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When I received my PhD my advisor, told me, “now, when somebody ask you a question you can say ‘ I don’t know.’” I could feel comfortable in a place of absence, of emptiness, because sometimes that absence is what is needed. That silence, that pause, is an a diminishing, but a way to move forward.

For the second week in a row, the prompt has tapped into something, unknowingly, that was already going on in my life. This past week my department had a coffee and doughnut get together and we, in true philosopher fashion, pondered “holes”. So bear with me for a minute – what is a hole? Seriously. What is a hole? The place where there is nothing, but is surrounded by some thing. Or is the hole something; is the absence, the nothing, something?

With this prompt I think of a hole as a something, a place of quiet, of listening, of the breath before the exhale and after the inhale.

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Please pardon my esoteric ramblings. I went down an odd tangent this morning and it made sense in my head. Haha

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Thank god for ramblings!

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I agree! I’m a dad and a philosopher--ramblings are in my blood.

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Dont we need a good punny dad joke here?

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Why can’t you hear a pterodactyl going to the bathroom? The “P” is silent.

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YAAAAAS......This just filled a hole in my heart! The hole created by lack of wonderful philosophical DJs!!!! Thanks Jonathan!!! Solid gentle humor about.....DINOSOURS!!!!

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And here’s one more that my daughter serendipitously gave me before the whole hole discussion started: “what gets bigger the more you take away from it? A hole.”

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I believe that is the litmus test of a good dad- when daughters can add to such valuable conversation!!

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I loved it! Thank you for sharing your ramblings!

(math person-love tangents ;)

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I listened to my son explaining theoretical quantum physics and understood it from a meditative and esoteric angle but could I repeat it to another?

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Nov 5, 2023Liked by Pádraig Ó Tuama

Thanks for this Jonathan! I wonder, can I use this before defending the dissertation or do I get the honor of say "I dont know" right after I defend :) ?

Yes to holes! I have experienced some of them to be holy spaces.

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Bwahaha. You are welcome to use the “I don’t know” reply before defending, but it might not get you very far. Philosophy has been built on less.

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author

I spend a lot of time thinking about the Nothing, or negation, so I am completely with you here Jonathan!

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Thanks Pádraig. Glad to hear I’m not the only one. Since this prompt, and my foray into the metaphysics of doughnut holes, I’ve been thinking more and more about how absence and nothingness shows up across all aspects of our lives. Much more to be investigated here.

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I don't know can be a very powerful thing to say. I have won people over with "I don't know" simply because I admitted it, though I do always try to find the answer and get back to the person only to find often they don't even care, they have moved on. Great response, Jonathan! And fun, too :-)

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Yes! I don’t know about other cultures or other times, but admitting that you don’t know something seems so taboo. Perhaps it has something to do with the the internet--we are up to our necks in information, and somehow we believe that translates into knowledge. Love your reply!

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There is little knowledge about existence, a bit more of information, a vastness of data and facts, and a universe of baseless affirmations— all serving our ongoing confusion. Thanks for your comments Jonathan!🙏🏻

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Thanks! It just feels wiser to admit you don't know, than to try and pretend you do. Honestly, the world would be pretty boring if we all knew everything. Not knowing is more inspirational, I think. It leaves space for so much more...

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Sometimes I think people feel threatened when we say “I don’t know” because they were so hoping they could put down a problem, it is causing or has caused them pain of some type and our “I don’t know” prolongs that somehow; they want relief. But other times “I don’t know either” or “I too, sometimes don’t understand” is such a relief.

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I think as a child it was accepted that if you 'didnt know' things you were an idiot. My dad told me that too. We were all idiots! It actually feels good not to know...A lack of knowing and understanding, is notbthecsame as being insecure in yourself.

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