Dear LPG,

I think that one of the most important lessons that one learns as we get older, is that you don’t know everything.  That said it is human nature that, when faced with a question that we don’t know the answer to, we try our best to say that without appearing ignorant.  At least we do if we are me, and I have a feeling I am not alone here.

Some friends and I had an interesting conversation recently, which made us think long and hard on the subject and, we came to very different conclusions.   There is the  notion that, responding to a question by stating that you don’t know what the answer is,   reminds us oldies that we are getting out of touch with the world and that it is leaving us behind.  There is a feeling that the world of knowledge is a bit like a bus that we have been passengers on for quite a long time and perhaps the next stop will be ours even if we don’t want to get off.  

Although I am of the opinion that there is so much more information available to us these days that it is impossible to know everything, whatever your age,  and anyone who feels the need to overload their brain with a bank of unnecessary facts will do themselves a serious injury!

Especially as we get older, I think that it is somehow expected that we are pretty ignorant and I am pretty sure that I am not the only one who feels the need not to be perceived in that way.  While pursuing one of the many habits that I have cultivated since giving up work and with that thought in mind, I Googled a couple of webpages that must support my theory because they have been written by people who have spent some time working out alternative ways of communicating the response.

So just in case there are a few times when you want to hide  your ignorance and sound a little more intelligent I have asked LPG to share a couple of webpages that might help.

EW, Downham.

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