--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And he could not take the chance of…" description: "\"“And he could not take the chance of putting his certain ignorance against this man's possible knowledge.”\" — John Steinbeck" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/john-steinbeck-71_ignorance_and-he-could-not-take-the-chance-of-putt_2079743.jpg" --- # And he could not take the chance of putting his certain… ![“And he could not take the chance of putting his certain ignorance against this man's possible knowledge.” quote by John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/john-steinbeck-71_ignorance_and-he-could-not-take-the-chance-of-putt_2079743.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/john-steinbeck-71_ignorance_and-he-could-not-take-the-chance-of-putt_2079743.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/john-steinbeck-71_ignorance_and-he-could-not-take-the-chance-of-putt_2079743.jpg) > ““And he could not take the chance of putting his certain ignorance against this man's possible knowledge.”” [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear of confronting one's own ignorance leads to avoidance of intellectual challenge. **In simple terms:** Fear stops learning. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and seek knowledge. Themes fear ignorance knowledge Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - education - debate - personal growth - leadership Key Concepts existentialism epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do you confront unknowns? - What risks arise from assuming knowledge? A Different Perspective Avoiding ignorance may limit personal development. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certain Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-ignorance-1635482/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Ignorance Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance-man-342676/) [Man Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-possible-4055251/) [Possible Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible-knowledge-1367421/) ## Related quotes > [“He did not know, and perhaps this doctor did. And he could not take the chance of pitting his certain ignorance against this man's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/he-did-not-know-and-perhaps-this-doctor-did-and-he-could-not-take-the/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [It is impossible to find a man who has everything, but it is possible to find one who enjoys the things he has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/it-is-impossible-to-find-a-man-who-has-everything-but-it-is-possible/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [We must cultivate, all of us, a certain ignorance, a certain blindness, or society will not be tolerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-must-cultivate-all-of-us-a-certain-ignorance-a-certain-blindness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...Give your approval to all you cannot understand. Praise ignorance, for what man has not encountered he has not destroyed... ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/give-your-approval-to-all-you-cannot-understand-praise-ignorance-for/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“Happily men don't realise how stupid they are, or half the world would commit suicide. Knowledge is a will-of-the-wisp, fluttering ever out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/happily-men-don-t-realise-how-stupid-they-are-or-half-the-world-would/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The great mass of people judge well of things, for they are in natural ignorance, which is man's true state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-great-mass-of-people-judge-well-of-things-for-they-are-in-natural/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Praise ignorance, for what man has not encountered he has not destroyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/praise-ignorance-for-what-man-has-not-encountered-he-has-not-destroyed/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The curse of ignorance is that man without being good or evil is nevertheless satisfied with himself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/the-curse-of-ignorance-is-that-man-without-being-good-or-evil-is/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [I would rather have my ignorance than another man's knowledge, because I have so much of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-would-rather-have-my-ignorance-than-another-man-s-knowledge-because/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A dogmatic tone is generally inspired by abysmal ignorance. 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If the land mechanism as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/the-last-word-in-ignorance-is-the-man-who-says-of-an-animal-or-plant-2/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: 'What good is it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/the-last-word-in-ignorance-is-the-man-who-says-of-an-animal-or-plant/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [“Imagination is more important than knowledge”, with due respect to Mr. Einstein, I beg to differ! “Imagination is not possible without knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-are/imagination-is-more-important-than-knowledge-with-due-respect-to-mr/) [I are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-are/) > [The sum total of all possible knowledge of God is not possible for a human being, not even through a true revelation. But it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/the-sum-total-of-all-possible-knowledge-of-god-is-not-possible-for-a/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) ## More by John Steinbeck > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Prayer never brought in no side-meat. Takes a shoat to bring in pork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/prayer-never-brought-in-no-side-meat-takes-a-shoat-to-bring-in-pork/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“And now submarines are armed with mass murder, our silly, only way of deterring mass murder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-now-submarines-are-armed-with-mass-murder-our-silly-only-way-of/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“I’d think there are degrees of greatness,” Adam said. “I don’t think so,” said Samuel. “That would be like saying there is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-d-think-there-are-degrees-of-greatness-adam-said-i-don-t-think-so/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“He was forever inventing a new way of doing an old thing and doing it better and quicker, but he never in his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/he-was-forever-inventing-a-new-way-of-doing-an-old-thing-and-doing-it/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“You come back a changed man. Samuel, you don’t change him. He changes you. I can see the look of him in your face.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/you-come-back-a-changed-man-samuel-you-don-t-change-him-he-changes/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I find out of long experience that I admire all nations and hate all governments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-find-out-of-long-experience-that-i-admire-all-nations-and-hate-all/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [At about 10 o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows and in and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/at-about-10-o-clock-in-the-morning-the-sun-threw-a-bright-dust-laden/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Who in his mind has not probe the dark water?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/who-in-his-mind-has-not-probe-the-dark-water/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Sometimes, a lie is told in kindness. I don't believe it ever works kindly. The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/sometimes-a-lie-is-told-in-kindness-i-don-t-believe-it-ever-works/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [People like you to be something, preferably what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/people-like-you-to-be-something-preferably-what-they-are/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Suddenly he knew joy and sorrow felted into one fabric. Courage and fear were one thing too. He found that he had started to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/suddenly-he-knew-joy-and-sorrow-felted-into-one-fabric-courage-and/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I am writing this from what we Americans call Yurrp. In Yurrp writers are taken as seriously as Lana Turner's legs are in America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-am-writing-this-from-what-we-americans-call-yurrp-in-yurrp-writers/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I write because I like to write. I find joy in the texture and tone and rhythm of words. It is a satisfaction like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-write-because-i-like-to-write-i-find-joy-in-the-texture-and-tone/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Explore all 1,589 John Steinbeck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## More Ignorance quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) [Vashti Quiroz-Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vashti-quiroz-vega/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-only-victories-which-leave-no-regret-are-those-which-are-gained/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/) [John P Lintz Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-p-lintz-sr/) > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/sanity-can-take-one-of-only-two-forms-that-of-ignorance-or-denial/) [Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) [Browse all 5,657 Ignorance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And he could not take the chance of putting his certain ignorance against this man's possible knowledge.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Steinbeck" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-he-could-not-take-the-chance-of-putting-his-certain-ignorance/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ignorance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-he-could-not-take-the-chance-of-putting-his-certain-ignorance/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/john-steinbeck-71_ignorance_and-he-could-not-take-the-chance-of-putt_2079743.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/john-steinbeck-71_ignorance_and-he-could-not-take-the-chance-of-putt_2079743.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/john-steinbeck-71_ignorance_and-he-could-not-take-the-chance-of-putt_2079743.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And he could not take the chance of putting his certain ignorance against this man's possible knowledge.” — John Steinbeck", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Steinbeck", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“And he could not take the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-he-could-not-take-the-chance-of-putting-his-certain-ignorance/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-he-could-not-take-the-chance-of-putting-his-certain-ignorance/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```