The prominent Jewish scholar and philosopher Maimonides wrote, “Teach your tongue to say, ‘I don’t know,’ and ye shall progress.” The Jewish religion places a high value on education and knowledge, so where does this line come in and why do we care about it? Unlike the majority of our everyday thoughts, “I don’t know” is uncertain; it’s admitting to ourselves our frailty, humanity, and humility. We are open to not having an answer—and certainly not having all of them—so we are free to receive input. Admitting you don’t know is the path to knowledge and even wisdom.
Creativity comes from this space as well. Creativity presumes nothing. “Reality” is a suggestion, and we live in a cartoon world where everything and anything is possible. Freed from concrete restraints, we can enter a creative state of not knowing, open to all opportunities, all answers, all realities—a world of questions instead of rote, knee-jerk answers. When we allow ourselves this childlike view, we’re open to a rich universe of imagery and ideas to play with. Questioning is the definitive tool for creativity.
My pal Richard Wilde runs the design department of the School of Visual Arts in New York. Every year he asks his students a simple question: “Is there life on other planets?” The majority of their responses have to do with percentages of possibilities vis-à-vis numbers of stars, something Carl Sagan said, and a lot of other bullshit. Only those open and honest with themselves are able to say, “I don’t know.” This is the only true answer.