Eckhart Tolle argues that ego prevents scientists from admitting ignorance. The ego demands certainty and makes people believe they understand the universe when they only grasp a tiny fragment of it. Saying "I don't know" threatens the ego's need to be right.
Many scientists have a big ego and they cannot admit that they don't understand the universe because their ego cannot admit that they don't know. The ego can't say, "I don't know." That's very hard for the ego to say. It must, "I know." So most scientists' ego doesn't allow them to admit that there is a vast intelligence that they're trying to understand, but they only have a tiny fragment of it. That they can understand, and even that is probably completely distorted.
Why alcohol feels like relief, and what it is really giving you | Eckhart Tolle
