Plato captures something we usually miss: opinion isn't simply knowledge's poor cousin, but rather its necessary neighbor. While we tend to see ignorance and knowledge as opposites with opinion awkwardly stranded between them, he suggests opinion *bridges* the gap—it's the space where thinking actually happens, where we test ideas before certainty settles in. When you're learning a new skill at work, say programming, you move through exactly this progression: first you're ignorant of syntax, then you form opinions about why certain functions work, and eventually knowledge crystallizes. The insight troubles our rush to dismiss opinion-holders; Plato reminds us that holding and revising opinions is where wisdom builds itself.