THE PRICE OF IGNORANCE

“There is always a price to be paid for what you don’t know. You pay to get it or for not getting it.” - Terry Mante

YEARS ago, when I was at St. Peter’s Secondary School (now St. Peter’s Senior High School), I ventured into students politics. I aimed to be the school’s library prefect. There were three other contenders for that same position. I had very good policy propositions that I thought would prevail in the school’s political market. In the run-up to the elections, I did quite a good work interacting with small groups and individuals.

Then came the big day; the crowning moment. The day all aspirants were to deliver their final message to the entire student community. Without a plan, I stood in front of the school and I went dead. Everything in my head evaporated. I stood there and managed to mumble some stuff that I still don’t remember. The election results? You can guess.

Then onwards, I realised that what you don’t know is a big deal and can kill you. I did not realise hitherto that public speaking is an art that ought to be deliberately learnt. Even if you have something in your head, you should know how to spill it out. Subsequent to that experience, I picked up a copy of Dale Carnegie’s How to Develop Self-confidence Through Public Speaking and began my speaking course. Now I find that a substantial aspect of my professional life involves speaking to people. I give talks, interview people, moderate meetings and even teach people how to speak. Learning how to speak has become an integral part of my professional life. Imagine the opportunities I would have missed if I had not looked at that aspect of my personal development. I couldn’t become the Library Prefect of St Peter’s simply because of my ignorance. I didn’t know that I didn’t know how to speak.

That is life. Every space of ignorance in your life is a breeding ground for failure in certain aspects of your life. Is it possible that the state of deprivation of many third world economies is as a result of something the people and their leaders do not know? Have you considered why you may be broke? Maybe it’s because of something you don’t know. Why is it that people who are so much in love with each other could become fierce enemies? That is likely to be the price they are paying for something they didn’t know earlier or still don’t know.

There is always a price to be paid for what you don’t know. You pay to get it or for not getting it. You’ve got to find a way to cure your ignorance before it kills you. To do that, I offer four prescriptions.

1. Make a conscious decision. You have to decide to learn. Your resolve will impel you to take the necessary steps to knowledge. Jim Powell recounts what an associate of Thomas Edison said of the great inventor, “He spent his money buying apparatus and books, and wouldn’t buy clothing. That winter, he went without an overcoat and nearly froze.” Isn’t that ridiculous? Well, that was Edison’s decision. That was his price. You too must decide. Will you read or sleep? Funeral or study? Which will you sacrifice – party or library? Learning is a deliberate course of action that has its opportunity costs.

2. Be open-minded. All of us have prejudices. Most of the time, prejudices are not substantial. They are formed on the basis of misinformation or false perceptions. On the flip side, if we are liberal about our beliefs, we would be able to learn correctly.

3. Be conscious and honest about what you don’t know. Will Rogers thought that, “Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.” I definitely concur. There is no person who can claim to know everything. Ignorance is not wrong, although it can be costly. Honesty about our ignorance will position us to pursue knowledge.

4. Be eager to cure your ignorance. While I emphasise that we cannot know everything, we should not use that as a pretext to stop learning. Life is dynamic. New things emerge everyday and we have to consciously take steps to keep abreast of issues. What you don’t know can cost you your job, your friends or even your life. Don’t settle for ignorance.


© 2011 Terry Mante
PEDNET
Accra, Ghana