Clouds and thunder:
The image of Difficulty at the Beginning.
Thus the superior man
Brings order out of confusion.
The image of Difficulty at the Beginning.
Thus the superior man
Brings order out of confusion.
— I Ching ䷂ Hexagram 3
Inquiry begins in doubt, a debit of certainty and a drought of information, never a pleasant condition to acknowledge, and one of the primary obstacles to inquiry may be reckoned as owing to the onus one naturally feels on owning up to that debt. Human nature far prefers to revel in the positive features of whatever scientific knowledge it already possesses and the mind defers as long as possible the revolt it feels arising on facing the uncertainties that still persist, the “nots” and “not yets” it cannot as yet and ought not deny.
Reference
- The I Ching, or Book of Changes, R. Wilhelm and C.F. Baynes (trans.), Foreword by C.G. Jung, Bollingen Series 19, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 1st edition 1950, 2nd edition 1961, 3rd edition 1967.
cc: Conceptual Graphs • Cybernetics • Laws of Form • Mathstodon • Ontolog
cc: FB | Inquiry Driven Systems • Structural Modeling • Systems Science
Inquiry Into Inquiry 
Jon,
I like your metaphor of debt. Doubt is the notice of the payment due on the loan knowledge to us. Much more work to repay the debt with interest than to spend the cash.
Tom