Ignorance is your strength. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Understanding begins with a willingness to sound foolish.

Today’s essay explores dumb questions worth asking.

Then: a podcast episode about responsible consumption.

By the way, I’m writing this missive from a charming little coffee shop in Chelsea, the morning after a delightful How to Let Go event in New York. Big thanks to everyone who came last night. The tour wraps up for the year in Los Angeles on December 11. Tickets just went on sale.

Dumb Question

Joshua Fields Millburn

There are no dumb questions, but the best questions are ignorant questions.

A decade ago, when my daughter was only three, she wasn’t very knowledgeable about the world—she didn’t know a thing about geometry, geography, or game theory—and yet she taught me how to be smarter.

Every time she asked a seemingly silly question—Where does the sun go at night? What happens to us before we’re born? Why do people have to go to work?—her curiosity forced me to pause and reconsider what I thought I knew.

The smartest adults I know are equally curious. They ask ignorant questions despite their culture's fear of judgment, scorn, or ridicule:

Why do we need to be busy?
How do I know when I have enough?
What if I’m wrong?

Their ignorance is their strength.

At three, my daughter wasn’t worried about sounding smart. She simply wanted to understand.

—JFM

THE MINIMALISTS PODCAST

"You can care without carrying the burden."

Read 11 new maxims in the show notes

EP. 560 | THE RESPONSIBILITY

This week we talk about talk about responsibilities that aren’t ours to carry, the problem with ethical purity tests, 50 things a minimalist doesn't buy, and more. Listen on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or Patreon.