Knowledge

Imagine a sphere, a small one. A balloon will do, just barely inflated. The interior of the balloon is what we know. As we increase our knowledge, our information, the balloon expands. As it does the exterior surface of the balloon increases. What we do not know is outside the balloon.

As we expand this sphere with what we continue to acquire as knowledge what we do not know also increases.

The more we know the more we do not know.

Every discovery brings with it an increase in ignorance. The more we discover the more there is to discover.

This is process that never ends.

Knowledge is another form of consciousness. We become aware of something new as when we became aware of the double helix of our genetic material. The discovery was startling and exciting and as time passed we found that there were new areas of the unknown.

This principle applies to the large area of human knowledge but it also applies to each individual.  This is not comfortable as we do not like uncertainty. One example is learning a new language. As we learn the language we discover that there is an ever expanding awareness of areas to be learned such as the poetry of the new language. Scholars of that language know this process very well as they may devote their entire life to the study of that language.

Another example is usually attached to love. We may love a person and as time passes we discover that we really do not know the loved one. The mystery and richness of the other person is infinite.

The same applies to our attempts to know ourselves. That, too, has the same process of unending discovery. It is impossible to really know oneself. The saying, ‘Know thyself’ is a cruel command as it is not able to be done.

A concept called ‘closure’ is false. There is nothing closed. It is all open, unto ages of ages.