NONE TOO SOLID - MEDICAL IGNORANCE

Our ignorance encompasses, at least, all the things we know we do not know (known unknowns), all the things we do not know we do not know (u nknown unknowns); all the things we think we know but do not (error); all the things we do not know we know (tacit knowing); all taboos (for bidden knowledge); and all denial (things to painful to know, so we su ppress them). Medical ignorance seems especially threatening to many o f us. If, however, we am to cope with our vast ignorance of the human body, its powers and processes, we must learn to acknowledge our nesci ence and optimize it. To do so, we need to rethink the nature and inte rrelations between knowledge and ignorance. We need to expand our capa cities for self-learning and refine abilities to map our complex exper ience.