Ignorance has been both vilified and celebrated throughout the ages. However, the social sciences have had little to say about this topic over the years. this paper, we argue that an age of competing and contrasting worldviews, scholarly attention to ignorance can shed light on interpersonal processes and relational dynamics that occur encounters between subjects holding different points of view. We discuss data from two studies documenting an attribution of ignorance social relations that serves to relegate the other's point of view to one that stands need of education or correction. We argue that this communicative strategy enacts a semantic barrier that serves to retathe interlocutor's original point of view unscathed and unchallenged. We argue that this limits dialogical relations by eliminating the requirement for perspective-taking social dialogue. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.