I didn’t wake up this morning wanting to know all about how a virus works. But I opened the newspaper and got pulled into the topic. I enjoy learning about almost any topic. But this feels different – it is thrust upon me by necessity.
Something so esoteric as viruses, which are invisible to the naked eye, has become a need-to-know. There are definite limits to what I can learn from the news, which describe more about what is happening. Sometimes news articles also explain the how or why, and these are helpful.
I like to put facts into the context of the big picture. But in these specialized areas I don’t always know what questions to ask. I don’t know what I don’t know.
Visuals help. I saw a video that used lasers to light up both large and micro particles emitted from coughing and breathing. It was clear that larger particles fall quickly to the ground, but that microparticles hover and accumulate in an enclosed area. Moving air currents disperse particles. The video made the invisible visible and gave me a visceral understanding of what is going on.
I bump into technical bodies of knowledge frequently. Usually, I can ignore them and let the experts deal with them. If I am curious enough, I have “Uncle Google” and Wikipedia to help me understand.
There are so many areas, including medicine, law, and technology, where I am not an expert. In many situations I must decide how much I need to educate myself – because I am ultimately responsible for making decisions that will affect my life and well-being.
I especially appreciate and admire the expertise of professionals whom I can talk with personally. These days it’s great to have friends who are experts.
How do you decide how much you need to know to make good decisions?