The Third Domain of Knowledge

I was discussing human nature with a neighbor last night, who asked me a question about my background and limitations. I advised that the thing that I have to be aware of at all times are my limitations and that, as with most human beings, I have to beware of arrogance.

I suggested that an area to be particularly watchful of was that which pertained to "the third domain of knowledge", and I then proceeded to define what that was. Once, I took a series of courses which included philosophical discussions and inquiries. One of these discussions included and inquiry into "The Three Domains of Knowledge".

The "First Domain of Knowledge" pertains to the things that we know that we know.
The "Second Domain of Knowledge" pertains to the things that we know that we don't know.
The "Third Domain of Knowledge" pertains to the things that we don't know that we don't know.

The first two domains are well known and some would say "obvious". We delve in and out of them each and every day. For example, I know that I know how to drive a car, and I know certain things; I have certain specialized knowledge that has to do with my business and field of expertise. I also know that I am not a brain surgeon. The second domain pertains to things that are learnable. However, the third area is tricky and alludes to my being totally oblivious of certain things. It isn't simply an issue of knowing or not knowing how to do something. It is an awareness of unawareness, of my limitations. Of things I am simply oblivious to and totally unawares.

I have been told it is possible to expand my awareness and to reveal what is concealed. I have learned to ask a lot of questions. I have learned to observe and to inquire, and the entire purpose is to reveal that which exists, for me, in the "third domain of knowledge". Sometimes things are revealed, or as been said "unconcealed". But I confess that I am a novice in the practice of unconcealment.

I think there are practical applications. The skills useful for the third domain also work very, very, well in the first two domains. I have a profound appreciation for tools, whether they be hardware or software and even skills, I see the opportunity in delving into my limitations and lack of expertise with the third domain. I also understand that there are things that I will, due to my physiology and personal limitations as a human being, never comprehend. There are things that no human being may ever comprehend or understand. Some of those things may be unlearnable. I don't know what they are. What I do know is that as I gain skills and knowledge, as I learn things, I am operating at moving things from the second domain to the first domain. Is it also possible, through unconcealment, to move things from the third domain to the second domain?

Note: My work in systems and human systems includes analysis of failures and the failure to achieve desired, anticipated or promised objectives. I have found that observing the operation of human beings, including myself, and their interactions, in the three domains to be very informative and useful.

The Purpose of Life

"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."- Ralph Waldo Emerson

What Have I Learned About Life?

The economy is currently undergoing some sort of periodic "adjustment", and with it, many of us! I thought it would be useful to step back, take a few breaths and look at the "big picture".

1. Life is a process.
2. Life is a journey, but it is not about reaching a destination. The journey is the destination.
3. Life is a creative act.
4. There is a purpose to everything. We just don’t know what that purpose is, and even if we think we do, it is useful to consider that it is quite possible we are wrong!
5. As I am a part of "everything" I too have a purpose, but I may not be aware of what that purpose is, or it may not be the one I think it is!
6. When it all becomes too frustrating, it is useful to remember that "The guardians to the gate of knowledge are paradox and confusion".
7. We do have free will and we do have choice, but happiness lies in acceptance.
8. We are not really alone, although we usually operate as if we are. (It's somewhat like a child pretending).
9. God loves us.
10. The universe doesn’t care that God loves us.
11. Nature abhors a vacuum. In other words, if I don’t put something in place, then external forces will, and that includes what goes on in my thoughts.
12. Life is a test. But it is not pass or fail, and like most tests, it is difficult. (But what is this aversion I have to difficulty? Why would I say that life is difficult?).
13. Life will not turn out as I expect (OK, I can be crude and say that it will end in my death). However, that is not my point. Perhaps all there is, is NOW, the moment. My intellect is just too small to fully comprehend the extent of the universe around me, much less to figure out where it is all going, my exact part in it, and comprehend the future.
14. The mind is a record, a stack of records, each being a memory or perceived memory (actual events distorted by my judgments and evaluations), but like those other records, the 33-1/3 rpm discs, the mind sends up memories which play on and on continuously, clouding our reality and interfering with "The NOW" (or to say it another way, interfering with our ability to be in and experience the present).
15. Memories have limited usefulness. As the mind runs continuously, most memories are like "Muzak" playing in the background, and are meaningless.
16. The Ego thinks that human beings are the top of the pyramid and I am the pinnacle. ("It's all about me!").
17. What I want may not make me happy, and "having things" will not make me a happy or a better person.
18. We human beings are always looking for "strokes" (It's not just girls who wanna have fun!).
19. We are rational beings and we like structure and certainty, but we say we value spontaneity as in the Nike ad, "Just do it!". And we have lots of advice and contradictory aphorisms designed to make us continually wrong, as for example: "He who hesitates is lost" and "Look before you leap".
20. To succeed in life, find out what is wanted and needed, and then provide that.
21. Everything can be resolved in communications with others.
22. It is a natural consequence of doing things that the phenomenon we define as "making mistakes" will occur.
23. The only constant is change.
24. There are cycles, or "ups" and "downs". But these are all subjective. I think it is empowering to think that "now" is possibly the best moment of my life, and to live out of that.
25. There is nothing as exhilarating as "making a difference" on this planet.

Note: Adapted from something I originally wrote to my dear spouse in August, 2004.