There’s a temptation in our culture to always have something to say. We feel compelled to always have an opinion, regardless of how much knowledge we actually have on the topic.
How often is it blatantly apparent when someone is trying to showcase how Smart they are and how much they Know? Does anyone gain anything in these situations? All too often it’s a mask to hide what we don’t know, and turns off the possible of learning anything at all.
Years ago, I remember watching a video of Stephen Colbert interviewing Daniel Craig. In the interview, Stephen points out that Daniel “…doesn’t like talking about things he doesn’t know anything about.”
More often than not, the smartest person in the room is the one listening, silently admitting that they don’t know, but would very much like to learn something about it.