There is no shame in being ignorant, but if we want to learn something we don’t yet know, like Socrates, we must first admit, “I only know that I know not.”
When someone speaks about something you don’t understand, swallow your pride and ask to be instructed. Some people may add to your discomfort by replying, “I can’t believe that you don’t know that,” but you may be surprised to find that many others will admire your openness and be happy to share their knowledge with you.
You may be tempted to try to gloss over your ignorance, or to hide it behind some unfounded opinion. But it is then that you’d be wise to remember the folk wisdom of Josh Billings: “It ain’t what a man don’t know that makes him a fool, but what he does know that ain’t so.”
Ignorance won’t hull anything, unless we aren’t willing to acknowledge it.