September 29, 2022 • 13 mins
Ignorance is not bliss – it is not knowing. And not knowing does not make you smarter.
Eat me (or try not to) https://www.tvo.org/programs/eat-me-or-try-not-to
Todd Conklin’s Pre-Accident Investigation podcast - https://preaccidentpodcast.podbean.com/
Connect with Tanya Hewitt on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanya-hewitt-55804529/
Buy her a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tanyah
Credits:
Adam Johns – voiceover - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjohns730/
Beverley McKiver – composer and player of the music Tell Me About Love - https://www.linkedin.com/in/beverleymckiver/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Unknown (00:03):
Welcome to Beyond the Minimum, where we'll be exploring the world of work. We'll be chatting about concepts, ideas and phrases, explore practices and delve into what good looks like. Work can be purposeful value lead, and more meaningful to all who interact with the workplace. This podcast is brought to you by Tanya Hewitt who lives in unceded Algonquin, Anishinaabeg territory, otherwise known as Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
(00:33):
Hello, everyone. It's been a little while since I've actually recorded a podcast. And I was starting to think, Oh, my goodness, look at this, maybe I should start drafting anapology and listing all sorts of excuses as to why I hadn't gotten a podcast out. Although I take a regular meditation class on Fridays, and a recent message was just hang in there, because there's all sorts of opportunities to beat up on ourselves. But actually, if we just be patient, we will get through whatever is the big challenge for us. So it's just making sure that we don't give up on things. I know that a lot of podcasts after I think I heard seven or 12 episodes, just don't record anymore, some fewer than that. And it's not that I hadn't the intention, but I didn't carry through. So but in that there is the lesson that while you hear me take down a whole lot of phrases in this podcast that we use in our colloquial English language, better late than never is not one of them, because because I truly believe in that. So here it is, hope you enjoy it.
(01:56):
Today's episode is sayings that should cease.
So today's saying that should cease is, ignorance is bliss. I worked at a workplace where it happened that I uncovered many systemic problems that sometimes I wish I hadn't found,because then I had to do something about having found this problem, and I bore the responsibility to fix it. So one example. One of my co workers many years ago was bringing in a speaker from the outside and had dealt with all the contract aspect of bringing in somebody and paying them, but didn't take care of the logistics of where the training was going to be held. So I checked to make sure that the main training room or the room that we would have otherwise used for training was available for the many days that this person was coming to train us. And sure enough, meeting rooms were scarce at my former workplace at that time, and the rooms were not booked. However, I discovered that I remember on a Friday afternoon at around maybe 2:30. And the training was the next Monday. And I realized, oh my goodness, this will be horrible if the trainer shows up and there's no venue to, to have the training. So I and another colleague basically dropped what we were doing and split the work and found a venue in a nearby hotel and got binders printed and you know, did a whole lot of work at the last minute, which really had we not done it would have been worse for the entire division really to have this trainer who was being paid considerable amount of money to come and not be able to train us because there was no physical place to undertake the training. And there were tons of examples similar to this, although that's one that came to mind, of basically uncovering a molehill, maybe a process not having been followed for, you know, many, many years or many, many iterations of that process, or a
(04:26):
document missing or whatever. And at the time, I would find these things I would realize, you know, I wish I hadn't. I wish I hadn't opened that I wish I hadn't wish I didn't knowwhat I now know because then I felt burdened with having to do something about it. But my attention to detail uncovered problems that likely existed for years. And in the end, while it was awkward at the time, it allowed problems to be addressed instead of just being constantly hidden or are ignored or turned a blind eye to or whatever. But I do have to admit that sometimes it felt as though it would have been better had I not known, I'll give you that. But I didn't shy away from uncovering something that really needed to be addressed. And, and so I addressed it.
(05:20):
I just finished a series called Eat me (or try not to) it's a series on our food and everything from how we got to where we are with global food distribution, and how that allworks, branding, et cetera. And there's a whole lot of information in that series. I'll I know that those outside of the province of Ontario, Canada will have difficulties accessing the link that I'll put into the show notes, but I hope that you'll be able to find it wherever you can, because it's a really worthwhile series. And in that, it talks about supply chains needing to be more transparent in the future. Because customers are already demanding, knowing what is in their products, and where they come from, it's not going to be an option anymore for suppliers to not give full account of how they got their products, because customers, especially the younger generations, I'm finding are really, really interested in knowing how this all works. So instead of being just an opaque black box knowledge is going to be very important. So ignorance is not going to cut it even in consumer choices, even in food.
(06:53):
So on another front in Canada, the discovery of graves by the residential schools of the Indigenous populations, which by the way, was predicted in the Truth and ReconciliationReport, which was published years earlier. And another by the way, Truth and Reconciliation Day, I don't know when you'll be listening to this, but it is September 30. And I really hope that Canadians can take some time that day and learn a little bit about their history, a little bit about perhaps some of the structures that are still in place from our colonial past that we don't seem to recognize in our daily lives that do impact a lot of Indigenous and that, really they have to be taken down. But that's a whole other topic. I'm just gonna say that the discovery of those graves has started a conversation that has been nearly 100 years in the making. A lot of non Indigenous were totally ignorant of the horrors of residential schools. I mean, I was I didn't know this stuff I didn't. It wasn't in my training.
(08:03):
There's a whole lot that wasn't in my training, I can remember going to a local museum and talking to my baseball team. This is many years ago, being horrified that I was learningthings at this museum. And I had a an Ontario Secondary School Diploma. And how is it that I got through high school and didn't know some of this stuff that I was learning at this museum on Canadian history. And it wasn't a nice history. It was the imprisonment of the Ukrainians and things but it was just, it was not something that I remember learning. And I thought, Well, wait a minute. That's denying me. My, what I think I should know. And I was very upset about this. And I can remember my baseball team being amused at my being upset about this. Overall, I mean, not knowing some of these things makes life simpler, perhaps. And you might feel better, that you don't know things because once you know them, you know, the certainly with the Residential School Recognition, I think a lot of Canadians felt a lot of guilt and shame. But these are feelings that we need to process because they're there for a reason. It's not as though we should be proud of this kind of thing. I mean, as Todd Conklin often says on his podcast, which I'll put in the show notes, not knowing does not make you smarter, so the more you remain ignorant, you're not getting any smarter. So in general, I believe knowing is better than not knowing.
(09:51):
So there is one one case that might warrant some pause. And it is if the knowledge might be cruel and serve no other purpose than revenge or to make somebody feel bad. For example,when you pit ignorance is bliss on one end and knowledge is power on the other end, you can see that knowledge, knowledge acquisition, if the aim of it is to subjugate, humiliate or otherwise wield power over others, this is not good. But of course, it is not the knowing in itself that is bad, but as the intention behind using that knowledge that should be questioned. Now, to be fair, I identify as a lifelong learner and learning is dependent upon me, not reveling in being ignorant, I do not see ignorance as bliss. I see ignorance as being uninformed, and we always have the opportunity to inform ourselves. And I always think that we should be taking advantage of that opportunity. Because I think Todd Conklin says it best. Not knowing does not make you smarter.
(11:06):
I thank you for listening. I don't know if this is your first episode, or if you are a regular listener, having really appreciated some of this content. I just wanted to tell youthat I really do appreciate you for listening. If you would like to express your gratitude for this podcast, I would encourage you to buy me a coffee, head on over to buy me a coffee.com/tanyah that's buy b-u-y me m-e a coffee c-o-f-f-e-e all one word.com/t-a-n-y-a-h tanyah. I will put this in the show notes. And I would really sincerely appreciate your support. In addition to that, you can rate and review this podcast and I really, really appreciate that you are here listening to what I am sending out to you guys. Thanks so much.
(12:18):
Thank you so much for listening to Beyond the Minimum with Tanya Hewitt. We hope this episode aligned with you. Maybe it was diametrically opposed to us at any rate, we trust itmade you think the more we can think about our workplaces and start talking about them, the more we can collectively make a real difference. If you're living in Canada, please find out the Indigenous territory in which you reside. Begin using it to introduce yourself. Please reach out to Tanya through her email Tanya@beyondsafetycompliance.ca. Connect and chat with her on LinkedIn. Follow her company Beyond Safety Compliance. And remember to ask yourself the question, How does your work look? Because we can always go Beyond the Minimum.
Welcome to Beyond the Minimum, where we'll be exploring the world of work. We'll be chatting about concepts, ideas and phrases, explore practices and delve into what good looks like. Work can be purposeful value lead, and more meaningful to all who interact with the workplace. This podcast is brought to you by Tanya Hewitt who lives in unceded Algonquin, Anishinaabeg territory, otherwise known as Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
(00:33):
Hello, everyone. It's been a little while since I've actually recorded a podcast. And I was starting to think, Oh, my goodness, look at this, maybe I should start drafting anapology and listing all sorts of excuses as to why I hadn't gotten a podcast out. Although I take a regular meditation class on Fridays, and a recent message was just hang in there, because there's all sorts of opportunities to beat up on ourselves. But actually, if we just be patient, we will get through whatever is the big challenge for us. So it's just making sure that we don't give up on things. I know that a lot of podcasts after I think I heard seven or 12 episodes, just don't record anymore, some fewer than that. And it's not that I hadn't the intention, but I didn't carry through. So but in that there is the lesson that while you hear me take down a whole lot of phrases in this podcast that we use in our colloquial English language, better late than never is not one of them, because because I truly believe in that. So here it is, hope you enjoy it.
(01:56):
Today's episode is sayings that should cease.
So today's saying that should cease is, ignorance is bliss. I worked at a workplace where it happened that I uncovered many systemic problems that sometimes I wish I hadn't found,because then I had to do something about having found this problem, and I bore the responsibility to fix it. So one example. One of my co workers many years ago was bringing in a speaker from the outside and had dealt with all the contract aspect of bringing in somebody and paying them, but didn't take care of the logistics of where the training was going to be held. So I checked to make sure that the main training room or the room that we would have otherwise used for training was available for the many days that this person was coming to train us. And sure enough, meeting rooms were scarce at my former workplace at that time, and the rooms were not booked. However, I discovered that I remember on a Friday afternoon at around maybe 2:30. And the training was the next Monday. And I realized, oh my goodness, this will be horrible if the trainer shows up and there's no venue to, to have the training. So I and another colleague basically dropped what we were doing and split the work and found a venue in a nearby hotel and got binders printed and you know, did a whole lot of work at the last minute, which really had we not done it would have been worse for the entire division really to have this trainer who was being paid considerable amount of money to come and not be able to train us because there was no physical place to undertake the training. And there were tons of examples similar to this, although that's one that came to mind, of basically uncovering a molehill, maybe a process not having been followed for, you know, many, many years or many, many iterations of that process, or a
(04:26):
document missing or whatever. And at the time, I would find these things I would realize, you know, I wish I hadn't. I wish I hadn't opened that I wish I hadn't wish I didn't knowwhat I now know because then I felt burdened with having to do something about it. But my attention to detail uncovered problems that likely existed for years. And in the end, while it was awkward at the time, it allowed problems to be addressed instead of just being constantly hidden or are ignored or turned a blind eye to or whatever. But I do have to admit that sometimes it felt as though it would have been better had I not known, I'll give you that. But I didn't shy away from uncovering something that really needed to be addressed. And, and so I addressed it.
(05:20):
I just finished a series called Eat me (or try not to) it's a series on our food and everything from how we got to where we are with global food distribution, and how that allworks, branding, et cetera. And there's a whole lot of information in that series. I'll I know that those outside of the province of Ontario, Canada will have difficulties accessing the link that I'll put into the show notes, but I hope that you'll be able to find it wherever you can, because it's a really worthwhile series. And in that, it talks about supply chains needing to be more transparent in the future. Because customers are already demanding, knowing what is in their products, and where they come from, it's not going to be an option anymore for suppliers to not give full account of how they got their products, because customers, especially the younger generations, I'm finding are really, really interested in knowing how this all works. So instead of being just an opaque black box knowledge is going to be very important. So ignorance is not going to cut it even in consumer choices, even in food.
(06:53):
So on another front in Canada, the discovery of graves by the residential schools of the Indigenous populations, which by the way, was predicted in the Truth and ReconciliationReport, which was published years earlier. And another by the way, Truth and Reconciliation Day, I don't know when you'll be listening to this, but it is September 30. And I really hope that Canadians can take some time that day and learn a little bit about their history, a little bit about perhaps some of the structures that are still in place from our colonial past that we don't seem to recognize in our daily lives that do impact a lot of Indigenous and that, really they have to be taken down. But that's a whole other topic. I'm just gonna say that the discovery of those graves has started a conversation that has been nearly 100 years in the making. A lot of non Indigenous were totally ignorant of the horrors of residential schools. I mean, I was I didn't know this stuff I didn't. It wasn't in my training.
(08:03):
There's a whole lot that wasn't in my training, I can remember going to a local museum and talking to my baseball team. This is many years ago, being horrified that I was learningthings at this museum. And I had a an Ontario Secondary School Diploma. And how is it that I got through high school and didn't know some of this stuff that I was learning at this museum on Canadian history. And it wasn't a nice history. It was the imprisonment of the Ukrainians and things but it was just, it was not something that I remember learning. And I thought, Well, wait a minute. That's denying me. My, what I think I should know. And I was very upset about this. And I can remember my baseball team being amused at my being upset about this. Overall, I mean, not knowing some of these things makes life simpler, perhaps. And you might feel better, that you don't know things because once you know them, you know, the certainly with the Residential School Recognition, I think a lot of Canadians felt a lot of guilt and shame. But these are feelings that we need to process because they're there for a reason. It's not as though we should be proud of this kind of thing. I mean, as Todd Conklin often says on his podcast, which I'll put in the show notes, not knowing does not make you smarter, so the more you remain ignorant, you're not getting any smarter. So in general, I believe knowing is better than not knowing.
(09:51):
So there is one one case that might warrant some pause. And it is if the knowledge might be cruel and serve no other purpose than revenge or to make somebody feel bad. For example,when you pit ignorance is bliss on one end and knowledge is power on the other end, you can see that knowledge, knowledge acquisition, if the aim of it is to subjugate, humiliate or otherwise wield power over others, this is not good. But of course, it is not the knowing in itself that is bad, but as the intention behind using that knowledge that should be questioned. Now, to be fair, I identify as a lifelong learner and learning is dependent upon me, not reveling in being ignorant, I do not see ignorance as bliss. I see ignorance as being uninformed, and we always have the opportunity to inform ourselves. And I always think that we should be taking advantage of that opportunity. Because I think Todd Conklin says it best. Not knowing does not make you smarter.
(11:06):
I thank you for listening. I don't know if this is your first episode, or if you are a regular listener, having really appreciated some of this content. I just wanted to tell youthat I really do appreciate you for listening. If you would like to express your gratitude for this podcast, I would encourage you to buy me a coffee, head on over to buy me a coffee.com/tanyah that's buy b-u-y me m-e a coffee c-o-f-f-e-e all one word.com/t-a-n-y-a-h tanyah. I will put this in the show notes. And I would really sincerely appreciate your support. In addition to that, you can rate and review this podcast and I really, really appreciate that you are here listening to what I am sending out to you guys. Thanks so much.
(12:18):
Thank you so much for listening to Beyond the Minimum with Tanya Hewitt. We hope this episode aligned with you. Maybe it was diametrically opposed to us at any rate, we trust itmade you think the more we can think about our workplaces and start talking about them, the more we can collectively make a real difference. If you're living in Canada, please find out the Indigenous territory in which you reside. Begin using it to introduce yourself. Please reach out to Tanya through her email Tanya@beyondsafetycompliance.ca. Connect and chat with her on LinkedIn. Follow her company Beyond Safety Compliance. And remember to ask yourself the question, How does your work look? Because we can always go Beyond the Minimum.
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