“A true genius admits that he or she knows nothing.” – Albert Einstein

Some of the wisest people ever to have lived, from Warren Buffett to Albert Einstein, knew that their own knowledge was limited for several key reasons:

1. We can only see from one perspective, no matter how smart we think we are. Those people with higher degrees of emotional intelligence tend to understand other’s perspectives the greatest. If this is true, perhaps Albert Einstein and Warren Buffett are the greatest non “book-worms” of all time, though Buffett is known to read several books a week! Our human brain likened to software is updating daily, incorporating experiences (both good and bad) from the day and then registering these learnings (or not registering) into our brain hardware while we sleep. However, “human being software” gets upgraded daily through our own personal and unique experiences, not those of others. Your brain-computer cannot of course take in the experiences and learnings of others (aside from books and other forms of communication). For that reason, it is always wise to check your blind spots and solicit advice from the wisest people around you as often as possible.

2. We are all limited by both time and space. Even the smartest people in the world die, as proven by Albert Einstein and many other great minds. We are growing wiser every day, even the least intelligent among us! As for limitations on space, as a scientist studying this very topic, Einstein was uniquely aware that humans occupy a very specific physical point in the galaxy and cannot see further than where light has already traveled to Earth or by physical objects blocking our view.

3. We are all limited by our brain’s bandwidth. While our human brains are powerful, there are things the smartest among us have debated from the beginning of time. Questions such as “is there a god” or “who is god” wrangle us to this day. Brace your limitations and seek to improve daily. To learn more on some of these topics from an evolutionary standpoint, check out some of Yuval Noah Harari’s books like Sapiens or Homo Deus.

Feel free to find other inspiring quotes and analysis from Henry Gindt at GoCheezy.com