“We live on an island surrounded by a sea of ignorance. As our island of knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance.” –John Archibald Wheeler
Ignorance is the neglect of, or failure to, understand information. We can be conscious of our absence of knowledge, or ignorant of our ignorance. Knowledge and ignorance are generally viewed in vastly different lights. We respect those deemed knowledgeable. The charge of ignorance, on the other hand, often causes shame and embarrassment.
Ignorance may be more than just blissful. Acknowledging that we do not understand information opens the door to creativity and empathy. This allows us to imagine a better world or relate to unfamiliar experiences. Accepting that we simply cannot understand everything also fosters a sustained creativity for the world around us. This drives us to find new and better ways of doing things. Recognising that our knowledge can prevent us from deeper inquiries forces us to reconsider the charge of ignorance, as knowledge of our ignorance can awaken a new world of possibilities. As it turns out, ignorance lies at the crux of ‘design thinking’, a problem-solving strategy that allows us to tackle everyday business decisions or even approach wicked problems.
Design thinking–sometimes referred to as the ‘holy grail of innovation’2–is an ongoing problem-solving process that adapts to the changing needs and desires of the affected groups. This occurs in three main phases. First, the business or service provider engages with their audience to understand their personal experience of the product. This recognises that we may be ignorant of the desires of those who we are attempting to deal with. With a redefined challenge or understanding of the target audience, the second phase commences. The ideation phase involves the creation of various ‘pathways’ to solving the problem. Conflicting perspectives force service providers to consider the viability of different options and, ultimately, the most feasible pathways are taken into the third phase. In the implementation phase, proposed solutions may be reimagined and rejected by groups whose knowledge can expose any ignorance in the previous phases. This phase highlights that design thinking is an iterative, rather than linear, process. Experimentation may illuminate previous misunderstandings, taking groups back to previous stages where they must redefine and re-ideate.
Oral-B is one of the many design thinking success stories. When designing a new electric toothbrush, the company sought to add various new functions: a music player; data-tracking features and a gum-sensitivity tool. Consulting consumers, however, revealed that these features were not desirable. The extra functionality complicated the already-stressful act of brushing one’s teeth. The company–ignorant of their users’ wishes–overestimated what consumers wanted from a toothbrush. After empathising with their customers, Oral-B came to understand their actual wants: easier charging methods and reminders to replace toothbrush heads. Thus, design thinking allows businesses to address their ignorance in respect of what customers want. Beyond the world of commerce, the principles of design thinking are transferable to other sectors - such as healthcare, education, and the IT industry - and can also help us as individuals lead happier, more purposeful lives.3
Further Readings#
- Dimitris Grammenos, ‘Abba-dabba-ooga-booga-hoojee-goojee-yabba-dabba-doo: stupidity, ignorance & nonsense as tools for nurturing creative thinking’ [2014] CHI ‘14 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/2559206.2578860.
- Michael Smithson, Ignorance and uncertainty: emerging paradigms (Springer-Verlag, 1989 https://anu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61ANU_INST/1alil8h/alma991024413029707631.
- Applying design thinking to your own life: Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, ‘Designing Your Life: How to build a well-lived, joyful life’ (Bill Burnett, 2016).