Three Little Words

This one qualifies for posting on a bike related blog under the auspices of things-I-think-about-while-riding. Yes, with such loose restrictions, I could write about anything, which suits me. 

In the English language, there are three words which people, particularly men it seems, have a particularly hard time saying. They've not big words, nor at all difficult to pronounce, but the pronouncement of the statement is too often disagreeable to people. That's a shame, because it can be a meaningful thing to say, full of value to both the speaker and hearer, and I've come to think of them as some of my favorite words. I'm thinking of the phrase, "I don't know."

See, I said it, and it wasn't hard at all. My head didn't even spontaneous combust in flames, and while that may make me less of a "man," again, suits me fine. I'm a big fan of those words, and I've been know to applaud salespeople who use them in response to my technical questions, especially if they follow with, "...but I can find out." They sure beats the ones who feel the need to present as experts and stumble through an answer that reveals they didn't even understand the question.

Likewise, when I used to tutor math, I adopted the practice of starting questions with, "Do you know...?" When that was met was more blank stare than answer, I'd point out, "No is a good answer to that question." In addition to satisfying my old education professor's edict that a teacher should never ask a question knowing the answer, that technique informed me of a topic that needed more instruction. I might even point out to my students that they needn't worry about disappointing me.  Not knowing was good job security for me!

So of late, as I ride and contemplate many aspects of my life, my mistakes, and my recovery from them, I've latched onto I-don't-know as an apt summation of my thoughts, and that isn't a bad thing. Not knowing means many, many possibilities, including the chance to learn and someday know. I like learning, and heck, I hope I've learned to pause, take a few seconds, and avoid months of recovery.

To so many things, I say, I don't know, and I prefer to see that as an opportunity, not a problem, and happily, I've learned (yay!) I'm not alone. I highly recommend this To the Best of Our Knowledge episode, and if you aren't familiar with the program, the best recommendation I can give is: if they can make the subject of cosmetics (another episode) fascinating to me, they must be onto something.