--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not so bad being ignorant if you…" description: "\"It is not so bad being ignorant if you are totally ignorant; the hard thing is knowing in some detail the reality of ignorance...\" — Lewis Thomas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/lewis-thomas-2299_being-ignorant_it-is-not-so-bad-being-ignorant-if-you-a_2428165.png" --- # It is not so bad being ignorant if you are totally… ![“It is not so bad being ignorant if you are totally ignorant; the hard thing is knowing in some detail the reality of ignorance...” quote by Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/lewis-thomas-2299_being-ignorant_it-is-not-so-bad-being-ignorant-if-you-a_2428165.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/lewis-thomas-2299_being-ignorant_it-is-not-so-bad-being-ignorant-if-you-a_2428165.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/lewis-thomas-2299_being-ignorant_it-is-not-so-bad-being-ignorant-if-you-a_2428165.png) > “It is not so bad being ignorant if you are totally ignorant; the hard thing is knowing in some detail the reality of ignorance...” [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ignorance is tolerable when total, but painful when partially understood; detailed awareness of one's own ignorance is unsettling. **In simple terms:** Partial knowledge can be more distressing than none. Key Takeaway Embrace humility about what you don't know. Themes knowledge ignorance humility Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - education - research - personal growth Key Concepts epistemology self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - What areas of your life reveal hidden ignorance? - How can you turn awareness into learning? A Different Perspective Recognizing ignorance can lead to paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-ignorant-245620/) [Being ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-ignorant/) [Details](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/details/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-things/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant/) [Ignorant Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant-hard-245618/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-ignorance-245619/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Totally Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totally-ignorant-245621/) ## Related quotes > [To confess that you are totally Ignorant about the horse, is social suicide: you will be despised by everybody, especially the horse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-sellar/to-confess-that-you-are-totally-ignorant-about-the-horse-is-social/) [W. C. Sellar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-sellar/) > [Recognizing how totally ignorant you are is the only honest way to deal with people who've been through something traumatic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/recognizing-how-totally-ignorant-you-are-is-the-only-honest-way-to/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [I didn't know anything about movies or movie stars or the Academy or anything. I was just a blank sheet of paper. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-badham/i-didn-t-know-anything-about-movies-or-movie-stars-or-the-academy-or/) [Mary Badham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-badham/) > [There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune on his army: By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/there-are-three-ways-in-which-a-ruler-can-bring-misfortune-on-his/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [One can't understand everything at once, we can't begin with perfection all at once! In order to reach perfection one must begin by being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-can-t-understand-everything-at-once-we-can-t-begin-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pride is less ashamed of being ignorant, than of being instructed, and she looks too high to find that, which very often lies beneath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/pride-is-less-ashamed-of-being-ignorant-than-of-being-instructed-and/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [A political system seeking to function amongst ignorant, illiterate and barbaric people could have marvelous principles but could only succeed in being ignorant, illiterate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/a-political-system-seeking-to-function-amongst-ignorant-illiterate/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [We ask for what reason our Lord was unwilling to state the time of His coming (cf. Mk. 13:31-32). If we ask it, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose/we-ask-for-what-reason-our-lord-was-unwilling-to-state-the-time-of/) [Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose/) > [Most people, including ourselves, live in a world of relative ignorance. We are even comfortable with that ignorance, because it is all we know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/most-people-including-ourselves-live-in-a-world-of-relative-ignorance/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [How can people be so stupid? I marvel at that. See, I think you have to work as being ignorant - and if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/how-can-people-be-so-stupid-i-marvel-at-that-see-i-think-you-have-to/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Better to be ignorant of a matter than half know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/better-to-be-ignorant-of-a-matter-than-half-know-it/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being aware. And the worst part of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/without-willing-it-i-had-gone-from-being-ignorant-of-being-ignorant-2/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [When someone refuses to tell me a certain piece of information, it only makes me that much more determined to find out the truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/when-someone-refuses-to-tell-me-a-certain-piece-of-information-it/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [I have been accused of being ignorant of economics (although I am the founder and Chairman of the Board of a company which publishes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-demause/i-have-been-accused-of-being-ignorant-of-economics-although-i-am-the/) [Lloyd deMause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-demause/) > [Vietnam was an exercise in mistaken idealism Iraq in cynical money-making. And there's no optimism or idealism now -- Americans are tired of knowledge.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/vietnam-was-an-exercise-in-mistaken-idealism-iraq-in-cynical-money/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More by Lewis Thomas > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“It is not a simple thing to decide where we fit, for at one time or another in our lives we manage to organize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-not-a-simple-thing-to-decide-where-we-fit-for-at-one-time-or/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [It is in our genes to understand the universe if we can, to keep trying even if we cannot, and to be enchanted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-in-our-genes-to-understand-the-universe-if-we-can-to-keep/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [If an idea cannot move on its own, pushing it doesn't help; best to let it lie there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/if-an-idea-cannot-move-on-its-own-pushing-it-doesn-t-help-best-to-let/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Left to ourselves, mechanistic and autonomic, we hanker for friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/left-to-ourselves-mechanistic-and-autonomic-we-hanker-for-friends/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [I do not agree with this century's fashion of running down the human species as a failed try, a doomed sport. At our worst,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/i-do-not-agree-with-this-century-s-fashion-of-running-down-the-human/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [It would seem to me... an offense against nature, for us to come on the same scene endowed as we are with the curiosity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-would-seem-to-me-an-offense-against-nature-for-us-to-come-on-the/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The drive to be useful is encoded in our genes. But when we gather in very large numbers, as in the modern nation-state, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-drive-to-be-useful-is-encoded-in-our-genes-but-when-we-gather-in/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [I would send the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach into outer space on the Voyager spacecraft. But that would be boasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/i-would-send-the-complete-works-of-johann-sebastian-bach-into-outer/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“Nature abhors a long silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/nature-abhors-a-long-silence/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“The future is too interesting and dangerous to be entrusted to any predictable, reliable agency. We need all the fallibility we can get. Most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-future-is-too-interesting-and-dangerous-to-be-entrusted-to-any/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [We pass the word around; we ponder how the case is put by different people, we read the poetry; we meditate over the literature;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-pass-the-word-around-we-ponder-how-the-case-is-put-by-different/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“The uniformity of the earth's life, more astonishing than its diversity, is accountable by the high probability that we derived, originally, from some single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-uniformity-of-the-earth-s-life-more-astonishing-than-its/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Having long suspected that there was something alive in there, running the place, separate from everything else, absolutely individual and independent, we've celebrated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/having-long-suspected-that-there-was-something-alive-in-there-running/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) [Explore all 173 Lewis Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) ## More Being ignorant quotes > [Vietnam was an exercise in mistaken idealism Iraq in cynical money-making. And there's no optimism or idealism now -- Americans are tired of knowledge.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/vietnam-was-an-exercise-in-mistaken-idealism-iraq-in-cynical-money/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I have been accused of being ignorant of economics (although I am the founder and Chairman of the Board of a company which publishes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-demause/i-have-been-accused-of-being-ignorant-of-economics-although-i-am-the/) [Lloyd deMause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-demause/) > [When someone refuses to tell me a certain piece of information, it only makes me that much more determined to find out the truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/when-someone-refuses-to-tell-me-a-certain-piece-of-information-it/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being aware. And the worst part of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/without-willing-it-i-had-gone-from-being-ignorant-of-being-ignorant-2/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Better to be ignorant of a matter than half know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/better-to-be-ignorant-of-a-matter-than-half-know-it/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [How can people be so stupid? I marvel at that. See, I think you have to work as being ignorant - and if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/how-can-people-be-so-stupid-i-marvel-at-that-see-i-think-you-have-to/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Most people, including ourselves, live in a world of relative ignorance. We are even comfortable with that ignorance, because it is all we know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/most-people-including-ourselves-live-in-a-world-of-relative-ignorance/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [We ask for what reason our Lord was unwilling to state the time of His coming (cf. Mk. 13:31-32). If we ask it, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose/we-ask-for-what-reason-our-lord-was-unwilling-to-state-the-time-of/) [Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose/) > [A political system seeking to function amongst ignorant, illiterate and barbaric people could have marvelous principles but could only succeed in being ignorant, illiterate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/a-political-system-seeking-to-function-amongst-ignorant-illiterate/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [Pride is less ashamed of being ignorant, than of being instructed, and she looks too high to find that, which very often lies beneath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/pride-is-less-ashamed-of-being-ignorant-than-of-being-instructed-and/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [One can't understand everything at once, we can't begin with perfection all at once! In order to reach perfection one must begin by being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-can-t-understand-everything-at-once-we-can-t-begin-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune on his army: By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/there-are-three-ways-in-which-a-ruler-can-bring-misfortune-on-his/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [We are against ignorance. We feel that you have to educate yourself, no matter what the situation is. People who refuse to educate themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeena-schreck/we-are-against-ignorance-we-feel-that-you-have-to-educate-yourself-no/) [Zeena Schreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeena-schreck/) > [One of the great things about being ignorant is that I often think my ideas are original. It's a wonderful feeling. That's why I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/one-of-the-great-things-about-being-ignorant-is-that-i-often-think-my/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Be straight with yourself just to maybe save a few more people from being stupid and being ignorant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/be-straight-with-yourself-just-to-maybe-save-a-few-more-people-from/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) [Browse all 19 Being ignorant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-ignorant/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not so bad being ignorant if you are totally ignorant; the hard thing is knowing in some detail the reality of ignorance...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lewis Thomas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-not-so-bad-being-ignorant-if-you-are-totally-ignorant-the-hard/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being ignorant" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-not-so-bad-being-ignorant-if-you-are-totally-ignorant-the-hard/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/lewis-thomas-2299_being-ignorant_it-is-not-so-bad-being-ignorant-if-you-a_2428165.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/lewis-thomas-2299_being-ignorant_it-is-not-so-bad-being-ignorant-if-you-a_2428165.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/lewis-thomas-2299_being-ignorant_it-is-not-so-bad-being-ignorant-if-you-a_2428165.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is not so bad being ignorant if you are totally ignorant; the hard thing is knowing in some detail the…” — Lewis Thomas", "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": "Lewis Thomas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is not so bad being...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-not-so-bad-being-ignorant-if-you-are-totally-ignorant-the-hard/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-not-so-bad-being-ignorant-if-you-are-totally-ignorant-the-hard/#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 } } ] } ```