I don't know!

Henry David Thoreau first came to my attention when I was about 14 years old. Our English teacher gave us a flyer listing books we might enjoy.  One was “Walden” by Thoreau.  The description of the book intrigued me and I bought the book.  At about 17 years old, I tried basing an English paper in college on the book. Last night, we gravitated to Wisconsin Public TV and the Ken Burns programs about Thoreau.  That got me reading Walden again.

Today, I read his question “How can he remember well his ignorance when he so has often to use his knowledge?”  That brought my friend’s description of worry about that day’s doctoral oral exam to mind: “They could ask me ANYTHING!”  She was aware of her ignorance of many, many subjects.  I have often wondered if some such stark focus on what one does not know is a pivotal part of being helpfully educated.