The Humility of Learning
As we surpass our father’s skill,
Our sons will shame our own;
A thousand things are hidden still
And not a hundred known
-Alfred Lord Tennyson
Learning requires humility on many levels. To start learning something in earnest, we first have to accept that we do not know it. We may have heard people talk about the subject, and we may have a fleeting idea of what the subject is about, but when we look at the situation in all honesty, it is clear that we do not yet know the subject. Approaching a new subject or topic of interest from any other stance can significantly compromise our ability to learn.
Next, there is the humility that reminds us of the incompleteness of available knowledge. As Tennyson says above, even if we know everything that is humanly known about the topic, there is still a lot that is as yet undiscovered. Our knowledge of the universe and everything within it is very limited. Each generation builds upon this reservoir of knowledge. And yet, we will never know everything there is to know.
And finally, there is the humility that everyone has something to teach us, not just the experts. As Dr. Emily Chamlee-Wright says in this video, humility is one of the key design principles of a good conversation. She says:
“Now with humility, I don’t just mean deference to expertise, right, that you are so much smarter at that thing so I’m going to have humility with respect to you on that thing because you know more about it than I do. Now maybe that’s true, right? But that’s not the kind of humility I’m talking about, because that’s a sort of humility that could come to an end, right? I could learn as much about that particular topic, and therefore with that kind of thinking I would say I can set aside my humility. It’s true whether one person is the expert or not. Right? We have the opportunity to gain in knowledge, to learn from anyone. With this way of thinking about humility, anyone can be your teacher, whether it’s your professor, or whether it’s an elementary school student who’s lived on the planet in different circumstances than you lived on the planet. That elementary school student can teach you something that you can only get by talking with them. That’s that deeper level of humility.”
Acquiring knowledge is a constant process. It is a journey that never ends. We can never consider ourselves to have arrived. We are always merely travellers.
