The Six Stages Of Knowledge: From Nothing To Nothing

1. I don't know. This is the stage at which we accept that we know nothing.

2. The light bulb goes off. This is the stage of enlightenment.

3. This knowledge is exciting and valuable, I want to share it with all my friends. This is the stage at which very little is known but many people are quite evangelical about their newfound insight. Some reporters spend their entire lives at this stage covering the surface of things.

4. I have doubts about my knowledge. This is the stage at which we question what we know and begin to have doubts.

5. This area of knowledge is extremely complex with multiple angles and dimensions. This is where the scholar spends much of his life deep in the trenches trying to figure things out. The scholar may write several books trying to put clarity to the subject.

6. I don't know. This is when we worked our entire lives trying to figure things out and we give up.

--Michael Hooper