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Apprenticeship Pattern "Expose Your Ignorance"

For this blog post, I will be discussing the Apprentice Pattern, Expose Your Ignorance, found in the text Apprenticeship Patterns. This pattern piqued my interest. It discussed how to deal with inevitably not knowing something. It is comforting to hear that I am not the only one who sometimes feels out of their depth.

This pattern gave me a few things to work on. It can feel natural to tell people what they want to hear, but that isn't a good way to build trust. I know it may seem obvious, but it is very easy to fall into that trap, and I know from experience. I like the idea of building a reputation on my ability to learn rather than what I say I know.

Ignorance isn’t something to hide — it is a chance to grow. This brings to mind a “growth mindset,” which means that instead of seeing challenges as something that sets one back is instead something that can be learned from and used as fuel to grow. It is clear that this book adopts this idea, even if it isn’t necessarily one of the patterns.

The pattern made me think of my ignorance in a new light. Instead of trying to pretend that I know more than I do, I should make it well known what I don't know. My reputation shouldn't come from what I know, it is my ability to learn new things.

I also liked how they wrote that being an expert is not the goal. The example of a marathoner having strong legs from running even if that wasn’t the goal seemed like an apt metaphor that being an expert is likewise a byproduct. In addition even if we are experts in one area, we will always be ignorant elsewhere. We should relish in what we do not know. Ignorance is something that should be welcomed because it means we are learning and growing.

I feel this pattern is tougher said than done. It is a simple concept, but it might take years to fully master. That being said, simply being aware of my shortcomings in this area is a huge step forward. This is something I intend to start immediately in every project that I am currently working on and every project in the future.
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