Things People Don't Want To Know

People want to know so many things that it's impossible to make a comprehensive list. They want to know how to use a computer, to perform CPR, to change a tire, to speak a foreign language, to swim, to administer first aid, and to do just about anything. However, the one thing they want to know more than anything else is how you're doing. After all, don't you get asked "How are you?", in some form or another, almost every day of your life? And this is not just true in the English language, it's true in virtually every language spoken around the world. While the expression "How are you?", wie gehts es dir, comment allez-vous, come stai, and cómo estás all ask the same thing, do people REALLY want to know the condition of your health? I don't think so, and if you don't believe me, try telling them how ill you are every time they ask and they'll stop asking. So, people may have lengthy lists of things they want to know, but it's also clear that they have some things they don't want to know. Let's examine a few.

How many arms have held her and how many lips have kissed her are thoughts a man may have about the woman in his life, but does he really want to know? In most cases, probably not. These are such common thoughts for both men and women that Don Robertson and Howard Barnes used them as lyrics in their song titled "I Really Don't Want to Know". While the song was published in 1953, the content has remained so popular throughout the years that it has been sung and included in albums by Les Paul and Mary Ford, Eddy Arnold, Elvis Presley, Tommy Edwards, Dolly Parton, Skeeter Davis, John Travolta, and a long list of others.

Even in cases where we pursue such information about the man/woman in our lives, we generally stop somewhere along the road because we just don't really want to know all of the details.

According to nutrition writer Jennifer LaRue Huget, "when you've got your heart set on a Big Mac, the last thing you want is to have to face up to the calories, fat and salt the darned thing contains". For most of us, we simply don't want to know the nutritional content of the fast food we eat.

A group of researchers from Yale University supported that conclusion when they did a study to determine the number of people who looked at the nutrition information provided by a group of fast food restaurants in various locations in and around New York City. Of the 4,311 people they observed, only six looked at the nutrition information provided by the restaurant. Do you seek out nutrition data when you eat at fast food restaurants?

While our friends and family members generally ask us questions about ourselves because they are genuinely interested in our lives, they sometimes aren't asking out of interest or concern. Sometimes it's just to be polite or cordial. In fact, in some cases, it's solely for the purpose of opening the door so they can tell you about themselves.

During my high school years, the most common question my friends would ask me when report cards were issued was "what did you get?" Since they were mostly "A" students and I was a solid "C" student, I think they were more interested in telling me about their accomplishments rather than looking for an opportunity to congratulate me on mine. I'm sure you can think of times when people asked you about yourself and seconds later you found yourself listening to some lengthy story about them.

Studies show that people are more likely to seek a diagnostic test for a disease they believe to be serious and treatable and to avoid a test for a disease they believe is serious and untreatable. This is true for many cancer, HIV/AIDS, and Alzheimer’s patients.

According to Erica Dawson of the Yale School of Management, “If people think they have no control, they may not seek information about their health status even if they are at risk for a serious disease. In fact, they may go out of their way to actively avoid any information,”

What you don't know can kill you, but many of us still choose not to know.

Most people, in at least one or more circumstance, don't want to know the truth because it might force them to make a change that they aren't willing to make. After all, the truth has a way of pointing out our shortcomings and faults and sometimes it's just too difficult to handle. While we would all like to paint a more positive portrait of ourselves, we are flawed human beings and, as such, sometimes resist the truth so we can remain comfortable in our old mindset.

Examples of this are numerous. A parent of a child who suspects his/her child is homosexual or tansgendered, doesn't always want to know the truth. Many of the citizens of Nazi Germany didn't necessarily want to know about the existence of concentration camps to achieve the Final Solution, and many people today still seek to erase that knowledge.

Fortunately, people want to know many more things than they don't want to know. However, there is one thing they definitely want to know but shouldn't. George Bernard Shaw said it best when he said: "The things most people want to know about are usually none of their business".