences, by the way. They have practiced what they have learned until they have finely-honed skills and opinions. You know people like this, right?

Psychologist Abraham Maslow developed his “Hierarchy of Needs” in the 1950’s and 60’s. His idea is generally depicted with a pyramid diagram. The idea is that mentally healthy people move up toward the peak as they age and learn. At the bottom, the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter. Then feeling safe, then establishing healthy relationships, then having self-esteem. And at the top, “Self-actualization.” Included at that level are such things as morality, creativity, purposefulness, and the need (remember, it’s a hierarchy of NEEDS) yes, a NEED, to share what’s been learned with others.

Thing is, some people, especially some of us guys, find it difficult to reach out to share in that fashion. Might be because they haven’t run into enough guys asking them to share their wisdom. The good news, though, is that if people are at the top of the pyramid, they really are ready (read NEED) to share. Don’t be ashamed! Ask!