h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Many people would define 'ignorance' as 'a state of not knowing, of being unaware'. My personal opinion is that ignorance is not so passive a thing. That definition might lead some people to believe that if a person is ignorant about something, it is through no fault of his own; he simply didn't know. I prefer to believe that ignorance is the act of ignoring, perhaps even a conscious effort to avoid understanding something of whose existence one can't help but be aware.