[Averic]

A friend of mine (INFP) was taking to me the other day about how at her work (retail store manager) some guy was hanging outside of the building in his car asleep. Her coworkers were all wondering why he was there and what it was all about but she said that she didn't really care because he wasn't bothering anybody. Finally, one of the coworkers ended up calling the police... She ended up having to go outside in order to talk to the police to give an account on what (didn't) happen. She was annoyed more than anything about the whole situation. Especially with her coworkers. What's interesting though after all of that the coworkers were all still asking about why the guy was there in the first place....gossip was going all around about how he might be homeless, or kicked our of the house with the girlfriend he was living with, or a drifter, or a drug dealer.... And more interestingly enough she told her coworkers that she never even bothered to ask the police why he was there in the first place. She still didn't know and didn't want to know. And what one of her coworkers said to her was, "Oh...so you don't know. You don't need to know...that's clever...really clever actually...hmm never thought of that". lol?

Funny story but it made me think about the unknown. We still have a long way to go in order to explain everything with science and stuff but there really is waaay more out there that is unknown that is known.

So being the INFJ that I am I took it to that next level and I asked my friend about what she thought of the unknown and if she was comfortable not knowing things, like science and religion and spirituality and she said she was fine with it, in fact she preferred to be in a situation like that rather than where everything we know is known 100%. "That would be boring." I thought the same exact thing I told her. And it's true: I find the unknown a lot more fascinating (fun even) than the known. The unknown gives us new perspectives to look at things and understand on another level you know?



So what do you think? Are you comfortable with the unknown? Or more comfortable with what is known? Or do you not mind either way? Why? :D

[ibage]

I love the unknown. It inspires us to create and learn. Without it, the drive to better ourselves would halt. Our imaginations would dry up and we'd see far less art and scientific advances. Life would be very boring. I love to learn stuff and I'm very comfortable not knowing everything. That means there's more room to grow.

Just saying, we need the unknown. Life is just isn't life without it.

[Agape]

My love for the unknown/paranormal started since I got my first pc and could do research on my own( around 13 years old...today I am 25. The unknown has been part of my life since I was a little kid...I could write a book about my own personal experiences with it ;p. Probably the reason for my interest in it was to try to understand my own experiences and find some answers.

I can said with confidence that I get the big picture of many things of the unknown that baffles many people yet figuring out the details will take may lifetimes. We just perceive a very tiny part of everything. The smaller your reality, the more convince you are of knowing everything. I will not enjoy being omniscient( knowing everything)....mystery is what makes life interesting.

[Averic]

Thanks guys. The unknown for me has been something that I am always interested in. Things like new ideas, new perceptions...Even things that are strange and unusual. Like surreal stuff. Such as those studio ghibli films. Those are awesome.

Who needs facts when we've got the unknown out there. :p.

[AstralSoldier]

Am I comfortable with the unknown?! Hell YES I'm MORE than comfortable with the unknown! I embrace the unknown more readily than what is known and widely accepted by others because it holds all that we don't know within it! Honestly, what do we have to GAIN by existing in the repetition/reproduction of what is known to be tangible to us without using it to discover MORE? In my mind, the tangible tools, and knowledge we've accrued should be principally focused to pierce the unknown. To think that there could be something in that darkness of the unknown that could be used for the advancement in technology, medicine, and our own individual, and collective species' evolution is MORE than enthralling! To that end, going the straight and narrow is not even an option as far as I'm concerned! The unknown just calls to me...it's that simple, I've got to know what's there, and make it known/mine.

Following the herd based on what is known cements one in the concrete trap of repetition and limits...it's like being stuck on earth, with only that that is perceivable to the 5 senses alone. If the 5 senses alone exist, than why are there spiritual initiatives and people that hunger for MORE? Where is this hunger/desire coming from to touch base with something larger than yourself? It's not perceivable to the 5 terrestrial senses alone...and yet it exists... We've an imagination to conceive of things beyond our physical senses, and yet we've not even come CLOSE to understanding the true nature of consciousness, and how to manipulate or control it for our full mastery and benefit. Then there's the nature of intuition: what IS it? How does it work? what can it do if we master it? I suppose when you think about it, just being an intuitive with our minds are a mystery in and of themselves, and as they say, necessity is the mother of invention...if we need to understand something by bringing our attention/focus on it, we could invent something truly great.

I've learned that there will come a point in time where a man is faced with continuing down the road he's known faithfully which is now probably growing stale with repetition, and yields no fruit of enlightenment, and taking the path through the dark, meandering woods to find himself, and what lies on the other side is the only option left to find what is missing from him...It's a test to me, of nerves, and courage, and the prize is always knowledge, truth, and evolution. We must venture out into the unknown to bring back the knowledge of it's contents and potential gifts it holds. I'll also say this, as much as I love the unknown, it's stupid to go out on a whim with it...have a plan for your attack on the unknown, to tame it, and reap it's benefits.

If you think about it, light illuminates us by bathing us in what we know....the darkness holds the secrets of that which we DON'T know....why not take a light into the dark and SEE what is really there?

[OldManRivers]

Are you speaking of ther unknown, or unpredictable? Unprovable? Real/Imaginary? Objective/subjective?

A guy asleep in a car parked in a business section of town. Drunk, homeless, both - that covers 90% of the likely scenarios.Bothering anyone? Nope. Casing the joint? nope. Calling the cops to make sure there is no danger to him or another is a good idea. A life story, name, circumstances - why bother? Are you going to help him dry up/get a job? Didn't think so.

The " big picture' of the "unknown?" Subjective, applies to your world view only - I know thermodynamics, some quantum science -
and I know there isn't a big picture - just chaos with a minor bit of order superimposed. The magic never was.
Life - an elementally simple, massive parallel system, based on the geometry and quantum mechanics af a small number of chemical elements, in all probability arises where ever the conditions prevail. Iron or other element as a redox system? Some variants found in terrestial life -

What I am saying is that "mysteries" are self-generated. Good selling points for a sharp con game, but not real. Things like faith, the soul, spirits from beyond - subjective and unprovable. An imaginary system with internal consistancy appears real to the true beliver. So one can lose their way and very easily become disconnected from reality.

[Arclight]

Not being able to learn new stuff would equate death to me. I hope beyond all hope that I never know everything. I am certain I wont, so it's all good. :)

The people who work in that store seriously need to do more learning and less guessing. They totally need to get a grip.
I hope the police gave them a lecture about wasting their time.

[Leroy]

If your a scientist, I completely have your back in trying to figure out the mysteries of the universe. Otherwise, if you're not giving off the appearance of a threat, just do you.

(For instance if the person in the car was staring at my co-workers all day, I may make it my own business to interfere with what he/she was doing. But if they're sleeping, they're clearly just fucking tired.)

This sort of reminds me of my high school years. I always had really weird friends that would do and leave weird stuff in my car. My mom would always find remnants of whatever it was and be really persistent (and eventually angry) about finding about every detail of every stupid thing. Most of the time it wasn't anything that was a big deal, but I never cared about the details (half of the time I didn't know where the (for example) bobble-head bible set came from, which would always cause much conflict between us (I think she is an ISTJ).


I actually just moved to Boston this summer, simply based on the fact that I HAVE NEVER BEEN HERE. So I everything I do is completely new and unknown to me. My biggest fear is that I'm learning too much, too fast.

[Averic]

Maybe theres a danger aspect to it that might make some people uncomfortable with the unknown. Whats known is safe and established.

That guy who was sleeping in his car...we dont know why hes there. He isnt doing anything threatening but at the same tine he COULD be causing problems later. Better to be safe and figure it out before somehing BAD could happen...But at the same time why bother him if he isnt bothering them. Is it illegal to be sleeping in a car or something?

lol and then again it could have been a slow day at work and people were just trying to make some drama.

[Slivra21]

In terms of the fundamental unknowns like, "Why does existence exist?" It doesn't bother me to the point that I can't sleep, but at the same time I find it hard to get interested in anything material...which puts me in a good position to study philosophy. If you keep asking "Why" it can be dangerous. "Why" is double edged, it can empower your critical thinking, but has the power to cause insanity.