Great point. The times I've pretended usually come back to bite me and are eventually more embarrassing than just saying "I don't know". Now, when I'm tempted

Great point. The times I've pretended usually come back to bite me and are eventually more embarrassing than just saying "I don't know". Now, when I'm tempted to pretend, I think about the embarrassment that will probably result, which gives me the courage to say "I don't know." On a related note, I was once in a meeting with a couple brilliant NASA scientists, and was surprised how often they admitted they did not know something. There were a couple of the smartest guys I've ever met, and the had no qualms about admitting things they didn't know. That helped me to start saying "I don't know" more often as well.