As a professional translator, I do a lot of research in various fields. It happens quite a lot actually, and thanks to that, I may be tempted to believe that my knowledge is ever-growing since I know more and more. And it is true up to a point.

Sometimes I learn new idioms or I improve my ability to perceive new nuances or notions, and I succeed in grasping all of their intricacies, and some others – especially when I think I know them well – life comes knocking on my door to prove me wrong.

This sort of situation can be quite humbling but it always proves itself very useful and rewarding when we show a bit of humility. I personally think we can learn a great deal from such situations.

After all, who hasn’t been proven wrong at least once? Besides, bloopers happen but the way we react to them can make all the difference!

So, in our quest to knowledge, I think there comes a time when we can all relate to what Socrates said, in that “the only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing”, or as Jeremy Clarkson puts it “The more you know, the more you know nothing”.

Indeed, learning is a never-ending process and despite the progress we make over the years, there is no limit to it.

Quite humbling in itself, isn’t it? 😉

Feel free to comment if you have stories you would like to share.