Intentional Ignorance, a Poor Life Strategy
Above, I said a certain example of intentional ignorance was sad to see. Allow me to further explain the "sad to see" part. It's sad to see because intentional ignorance is a poor life strategy. While it has certain internal benefits to the person who is intentionally ignorant, it does not produce good results in life.
Example: Years ago a businessman leased space next to us in our strip mall to open a new business. He next started his build-out, but did so without learning what the applicable city, county and state rules were.
The lease he signed with the landlord included a provision that he comply with all applicable regulations. If he read the lease at all, he chose to remain intentionally ignorant of the regs he was telling the landlord he would comply with.
As I spoke with him, it became obvious that this man was indeed ignorant of the rules that apply. When you sign a lease to open a new business, it is wise to research the rules, permits, requirements, etc. well in advance. He did not do this. At that point, it may not have been because he was intentionally ignorant. It was more likely he was innocently ignorant. He simply did not know.
But as things progressed, it became crystal clear to me that his strategy was to remain intentionally ignorant. When his lease told him of the rules and required his compliance, he chose to intentionally not read and understand the lease at all, or he chose to intentionally ignore the requirements for reasons that made sense to him.
The more reality confronted him, the more intentionally ignorant he chose to be. When he was told he had to have a building permit before he could begin work, he proceeded without one; spending a lot of money to redo the floor. When the city issued a stop-work order he chose to remain intentionally ignorant of the rules and make up his own explanations instead. They had it in for him, he said. There is a good-ol-boys network in place that does not want him to open a business, he said.
When he finally decided to get a building permit, reality struck again. This time it was because he needed another kind of license to serve the food and drinks he wanted to serve (at a side counter, not the main business). There again, he chose to remain intentionally ignorant of the truth, which was that the city would forcibly shut him down if he did not start complying with the rules.
After a few months of this painful city-inspector/tenant dance, he gave up and walked away bankrupt. He spent a bunch of money to improve space he did not own and left it behind for the next tenant to enjoy for free. He blamed everyone but himself for his pitiful circumstances. His intentional ignorance kept his ego intact and his wallet empty. He was absolutely right in his own mind and penniless in life.
It was sad to see. He repeatedly collided with reality as he tried and tried and tried. But he steadfastly refused to consider that there may be a truth out there that was beneficial to know and repeatedly invented explanations about what he wanted to be the real truth and the real motives and the real way other people are. For every clear fact from reality that hit him like a brick, he had an alternative explanation about what was really happening. To this day, he believes people had it in for him when the truth is he was too pigheaded to grasp simple and obvious truths, or to even try.
In political debate, intentional ignorance equally detrimental to those who maintain it, and beneficial to those who are highly skilled in manipulating the intentionally ignorant.
Above, I said a certain example of intentional ignorance was sad to see. Allow me to further explain the "sad to see" part. It's sad to see because intentional ignorance is a poor life strategy. While it has certain internal benefits to the person who is intentionally ignorant, it does not produce good results in life.
Example: Years ago a businessman leased space next to us in our strip mall to open a new business. He next started his build-out, but did so without learning what the applicable city, county and state rules were.
The lease he signed with the landlord included a provision that he comply with all applicable regulations. If he read the lease at all, he chose to remain intentionally ignorant of the regs he was telling the landlord he would comply with.
As I spoke with him, it became obvious that this man was indeed ignorant of the rules that apply. When you sign a lease to open a new business, it is wise to research the rules, permits, requirements, etc. well in advance. He did not do this. At that point, it may not have been because he was intentionally ignorant. It was more likely he was innocently ignorant. He simply did not know.
But as things progressed, it became crystal clear to me that his strategy was to remain intentionally ignorant. When his lease told him of the rules and required his compliance, he chose to intentionally not read and understand the lease at all, or he chose to intentionally ignore the requirements for reasons that made sense to him.
The more reality confronted him, the more intentionally ignorant he chose to be. When he was told he had to have a building permit before he could begin work, he proceeded without one; spending a lot of money to redo the floor. When the city issued a stop-work order he chose to remain intentionally ignorant of the rules and make up his own explanations instead. They had it in for him, he said. There is a good-ol-boys network in place that does not want him to open a business, he said.
When he finally decided to get a building permit, reality struck again. This time it was because he needed another kind of license to serve the food and drinks he wanted to serve (at a side counter, not the main business). There again, he chose to remain intentionally ignorant of the truth, which was that the city would forcibly shut him down if he did not start complying with the rules.
After a few months of this painful city-inspector/tenant dance, he gave up and walked away bankrupt. He spent a bunch of money to improve space he did not own and left it behind for the next tenant to enjoy for free. He blamed everyone but himself for his pitiful circumstances. His intentional ignorance kept his ego intact and his wallet empty. He was absolutely right in his own mind and penniless in life.
It was sad to see. He repeatedly collided with reality as he tried and tried and tried. But he steadfastly refused to consider that there may be a truth out there that was beneficial to know and repeatedly invented explanations about what he wanted to be the real truth and the real motives and the real way other people are. For every clear fact from reality that hit him like a brick, he had an alternative explanation about what was really happening. To this day, he believes people had it in for him when the truth is he was too pigheaded to grasp simple and obvious truths, or to even try.
In political debate, intentional ignorance equally detrimental to those who maintain it, and beneficial to those who are highly skilled in manipulating the intentionally ignorant.
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