Ignorance Is Bliss

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No, the phrase doesn't suggest that knowledge is bad. It only highlights that in some situations, not knowing certain information can spare one from worry or stress. In psychological consumer behavior studies, there is also what is known as the “blissful ignorance effect.” It turns out, consumers who know a great deal of information about a product aren’t usually as happy with it as people who have less knowledge about it. Experts say this is because the more information a consumer has, the greater their expectations and the more likely they are to be let down. If a person already knows how a product works, they might easily dismiss it if it has any problems or feel as if they didn’t buy the right thing. The idea presented by Thomas Gray and expressed in the stanza of the poem containing ignorance is bliss—chiefly that it’s sometimes better not to know one’s fate or the outcome of a given scenario—certainly wasn’t new at the time the work was written. It had been stated around 409 BC by the Greek playwright Sophocles and even quoted by the scholar Erasmus in the 16th century. What’s more, the similar saying what you don’t know can’t hurt you dates to around 1576. However, the first use of the precise wording ignorance is bliss can be traced to Thomas Gray’s poem. It has been used as a common phrase in the English language since then. Not necessarily. While the idiom can apply to certain scenarios, it's not a universal truth. Often, knowledge and understanding are beneficial and preferred. Parents might experience a sense of ignorance is bliss if they’re unaware their child is sneaking out at night to date someone they don’t approve of. However, no one will be blissful when the “ cat’s out of the bag.”

Antagonist Records has reissued the classic Face to Face album Ignorance is Bliss on vinyl (for the first time ever!) in celebration of its 20th anniversary. Remember that Ecclesiastes begins with "Vanity, vanity, vanity--all is vanity" (Ecclesiastes 1:2) and goes on to explicate this in exhaustive detail. If you took the first example literally, you’d think it was describing a person standing in a bathtub full of hot water, perhaps. But the expression is actually used to describe a person who’s in trouble. Likewise, rather than literally being handed a tool for chopping wood, if you get the ax from your boss, it means you’re getting fired. It’s time to face the music means that it’s time to come to terms with the consequences of your actions. And when someone has hit the nail on the head, they’ve gotten an answer exactly right or done something exactly as it should have been done. Not knowing that people are sharing untrue gossip about you, so that your self-esteem doesn’t plummet and you aren’t made unnecessarily sad and hurt. Over time, though, Ignorance is Bliss gained a devoted following as fans gradually rediscovered its artistic strengths. To this day, a subset of Face to Face fans holds the album up as their very favorite. Although it remains controversial, it has earned its status as a classic in their catalogue.

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The phrase "ignorance is bliss" frequently appears in pop culture, usually referring to the idea of avoiding distressing truths or realities.

Ignorance (noun): Ignorance is the state of being ignorant, or without knowledge, education, comprehension, or awareness. Synonyms for the adjective ignorant include unaware, uninformed, and uneducated. The phrase suggests that not knowing certain information can lead to a state of happiness or contentment. Meanwhile, Skepta is set to perform across Europe throughout the summer. These shows include a headline appearance at this year's Field Day Festival (7th June) which takes places at London's Meridan Water - a stones through from the Meridian Estate where Skepta grew up - and is set to be a huge homecoming show. He is also a headliner at this year's Manchester International Festival alongside Yoko Ono and Idris Elba & Kwame Kwei-Armah, where we will be debuting his truly unique, immersive DYSTOPIA987 show.

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Childhood is often used to illustrate why ignorance is, in fact, bliss—an argument that the statement is true and has merit. For example, parents often feel the need to protect their children from an overabundance of knowledge and information, thinking it can be too much for their young, developing minds to process or bear. They believe ignorance can keep children from experiencing anything unpleasant and allow them to have a stress-free childhood. Ignorance is certainly bliss for someone who doesn’t know that his or her spouse or romantic partner is stepping out with someone else. Of course, that bliss will be short-lived when the partner who is being cheated on discovers the truth. To uncover the meaning of ignorance is bliss, let’s first look at the individual words that comprise this saying. The more knowledge one has, the greater one's grief, because this knowledge includes the inevitability of death, and that all we are and do and achieve eventually turns to dust.

It’s important to note that literary scholars stress that Gray didn’t mean it is always better to be ignorant versus well-informed, pointing to his use of the word where preceding the phrase. They say that this suggests he only meant that there are particular times in which ignorance may be more desirable than knowledge. To Know or Not to Know—Is Ignorance Really Bliss? Gray is saying it is better to "walk in darkness", and be happy, even if that happiness is temporary, than to go through life with full knowledge of mortality and the ultimate vanity of all endeavors.Not knowing about a recent sad and horrific news story right away, so that you can enjoy a happy moment with your family who is visiting from out of town. Ignorance is bliss is also a proverb. A proverb is a short, common phrase or expression that imparts wisdom and advice or shares a universal truth. Synonyms of the term proverb include adage and aphorism. Here are some additional examples of well-known proverbs: The idiom "ignorance is bliss" usually refers to the idea that one can avoid suffering and anxiety if they are unaware of the troublesome details. It suggests that sometimes it's better not to know certain things because knowing could cause worry, stress, or unhappiness. If a financially responsible person is married to someone who hides frivolous spending while pretending to also be frugal, that person is living in a state of ignorant bliss. Of course, that will change when the truth about the person's wasteful spending comes out.