Unlike a shelf or bookcase filled with previously read books, an anti-library serves as a tangible reminder of all unread books—books that may contain valuable information or insights—but which a person hasn’t yet had the opportunity to access. With an estimated 3,000 new books being published daily and the rate of scientific knowledge purported to be doubling every seven years, it is safe to assume that there is a growing body of knowledge which is relevant to you and your business but which you remain blissfully unaware.
It is also impossible to know everything. Therefore, the best one can do in such a deplorable situation is to use the awareness of this ignorance as a method for staying intellectually humble.
By extension, a person more likely to remain open to the necessity of unlearning if they occasionally remind themselves of what they don’t know.
Homework Assignment:
If your financial situation permits start an anti-library. Alternatively, using an online tool such as Shelfari, begin compiling a list of books that might contain useful knowledge but which you don’t or won’t have the time to read.
Add a minimum of one book a week for a year to your anti-library.
You are, of course, free to ignore this advice but remember this: What you don’t know can kill you—almost as easily as a deer.
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