The Joy of Not Knowing

There was a time when a group of people at my old job used to meet and watch different recorded talks and discuss the ideas shared there. It was a group interested in innovation, especially related to science and technology.

One week we viewed a talk about the rise of citizen science and how it might contribute to scientific innovation. As soon as it was over, someone in the group stood up and said the talk was ridiculous. No citizen scientist could figure out anything that they, a 25-year professional, hadn’t already figured out, they said.

Hmm.

In his book Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabat-Zinn describes the foundations, or attitudes, that are considered fundamental for cultivating a mindful approach to life. These attitudes are all interconnected and cultivating these attitudes will deepen your meditation practice in addition to enhancing your energy, creativity, and well-being.

The third of these attitudes is beginner’s mind.

There are several well-known examples of key citizen scientist contributions in the protein folding and design space (see Nature 570, 390-394 for example). “This work…shows that citizen scientists can discover creative new solutions to outstanding scientific challenges such as the protein design problem.” Projects like Folding@home and Foldit have shown that gamers and regular folks can beat both AI and professional scientists in solving protein folding problems.

Clearly, being an expert doesn’t mean you have thought of everything.

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.” - Shunryu Suzuki

Having a beginner’s mind means you are open to possibilities, that you can approach something without any preconceived notions. A beginner’s mind calls for curiosity and humility. If you engage in activities as if for the first time, it can increase your ability to learn and explore. Another benefit of beginner’s mind is that it reduces stress and disappointment because you release expectations on what should happen in situations.

How do you help cultivate a beginner’s mind?

• Think about how children approach activities or answer questions. For young children in particular, no idea is too strange or out of scope. Aliens? Dinos? A train carrying corgis? It’s all possible! Children are in a constant state of learning as much about the world as possible while also using their imagination frequently.
• Let go of ego. You may have years of experience and education. This may actually blind you to new ways of thinking or doing. Know that not having the answers is not a judgment on your abilities.
• Ask why. Why are things always done a certain way? What are the reasons? Can you alter a routine or approach routine tasks with inquiry instead of on autopilot?
• Get comfortable saying “I don’t know.” This opens up the space for you to learn and explore what answers are out there.
• Resist “adding value” to every conversation. This is particularly hard for experts. You don’t always need to add your wisdom to the wisdom pool. Sometimes listening and asking questions can be a better way to contribute.

So embrace the world of not knowing all the answers and seeing the world with a fresh viewpoint.

Will cultivating beginner’s mind move you on your own mindfulness path? I don’t know.

But I really hope so.