Socrates And The Sponge

“I am wiser than this human being. For probably neither of us knows anything noble and good, but he supposes he knows something when he does not know, while I, just as I do not know, do not even suppose that I do. I am likely to be a little bit wiser than he in this very thing: that whatever I do not know, I do not even suppose I know.”  Socrates

When I was first introduced to the concept of negative numbers, I had a hard time understanding that something could be less than nothing. To me it seemed that a number with a negative sign in front of it was still a number that appeared to be greater than zero. After several explanations I finally grasped the concept and from then on it was obvious to me, a negative number looks up at zero on the path to the positive. It was much later in a philosophy class when I first read this quote from Socrates concerning knowledge and knowing. Almost immediately I saw the correlation to the mathematical concept of negative numbers. If you do not know and you are able to understand and admit that you do not know you are in a state of equilibrium. You are standing at zero where infinite negative meets infinite positive. The misguided soul that believes they know, but in fact does not, must first gain the understanding that they do not know in order to reach the place where knowledge begins. Work must be done and admissions made before any knowledge can be attained. The wise begin at zero; the unwise start in the negative.

The arrogance of youth is often times the culprit in the mistaken belief of knowing. Young people with little life experience and a fair amount of education can fool themselves into believing that they know all things important. In most cases, time and life will show them the folly of their youthful belief. As age creeps higher, bodies become old and less flexible but the human brain can defy age. The mind can maintain its freedom of movement if it is engaged on a regular basis. Old age seeps into this most vital of organs as intellectual curiosity wains. Once the eagerness to learn is gone and the rigidity of belief sets in, the mind begins to atrophy. New challenges and thoughts cannot survive in the tight space of an old and closed mind.

We all struggle at times with the rigidity of belief in the face of contrary evidence. In this intellectually stagnate condition, we latch on to a view or an entire belief system to make sense of a complicated world. Most do not want to admit that they don’t understand or are intimidated by those who give the impression that they know all. Ignorant allegiance to a belief or a person produces a lock-stepped echoing of ideologically driven opinions and views. Those who engage in this behavior are doomed to exist in a false costume of knowledge. The alternative is to search for something that gives us the courage and ability to admit we do not know and to seek the unbiased truth. The simple and yet evasive mental state that frees us to seek knowledge is intellectual confidence. The belief that, even though we do not currently know the answer, we are intelligent and capable of learning anything.

Certain naturally occurring species of sponges and synthetically produced versions have been used for centuries by humans for a variety of purposes. The absorbent and flexible properties of a sponge make it an excellent cleaning tool that, if maintained, can be used repeatedly. However, if a sponge is left unattended for a long period of time it will become hard and rigid. Liquids that it once easily absorbed will now run off as if it were a stone; the sponge becomes old and useless. The brain, more specifically the human mind, is very similar in this regard. If one uses their mind, invites knowledge and challenge, it will stay open to the discovery of facts and new ideas. But it must be kept flexible and ready to absorb new thoughts and entertain wonder. If the mind is left idle or worse, allowed to reject all things contrary to rigidly held beliefs it will harden; it will devolve into stone-like state, just like the forgotten sponge.

I created The Wrektangle to give voice to my thoughts through writing and then listen to others’ beliefs and ideas. There is no claim that I am correct in thought or conclusion. I start at zero knowing that I am just trying to understand. Testing my facts and the theories that spring from them by putting them out into the world for others to scrutinize. I am not here to singularly teach or learn but hopefully to do both. Through my writing, I have learned some very fundamental things about myself. I have gained the simple belief that I can think of an idea and write about it. I have learned that my introspection goes to a much deeper level when I put my thoughts and feelings out into the world. My essays have exposed some of my weaknesses and created in me the realization they are mine to navigate for the rest of my life. The whole exercise has been my attempt to stave off mental rigidity by challenging myself to think. As the youth of my body ebbs, I am merely trying to keep my mind, my sponge, pliable. It is my hope that those who read my words will gain some benefit in their own quest to learn new things and remain open-minded; for us all to embrace a life, often times spent standing at zero, confident and ready to step into the positive.