A Sign of Intelligence is Knowing That You Indeed Know Nothing

And Now You are the "Smartest" of Them All

Yes, people are intelligent regardless of whether or not they know that we all really just know a whole lot of nothing. But to have true wisdom and be able to have others know that you are humble about your intelligence, knowing that we know nothing is a powerful realization that people really need to have. One that I personally had the other day.

I was actually talking to one of my dad's coworkers and we were discussing what I wanted to do when I graduated college and she casually mentioned to me that I should not worry about anything because she, being over the age of 50, still did not know anything really, even though she has lived a decent amount of time and has had many life experiences. I replied without thinking or even remembering Socrates' quote that "I guess that is how you really know if you are intelligent; if you can contentedly say that you truly know nothing." Sometimes it is hard to me to enunciate my thoughts eloquently, much less at all, so I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to share that thought with some finesse. Anyway, it was just really cool to be able to talk to somebody who is quite successful, openly admitting to me that she knows nothing at all in the grand scheme of things, and is yet living a great, happy life. 

And for those that are told their whole lives that they are smart, intelligent, or a genius, well... they will never be humble enough or wise enough to know that they are in fact not exactly what they have been told. Once they understand that we are a constant work in progress and not actually experts on anything, they might be able to live a more stress-free life. But what do I know? Oh right, I know nothing! (Couldn't help myself)

Now enjoy this lovely assortment of random pictures and gifs.

 You are very welcome!