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Warren Shea

Recursive(?) / Redundant Statements

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013 at 7:07 pm

One of my more recent statements has been:
“You don’t know what you don’t know”

Since then, I’ve been noticing similar phrases:
We are who we are (Ke$ha song apparently)
It is what it is
You gotta do what you gotta do
(and, I don’t know if these are some but I thought of them)
It happens when it happens
I’ll do it when I do it

Those last two are pretty bad, not sure if they should ‘apply’.

I don’t know if these would be called recursive…cuz “we are who we are who we are” or “it is what it is what it is” doesn’t really make much sense.
They’re definitely all pretty redundant – There is nothing really gained by those statements yet they’re often said.

I do think “You don’t know what you don’t know” is kind of bigger in meaning – it implies you not knowing something of a greater infinity of knowledge. It’s more focused on the NOT in the universe than the IT.

Like, if these were equations:
“It is what it is” is like “This = This”
“You gotta do what you gotta do” is like “You gotta do = You gotta do”

“You don’t know what you don’t know” is like….!KNOW(!KNOW) or UNKNOWN(UNKNOWN) ?

I think I’m over thinking this ridiculous topic. I’ve been occasionally provided more time to think and write odd blog topics like this one >_<

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