Be Content to Appear Clueless or Stupid in Extraneous Matters

[DISCLAIMER]

As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.

Before delving into content of The Daily Stoic, I’d like to call your attention to a blogpost entitled IDK in which I stated about my experience growing up and being misinformed by various authority figures:

I was told there were no harmful effects of eating snow ice cream (fresh snow mixed with vanilla extract, granulated white sugar, and evaporated milk). However, given my current understanding about atmospheric pollution and processed sugar, I suspect otherwise.

Perhaps if adults had learned to dispute their unhelpful beliefs about saying “I don’t know” (IDK), I could’ve been spared the stupidity of having regurgitated the lies I was told.

For context, stupidity is the quality or state of being marked by or resulting from unreasoned thinking or acting. Alternatively, ignorance is the state or fact of lacking knowledge or comprehension of the thing specified.

Whereas stupidity implies that one knows better and nevertheless behaves irrationally (that which isn’t in accord with both logic and reason), ignorance merely infers that one doesn’t have adequate information in order to act in a manner well-suited for one’s own interests and goals.

For example, I now know that atmospheric pollution and processed sugar aren’t good for me. I’m not ignorant as I once was in childhood. Therefore, if I choose to eat snow ice cream as an adult, this would be a stupid decision.

Of course, some people know better and simply don’t care about the consequences of their actions. Regarding this matter, I stated in a blogpost entitled IDC (I don’t care):

Is it the case that you sincerely don’t care when expressing IDC narratives? Do you find that instead of relieving an uncomfortable experience you actually work yourself up into a more upset disposition?

I’ve found that sometimes individuals genuinely don’t care about specific people, places, or things. Other times these individuals lean on IDC narratives as a form of rationalization (the action of irrationally attempting to explain or justify behavior or an attitude with logical reasons).

Either way, it’s up to one’s own preferred outlook as to whether or not caring is warranted. With understanding of my perspective on both IDK and IDC narratives, I now turn toward The Daily Stoic. Authors quote ancient Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus who stated (page 44):

If you wish to improve, be content to appear clueless or stupid in extraneous matters—don’t wish to seem knowledgeable. And if some regard you as important, distrust yourself.

When considering this quote, I’m reminded of a group counseling professor from my graduate studies program in counseling. He advocated never holding oneself out as an “expert” in the field of mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”).

This is because, according to the professor, one will always remain ignorant about various matters within the field. The term expert refers to one with the special skill or knowledge representing mastery of a particular subject. Yet, the mental health field is ever-changing.

Thus, as I understood the professor’s advocacy, one cannot master a dynamic occupation or field of knowledge and would be wise to plead ignorance if or when such an admission is warranted. Regarding this approach to life, authors of The Daily Stoic state (page 44):

One of the most powerful things you can do as a human being in our hyperconnected, 24/7 media world is say: “I don’t know.” Or, more provocatively: “I don’t care.”

Most of society seems to have taken it as a commandment that one must know about every single current event, watch every episode of every critically acclaimed television series, follow the news religiously, and present themselves to others as an informed and worldly individual.

By the time I entered graduate school for social work, one lecturer advised students to keep abreast of current events. Her verbalized reasoning for doing so was something along the lines of, “Because you never want to appear as though you don’t know what clients are talking about.”

During that period of my life, I was quite content with my blissfully ignorant approach to information peddled by the Mockingbird media. I not only used an IDK outlook, I genuinely maintained an IDC perspective. About this view, authors of The Daily Stoic conclude (page 44):

How much more time, energy, and pure brainpower would you have available if you drastically cut your media consumption? How much more rested and present would you feel if you were no longer excited and outraged by every scandal, breaking story, and potential crisis (many of which never come to pass anyway)?

If one chooses an IDK or IDC attitude, in the interest of being content to appear clueless or stupid in extraneous matters, then I applaud this outlook. Even if I didn’t, one would be well within one’s own logical and reasonable perspective to tell me, “I don’t care what you think.”

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

Photo credit, fair use

References:

Daily Stoic. (n.d.). Translating the Stoics: An interview with “The Daily Stoic” co-author Stephen Hanselman. Retrieved from https://dailystoic.com/stephen-hanselman-interview/

Forbes, A. (2024, August 3). The philosophy of Epictetus [Image]. Retrieved from https://ofmindandbody.com/the-philosophy-of-epictetus/

Holiday, R. and Hanselman, S. (2016). The daily stoic: 366 meditations on wisdom, perseverance, and the art of living. Penguin Random House LLC. Retrieved from https://www.pdfdrive.com/the-daily-stoic-366-meditations-on-wisdom-perseverance-and-the-art-of-living-d61378067.html

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Wikipedia. (n.d.). Ryan Holiday. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Holiday