An edX Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on “Ignorance!” (https://www.edx.org/course/ignorance-wu-zhi-anux-igno101x) co-taught by Michael Smithson and Gabriele Bammer is available in self-paced mode.

The course is in English, with the captions and transcripts also available in traditional and simplified Chinese. The course was run with enrolled participants and with moderated discussion in June 23-August 4, 2015 and January 10 – March 13, 2017.

Synopsis: Ignorance is a neglected topic, and yet it is central to the human condition. This course presents a comprehensive framework for understanding, coping with, and making decisions in the face of ignorance. Course participants learn that ignorance is not always negative, but has uses and benefits in domains from everyday life to the farthest reaches of science where ignorance is simultaneously destroyed and new ignorance created. They discover the roles ignorance plays in human relationships, culture, and how it underpins important kinds of social capital. There is no other course like this in the world. And ignorance is everyone’s business.

The MOOC is based on Michael Smithson’s pioneering work in this area. Gabriele Bammer is looking specifically at the importance of ignorance in dealing with complex problems.

Find out more:

• 2015 syllabus (PDF 447KB)
• 2015 evaluation survey results (PDF 114KB)
• 2015 feedback from the discussion forum (PDF 116KB)
• 2015 public review
• 2017 syllabus (PDF 140KB)
• 2017 evaluation survey responses (PDF 96KB)
• 2017 feedback from the discussion forum (PDF 45KB)

Note: The original plan was to run the course in two five week blocks in June and September 2015, respectively. After considerable thought and discussion following the first block, we decided instead to run the course in one expanded eight week session, which went live on 10 January 2017.