When you do not know something , do you hesitate to admit this?

hi kalav, it gets challenging especially when you have a teaching job when students expect you to know a lot. I am not really a teacher by profession, but as a nurse I once had a teaching job for caregiver students. As much as possible, you must appear really knowledgeable infront of them. Of course, you also need to have "knowledge" on the subject matter to back up that knowledgeable appearance. As for me, if I really am clueless about something, or if a student tries to correct me, I would have to swallow that pride and admit my mistake, or apologize and promise to give them an answer some other time and that I would look that up in the book. At the beginning of a module, I try to brief my students the real essence of learning. Learning is not s one-way street. Teachers learn from students as well. If I commit an error in class, or if I sometimes appear dumb infront of them, they will understand and we work together students and teacher to make the necessary corrections and to arrive at an acurate answer.

From my point of view, we should have to admit if we don't know about a thing. Because, things might go worst if we are pretending to know everything. I taught kids once. And I often told them that I will always try hard to answer any question you have. But if I don't know, and I will someday, please be patient to wait for me searching the answer.

I agree with you and a lot of people who opt to admit that they do not know everything. The world is full of categories and we are never experts of everything. Therefore, one must not be too boastful as to know all answers and one must be humble to admit ignorance. There are some things that we normally do not know because we don't have a direct experience of it or our interest and focus is directed at other things. I always tell my friends or family if I don't know something and ask them for help whenever I want to understand some concepts. It's perfectly normal to not know everything so people shouldn't be embarrassed at all.

I have less difficulty saying "I have no idea!" than many people I know, but the exception is when I meet someone who appears to know me and I cannot for the life of me figure out who they are. Then I do not like to hurt their feelings by saying I do not even remember them, so I will buy a little time and hope the answer reveals itself rather than 'fessing up right away. But if it is a factual thing, then I am the one who exclaims, "Wow, let's go look that up!" But a short while ago one of my aunts called me on the phone (when the caller ID was not on!) and I could not recognize from the voice which one it was. I had it narrowed down to one of two! So I had to be very careful what I said, because these two do not like each other.

Hi kala, I would definitely admit if I do not know something and also if it interests me learn about it from others.I too know many people who pretend to know everything and have an opinion on every subject on this earth . I feel that ,it may be a basic feeling of insecurity which makes them do it ...all the best kala

I rarely admit that I don't know a thing. I hold this pride in me. When we talk about something that deals with vocabulary, I sometimes keep silent. And when I got the chance to surf the net, I will check the word out in an online dictionary. I don't really humble myself when it comes to that. It feels embarrassing, especially if I'm with my friends or in a social group. But, if I would be talking with my family, it's okay with me since I'm the youngest.

I see no point in continuing a conversation "in the dark" so of course I will ask for an explanation of anything I do not understand. For one thing, I want to learn and to know more, and asking questions also makes the other person feel good.

Hi, kalav56. No, I don't. I have no pride like that. I will say, honestly, that I don't know about something or how to do something. I have no shame in my game. If I don't know something, I will not act as if I am Miss Know-It-All. I would rather say that I don't know because then someone can help me out. And I can find out the answer for what I am unsure about.

yes way! i admit that i do not know something. rather than pretend that i am good at it. we don't have the monopoly of knowledge, we have to be humble and say that " i do not know how to do that" than i know everything. we are not a walking encyclopedia! ahahhaha...

I agree with you my friend.It's not taboo for me too, admitting that I don't know something. Who am I that I place my self to be " walking encyclopedia ". If I don't know something, I'd rather straight to tell whoever questioning me or in certain situation that I have no idea how to do it, I will ask help from people around me. Sometimes even they are smiling and their mimic telling me that I was naive or " lack of knowledge ", but it's okay. I will only get the shy filling one time, it's much better than doing mistake or get into harming situation. Sometimes, if I have a conversation with some smart person, I will tell them I'd like to learn much from them since I don't have any idea about this topic. Well, I am sure you will be harvesting a lot of great things if you make your self down to earth and not pretending knowing everything in this world.

hello kalav, No,i won't hesitate to ask if i do not know what they are talking about. It is always better to ask and admit things we never knew rather than pretending to have it known. It could save us from much more funny situation or humiliation. Have a good day always

Hi Kala, there is a level where your ego can get entangled. That is when this problem of admission or lack of admission comes in. Suppose you were cooking, and your maid comes in and says - no madam, dont do it like that, do it like this. I think you might be inclined to ask how do you know it. Then the poor lady will tell she saw it at another lady's house. But the same thing, if a friend comes in and suggests, or an elderly lady suggest, you will blindly accept. That is what I meant. Each one of us has an ego level, we are willing to accept our ignorance in front of some people, but not in front of everybody. :) Hope I have made myself clear. :)

I usually admit when I don't know something. I'm the one who asks questions if I don't know what is being talked about. I would much rather be informed than play it off like I know what is being said. It just comes back to bite you later if you act like a know-it-all.

I will tell you straight if i do not know something. I believe no matter your age, you are never too old to learn and find out about new things. There is no shame in it. We cannot know everything, can we?

I do not have any false prestige. Frankly I admit that I do not know something. After all no one is perfect and no one knows everything in this world. Why to pretend that we know everything?

i am the one who can say sorry i dont know nothing about it, but let me either look it up or ask someone who do know about it.

It is difficult but I learned a long time ago not to fake knowledge because it will come back to bite you! I learned this when I was working in customer service and I was always trying to come across very professional even though I was not confident at all. Customers would ask me questions I didn’t know the answers to and I became quite good at ‘bluffing’ my way through but I was eventually ‘caught out’ and came across very silly. My boss explained to me that it shows more professionalism and intelligence to simply admit “I don’t know, but I will find out for you…” It was a good life lesson for me.

Hi kalav56... Normally i will admit straight away if i didn't know about something to other people or friends or my family. To me there's nothing to be shy about than pretending u know all...

Until you reach a certain point in your life, you never accept your mistakes. That is the theory of life itself, and undefined rule. The main thing to consider here is how early do you realise this in life, and try to accept your mistakes, so that you never fail.

i do hesitate. sometimes, it depends. If I know the person very well and i know that he/she's not gonna judge me, i straightaway say that i do not know something.