The confidence of ignorance (Darwin)
May 12th, 2008 | Published in Education, Evolution, Fundamentalism, Quotes, Science | 4 Comments
[I]gnorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.
—Charles Darwin, as quoted in Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World (Ballantine Books: 1995), p. 266.
January 13th, 2010 at 1:48 pm (#)
This quote is so inverted and upside down I’m surprised! Ignorance begets confidence, and that’s what leads to positive assertion, no doubt, but its the “well educated” who can so often be the most ignorant. How? By thinking they know everything! They are not aware of their ignorance. It is the ignorance of the graduate, not the ignorance of the unschooled, that is most dangerous because it is an ignorance of hubris.
January 13th, 2010 at 1:55 pm (#)
It can happen both ways. A person who is truly well-educated will know how many disciplines they know very little about — and thus willing to admit “I don’t really know,” even if they give an opinion.
In my experience, it’s the ignorant who show the most confidence, even when they cannot back up their assertions. It especially applies when people are inside a mass movement, such as an ideology or religion.
May 10th, 2010 at 8:00 am (#)
It’s called the Dunning-Kruger effect:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
The study demonstrates that incompetent individuals tend to overestimate their level of skill. Amusingly, poster #1 provided a perfectly exemplary example!
May 17th, 2010 at 1:59 am (#)
Quite the beautiful riposte by Zach and I could not agree more. The wonders of confidence that brim from the ignorant never fail to leave me both perplexed and disdained.
And Steve, thanks for the simply stunning cursory insight.