# The Joy of Not Knowing - Response By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2025-10-27 The cornerstone of Socrates's philosophical method is the belief that only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. If one believes this, then joy and wisdom are intrinsically linked. Knowing you know nothing results in wisdom and the opportunity for endless joy via learning what one doesn't know. At first glance, this seems to suggest that learning diminishes wisdom - but this misunderstands the paradox entirely. Any one who's studied something deeply realizes just how little one knows. One can know an awful lot compared to one's peers while still possessing the wisdom that they know nothing and the joy that there is always more to learn. The truth lies in the paradox. But, within the context of our current society and the codification of education, this paradox presents an unacceptable outcome. As a result, it is ignored. However, given how it ended for Socrates, one could argue that it's something that has existed long before our current society came into existence. So, as one rebels by embracing the paradox and the pressure to "know" attempts to box one into a corner, the question that emerges for leaders in organizations: how does one lead through questions when those being led desperately want answers, and the systems evaluating your leadership measure you on decisiveness rather than wisdom? I've discovered the answer lives in the same place as the rebellion, in choosing joy over performance. My younger self led by knowing, delivering answers quickly to demonstrate competence. Today, I sit in silence while my team works through problems I could solve in moments. The discomfort is real, but in that silence, something unexpected happens. Not the grim satisfaction of "building their skills", that's just commodified learning. What emerges is genuine joy. Theirs when they figure it out. Mine when they find approaches I hadn't considered. When I refuse to give answers, I'm not withholding knowledge. I'm protecting joy. The joy our educational institutions have worked so hard to strip away, replacing it with anxiety and the pressure to already know. My team doesn't always appreciate this. Performance reviews have no category for "protects the joy of learning." But occasionally, after someone's worked through genuine confusion, I see that flash of delight that comes from figuring out, not being told. This is rebellion on two fronts. The personal rebellion in not knowing by pursuing learning as an end in itself rather than a commodity. And the relational rebellion in refusing to treat others' learning as something to expedite or control. Both require abandoning the performance of knowledge. Socrates faced hemlock for this stance. I face only frustrated team members. But the principle is the same: institutions built on the illusion of knowability will always resist those who insist on the joy of not knowing. That joy can't be measured, can't be commodified, can't be standardized. The joy of not knowing isn't just about what we permit ourselves to explore. It's about what we permit others to discover. And in a world obsessed with answers, creating space for questions might be the most joyful rebellion of all. #### Related Items [[Joy]] [[Leadership]] [[Learning]] [[Socrates]] [[Organization]] [[Knowledge]] [[Rebel]]