Today we will listen in on a climate change panel discussion with Nate and Hal. Nate worked for the oil and gas industry while Hal was a professor at the local university. Both were experts in climate change, and both had plenty of credentials. One was a Naked Expert, and the other was an Enlightened Fool.
Nate, the Naked Expert, was up first. He spoke as one clothed in deep wisdom and insights. He carried himself with great authority. Every phrase dripped with syrupy certainty that betrayed a more profound yet unspoken caldron of doubt. He proclaimed that the oil and gas industry was not only aware of the changing climate but did not believe it was due to their products. He extolled the industry's efforts to limit the consequences of purely natural climate change. But the audience, at least most of us, saw that he was wearing very little data beyond his assumptions and offered a very tenuous and narrow line of argument. The Expert had no clothes.
Naked Experts know what they know but are oblivious to what they do not know. This ignorance encourages them to believe they know everything. But they are driven by their assumptions and choose data that supports them. Self-interest, not self-reflection, is the primary source of their opinions.
After the Naked Expert sat down, Hal, the Enlightened Fool, stood up and spoke quietly and calmly. He began with, "I wish I could be as certain as my colleague. Everything I am about to tell you is true, so far as I know. But I know myself too well. I may be wrong. I don't think I am, but I will leave that up to you. You see, I approach my job as a meteorologist as an "Enlightened Fool." I am still learning, and the planet has much to teach me."
He then laid out his reasoning for believing that climate change was natural but that human activity was accelerating its effects on our environment. He then argued that we could slow it down and suggested ways to allow us more time to adapt to the changes in the climate cycle. He offered exciting ideas and insights with a beautiful mix of humility and precision. It was easy to trust him because he pointed out his bias and allowed the audience to weigh his arguments without using his "verbal thumb" to tip the scale. After his presentation, the audience gave him a lively round of applause.
The Enlightened Fool knows what they know and knows what they don't know! Hal preferred being an Enlightened Fool who is, at least, partially clothed with the facts. Hal was not afraid of his ignorance. He celebrated his ignorance because it offered a light through the great mystery that spread out before him. Hal's enlightened foolishness led him to be intensely curious.
Hal denied being an expert. He was an informed and disciplined student of the field. Hal did not want to become stranded in the quicksand of his cliches and tired answers. This Enlightened Fool longed to walk barefoot through fields of surprises and new experiences, to seek the joy of mystery and wonder, even if he occasionally stepped in a pile of BS among the flowers. Along the way, Hal gained some wisdom but still had more questions than answers. He delighted in his questions because they provided directions for his future journeys.
We could see that as he came to know himself as an enlightened fool, he found more joy in the ordinary, everyday mysteries surrounding him. And that joy was infectious. We all came down with a good case of enlightened foolishness that day!
When it came time for questions, the hands shot up with questions for Hal. Nate would try and butt in, but the audience was uninterested in his opinions. We loved Hal's questions and musings. And he invited the rest of us to ask questions that invited us into our own mystery and ignorance. We discovered Hal's joy in peering into the great chasm of mystery and caught a glimpse of the wonder and awe that lay before us.
Yep, we all learned something important that day. We discovered that the world is a constant source of delight for those brave enough to become enlightened fools!
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