You don’t know what you don’t know.
It sounds basic. Of course, you don’t know what you don’t know.
I have sat in countless classrooms and meetings where the speaker asks, “Does anyone have any questions?” and everyone stares blankly back at them. I’ve been told to ask “What questions do you all have for me?” to request interaction, but I still think this falls short of the ideal.
Questions are a sign that we grasp the basics of a concept and are ready to process more information. So to ask questions, we need to understand.
Sometimes, I am afraid to ask what appears to be a dumb question.
However, it’s also often the case that I’m not sure what questions I should have.
Because I don’t know what I don’t know.
I started learning about investing when I was a senior in college and taking a class on personal finance. However, all I really remember getting out of the class was COMPOUND INTEREST IS A WONDER OF THE WORLD! But I didn’t really know where to go from there.
A friend recommended using the app Stash, so I bought a few stocks there as a way to get my feet wet. Later, another friend recommended Robinhood as a lower-cost way of investing, so I jumped ship to this platform when I started graduate school. I opened an IRA through Fidelity around the same time. Bit by bit, I was learning about investing.
One question I didn’t know I had was so basic:
What platforms can I use to invest? What are their pros and cons?
I remember thinking Stash was amazing because it provided a way to buy stocks! I thought I had discovered a secret in finding this platform, thinking there were so few options. Little did I know there were dozens and dozens of financial service platforms that could help me invest. But at the time, I didn’t have the language to Google “What financial service platforms offer investment accounts?” It was only through coming across the right educational materials and important conversations with friends that I began to understand what I didn’t know.
I have a good friend who loves learning about ideas and experiences with which she doesn’t have a strong background. She often begins with, “This may be a dumb question but…” I love that she is always willing to ask “dumb questions” because these are the kinds of questions that build basic understanding around a concept.
After I understood what platforms were available to start investing, I could then ask other questions. Questions like
What else can I invest in besides individual company stocks?
What are ETFs and index funds?
What are ways to find the right ETFs and index funds for me?
How are different investment types taxed?
When is an investment “done”? (Is it like a pie that needs to be baked a certain amount of time? Is it like granola and whenever I want some I can just pull some out?)
One of the obstacles in bringing up taboo topics is that we may not be sure how, or what kinds of questions to ask. We may not want to appear stupid, ignorant, faithless, or ill-natured. But by taking the first step to ask some sort of establishing question, a “dumb question" so to speak, means letting someone else know you are interested in learning more – in finding out just how much you might not know.
And they, in turn, may be then willing to ask some of their own dumb questions in return.
Questions are where the magic happens as we grow as individuals and share knowledge and experiences with others. They act as catalysts for curiosity, in learning more of what we don't know.
So what's the best way to learn? Start with what you know because you don't know what you don't know. You need someone or something else to nudge you toward that knowledge.
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