Thanks Dionne Lew for your post on Medium today entitled “Let’s stop pretending we know everything”. A worthwhile read and it may spark something for you as it did for me.
How much pretending is healthy? Is it ethical to pretend? Is pretending just fantasy enacted? Is it synonymous with being an imposter?
Phew – a lot of questions. Regular readers know that I suspect reality is just a conjecture that has passed some burden of proof, today. The conjecture may/likely be refuted. The burden adjusted and a new proof recognized. The truth is malleable and iterative so therefore is pretending. It is just a different way of viewing the situation; a different perspective from a different set of neurons. So I conclude pretending can be healthy and so can some logic.
Ethics are seen by some to be relative. I agree at some macro level but situational ethics need to be grounded in persistent and personal principles. Acting or not acting, deciding or equivocating, choosing or surrendering should be based in ethical principles that have been developed through the sum of our life experiences. Pretending the world id different than others see it may be fine but pretending that you are different than you ‘know’ you are skates over the line. I have done and do both. I have taken a fake it till you make it approach on numerous occasions and learned the lessons I needed along the way. Sometimes, I disclaimed my intentions but often I just pretended I knew something.
Yes, I am an imposter but my conversations; honest open deep conversations, has lead me to the belief that everyone poses on a regular basis. Sometimes the syndrome blows up and sometimes it breaks a dam.
I am not sure what level of pretending you do but I hope you aren’t pretending that you aren’t.
Make Today Remarkable by practicing some pretending,
B
