Knowledge is great. But what good is knowledge if you really don’t understand what you think you know?

If you’re a journalist and it’s your job to explain that knowledge to the rest of the world everyday, it’s not much good at all. Reporters at this newspaper and every other are expected to become instant experts on the topic or issue they are covering.

It’s easy in life to come across something you don’t understand and just pretend you do. But when you have to turn around and take that something and put it into words so someone else can understand it, pretending doesn’t cut it.

A story on the front page of this newspaper today is a perfect example of not settling for playing make believe.

The murder of Shannon McNamara this summer and the prosecution of Anthony Mertz for the crime is something that has likely affected the feelings and thoughts of nearly every individual on this campus. To say the least, it’s an important topic many people care about.

I didn’t and don’t know Anthony Mertz. I met Shannon once. But to see how such a horrific, incomprehensible incident has deeply stirred the souls of so many has left a mark on my life forever.

For that reason, pretending to understand the ongoings of this capital murder case hasn’t been an option for me. When state’s attorney Steve Ferguson announced he was charging Mertz with 16 felony counts, including eight first-degree murder counts, I didn’t get it.

Mertz isn’t being charged with committing eight murders, but one. So the questions I kept asking myself were: What exactly constitutes a count? And how can Ferguson charge Mertz with 16 of those?

So I wandered around the newsroom here asking my staff those very questions, and no one seemed to have the answers. So we sent associate news editor Pat Guinane out to find the answers. Those answers are broken down and explained in an article on today’s front page.

It turns out a recent Supreme Court decision changes the way a prosecutor charges a defendant when he or she is seeking sentencing more severe than the crime typically calls for. So, now I know the answers to my questions, and I’m glad I do.

It would have been easy for me, the reporter who wrote the story or anyone else to just pretend they understood what was going on. But who wants to go through life pretending?

It’s easy to be afraid of asking a stupid question or two, especially when it comes to a topic you’re not very familiar with or knowledgeable about. As a newspaper reporter and editor over the past four years, I’ve certainly asked my fair share of stupid questions.

But what I’ve learned is simple. I’d rather sound stupid and be smarter in the end than seem smart, but truly be stupid.