Circumference of Darkness

As our circle of knowledge expands, so does
the circumference of darkness surrounding it.
- Albert Einstein

Corey was having a email discussion on religion with a friend here this past week. Here's an excerpt from his email where he explains the circumference of darkness, and specifically how it relates to the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith:

First, I'll get you started with this mental picture - draw a circle. The circle is white and represents the things that you know. Color the surrounding area black - this represents the things that you don't know. The line bordering between the two is the circumference of darkness.

"The circumference of darkness is the line that separates the two: it is the things that you at least know you don't know, things which you probably have questions about. When we learn new things, our understanding grows - we know more stuff. But also, the circumference of darkness gets bigger because we are exposed to many more things that (before) we didn't know we didn't know - and now we have questions about them. The prophet Joseph Smith revealed so many new things about Jesus Christ and his gospel that they raise an enormous amount of new questions. If the new intelligence is consistent with other things you know that are true, and actually expands upon them, it is a mark of true intelligence. Some, however, reject new stuff because it does raise new questions - and can have unsettling implications."

I can share more of Corey's email if you'd like. It's good stuff.