Are You Ignorant of Your Ignorance?

 "To be ignorant of one's ignorance is the malady of the ignorant."

Almost every day, one can see people who speak with great confidence as they make stupid and even idiotic remarks.  Whenever I see such displays of what might be called arrogant stupidity, I often find myself thinking, "These are people don't know what they don't know." In short, they are ignorant of their own ignorance.


People who suffer from this affliction generally speak very confidently, or even with great certitude, even when it is clear that they are wrong. And, predictably, they are extremely unreceptive--or even downright hostile--to information or evidence that does not support their view. It's almost as if they are saying, "Don't confuse me with the facts; my mind is already made up," Arrogant stupidity shows up all over the globe
and in every sector of life.  And, sadly, we see it all too frequently in the world of politics.  Over a century ago, George Bernard Shaw had a character in his play "Major Barbara" (1907) say:

  "He knows nothing and thinks he knows everything.
    That points clearly to a political career."

I don't want to come across as condescending here, for I can recall a number of times in my past when I preached on some subject with very little knowledge--and sometimes even faulty knowledge--to sustain and strangthen my views.  Perhaps you have done the same thing from time to time in your life.  As you reflect on how the phenomenon applies to you, let your thinking be stimulated by these observations:

  "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
          Saul Bellow 
"The truest characters of ignorance are vanity and pride and arrogance."
          Samuel Butler
  "The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about."
          Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
  "Knowledge slowly builds up what ignorance in an hour pulls down."
          George Eliot 
"The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: Be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge."
          Elbert Hubbard 
"Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it."
          Thomas Paine
  "Against logic there is no armor like ignorance."
          Dr. Laurence J. Peter
  "When ignorance gets started it knows no bounds."
          Will Rogers 
"Our biggest problem as human beings is not knowing that we don't know."
          Virginia Satir 
"Ignorance is not bliss--it is oblivion."
          Philip Wylie

Courtesy of Dr. Mardy