"I don't know."

I don't know--

--can be taken as a sign of nonchalant ambivalence or of true un-knowledge. The phrase bothers me immensely particularly when I know that it's employed for the sake of ease. Rather than explaining what or where something is, "I don't know" replaces an extended side of conversation and deems the preceding question insignificant, thereby making life slightly more difficult for the asker. It can also suggest an un-caring or indifference. Both cases are demonstrated below:

A, while driving: What time does that place close?
B, while on smartphone: I don't know.

A: What do you want to do?
B: I don't know. What about you?
A: I don't know.

In the case of true un-knowledge, life is still easier for the intended answerer, especially sans the supposed guilt from taking the easy way out by unthinkingly claiming "I don't know." The situation also remains the same for the asker. Either way, the asker may reiterate the question, in hopes that persistence will evoke an actual answer, and with enough emphasis on the phrase, the answerer may quickly persuade his interlocutor of his un-knowledge. Both cases are demonstrated below:

A, angry about a rumor: C just told D that I got fired. How did C find out?
B, unfamiliar with C and D: I don't know.
A: Why would she do such a thing?
B: I don't know.
A: Well, I'm glad at least you aren't involved in this.

A: Where are my keys?
B: I don't know.
A: I was just holding them in front of you. Where could they be?
B: I don't know.
A: Really?
B: I really don't know!
A: Okay. Can you help me find them?

"I don't know" can be a lifesaver. You know the saying, "Ignorance is bliss"? Maybe that's why we claim un-knowledge, to save ourselves the trouble of, say, explaining a process or of getting caught in conflict, like above. Alternatively, it can be the very thing that gnaws at your heart and kills you from inside. Not knowing something, waiting on your tiptoes for any indication of answer, any direction toward knowledge--it can be anxiously gut-wrenching and sleep-depriving. It can stunt your motion through life and even lead you toward the above types of "I don't know" usages, as follows:

A, genuinely concerned: So does C feel the same way about you?
B, having not heard from C: I don't know.
A: What are you going to do now?
B: I don't know.
A: Well, how do you feel?
B, seemingly stoic but undoubtedly emotional: I don't know.


Thus concludes my conglomeration of thoughts on the ever sought-out phrase, I don't know.

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