--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The world is a complex place and only…" description: "\"“The world is a complex place and only idiots and assholes think they know it all.”\" — Lisa Gardner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bc/lisa-gardner-7497_idiots_the-world-is-a-complex-place-and-only-id_829068.jpg" --- # The world is a complex place and only idiots and assholes… ![“The world is a complex place and only idiots and assholes think they know it all.” quote by Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bc/lisa-gardner-7497_idiots_the-world-is-a-complex-place-and-only-id_829068.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bc/lisa-gardner-7497_idiots_the-world-is-a-complex-place-and-only-id_829068.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bc/lisa-gardner-7497_idiots_the-world-is-a-complex-place-and-only-id_829068.jpg) > ““The world is a complex place and only idiots and assholes think they know it all.”” [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The world’s complexity exceeds any single person’s full understanding, and overconfidence leads to folly. **In simple terms:** No one can know everything. Key Takeaway Stay humble about knowledge. Themes humility knowledge complexity Mood thoughtful cautious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - decision making - learning - leadership Key Concepts cognitive bias epistemic humility Questions to Reflect On - Do you ever claim to know it all? - How do you handle uncertainty? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can still be useful in action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assholes Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assholes-think-500643/) [Idiots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiots/) [Idiots Assholes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiots-assholes-541901/) [Place Idiots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place-idiots-541902/) [World Complex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-complex-541903/) ## Related quotes > [What I learned is that it's arrogant to be certain of anything. The world is a complex place and only idiots or assholes think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/what-i-learned-is-that-it-s-arrogant-to-be-certain-of-anything-the/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [Never, ever, in my entire life did I ever think that it would be a good idea to be an asshole. But you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/never-ever-in-my-entire-life-did-i-ever-think-that-it-would-be-a-good/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [“Ask yourself something. Have you ever thought about why guys want you gone the next day? It’s not because they’ve got things to do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fisher-amelie/ask-yourself-something-have-you-ever-thought-about-why-guys-want-you/) [Fisher Amelie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fisher-amelie/) > [Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one but they think each others stink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-elkeles/opinions-are-like-assholes-everyone-has-one-but-they-think-each/) [Simone Elkeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-elkeles/) > [The world is a very complex and interesting place and that is what I really want my fiction to say: wake up to how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/the-world-is-a-very-complex-and-interesting-place-and-that-is-what-i/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [The world is a complex place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-pollack/the-world-is-a-complex-place/) [Eileen Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-pollack/) > [They say the world has become too complex for simple answers. They are wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/they-say-the-world-has-become-too-complex-for-simple-answers-they-are/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The world is a complex, interconnected, finite, ecological - social - psychological - economic system. We treat it as if it were not, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donella-meadows/the-world-is-a-complex-interconnected-finite-ecological-social/) [Donella Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donella-meadows/) > [To me, a mark of maturity is realizing that nobody runs the world. Fat cat politicians and secret conspiracies don't control our lives. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-meyer/to-me-a-mark-of-maturity-is-realizing-that-nobody-runs-the-world-fat/) [George Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-meyer/) > [“The world is so complex and overstimulating that you can easily lose your sense of direction. Doing countless unnecessary activities will dissipate your energy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-young/the-world-is-so-complex-and-overstimulating-that-you-can-easily-lose/) [Sarah Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-young/) > [Abstraction brings the world into more complex, variable relations; it can extract beauty, alternative topographies, ugliness, and intense actualities from seeming nothingness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/abstraction-brings-the-world-into-more-complex-variable-relations-it/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [“Perhaps consciousness arises when the brain's simulation of the world becomes so complex that it must include a model of itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/perhaps-consciousness-arises-when-the-brain-s-simulation-of-the-world/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [What is this world? A complex whole, subject to endless revolutions. All these revolutions show a continual tendency to destruction; a swift succession of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/what-is-this-world-a-complex-whole-subject-to-endless-revolutions-all/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [“Our world is now so complex, our technology and science so powerful, and our problems so global and interconnected that we have come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-paul-gee/our-world-is-now-so-complex-our-technology-and-science-so-powerful/) [James Paul Gee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-paul-gee/) > [The world has become so complex that the idea of a power in which everything comes together and can be controlled in a centralized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-beck/the-world-has-become-so-complex-that-the-idea-of-a-power-in-which/) [Ulrich Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-beck/) ## More by Lisa Gardner > [It's kind of the yin and yang that fascinate me. That for all the evil men do, there are also people who work obnoxiously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/it-s-kind-of-the-yin-and-yang-that-fascinate-me-that-for-all-the-evil/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [Everyone should say what they wanted. It saved time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/everyone-should-say-what-they-wanted-it-saved-time/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [You try as a parent. You love beyond reason. You fight beyond endurance. You hope beyond despair. You never think, until the very last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/you-try-as-a-parent-you-love-beyond-reason-you-fight-beyond-endurance/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [“The results are about as meaningful as a sixth toe - gives you something to look at, but doesn't do a damn thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/the-results-are-about-as-meaningful-as-a-sixth-toe-gives-you/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [Post-apocalyptic novels tell you that in the future there is some great war. I would tell you that most cops say that it's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/post-apocalyptic-novels-tell-you-that-in-the-future-there-is-some/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [“Not the cute kind of cuckoo, or the lights-on-but-nobody's-home loony. She's really, genuinely, sold my-soul-to-the-devil crazy. She don't care about me or anyone else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/not-the-cute-kind-of-cuckoo-or-the-lights-on-but-nobody-s-home-loony/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [“God give me the strength to change the things I can change, the courage to let go of the things I need to let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/god-give-me-the-strength-to-change-the-things-i-can-change-the/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [If you choose to do something, do it with your utmost. And remember, expect nothing and life will be velvet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/if-you-choose-to-do-something-do-it-with-your-utmost-and-remember/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [I still read romance, and I read suspense. I read them both. And part of it is, I like stories with strong characters, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/i-still-read-romance-and-i-read-suspense-i-read-them-both-and-part-of/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [“MY PAIN IS NAMED”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/my-pain-is-named/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [You can be the hunter, or you can be the hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/you-can-be-the-hunter-or-you-can-be-the-hunted/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [“Alex said, his voice subdued, tense. “So it would seem,” D.D.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/alex-said-his-voice-subdued-tense-so-it-would-seem-d-d/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [All I've really ever done is write since I was 17, so I don't know anything about anything. For me to do a novel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/all-i-ve-really-ever-done-is-write-since-i-was-17-so-i-don-t-know/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [My secret vice is Sudoku puzzles. Can't stop playing them. My parents are accountants. I blame them entirely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/my-secret-vice-is-sudoku-puzzles-can-t-stop-playing-them-my-parents/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [“For a bit, he picked up the paperbacks, thumbed the worn edges. Military thrillers. Books with clear right and wrong where the good guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/for-a-bit-he-picked-up-the-paperbacks-thumbed-the-worn-edges-military/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) [Explore all 86 Lisa Gardner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) ## More Idiots quotes > [“By their very nature, idiots do not have the intellectual capacity to identify genius. All that idiots are mentally equipped to recognize are other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dermot-davis/by-their-very-nature-idiots-do-not-have-the-intellectual-capacity-to/) [Dermot Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dermot-davis/) > [“Boy, did she love those idiots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emory-r-frie/boy-did-she-love-those-idiots/) [Emory R. Frie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emory-r-frie/) > [Solemnity is the shield of idiots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/solemnity-is-the-shield-of-idiots/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm fed up with the idiots... the ever-widening gap between people who know how to make movies and the people who green-light the movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/i-m-fed-up-with-the-idiots-the-ever-widening-gap-between-people-who/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [If Girl In Luv, Hr Parents Ask: Who Is Dat Idiot? If Boy In Luv, His Parents Ask: Idiot, Who Is Dat Girl? Moral:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadie/if-girl-in-luv-hr-parents-ask-who-is-dat-idiot-if-boy-in-luv-his/) [Sadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadie/) > [Studio people are idiots. Until they see someone else doing it and make a success of it, they don't open their minds. Most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-schneider/studio-people-are-idiots-until-they-see-someone-else-doing-it-and/) [Rob Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-schneider/) > [There are not enough retarded people on this earth because the idiots are still alive. Jennifer Amorelli.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-amorelli/there-are-not-enough-retarded-people-on-this-earth-because-the-idiots/) [Jennifer Amorelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-amorelli/) > [Love should be between 2 people who love one another but some idiots dont know how to count](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mee/love-should-be-between-2-people-who-love-one-another-but-some-idiots/) [Mee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mee/) > [On entering this world our starting-point is ignorance. None, however, but idiots remain there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/on-entering-this-world-our-starting-point-is-ignorance-none-however/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [God preserve me from idiots and men in love, which is the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-v-heberden/god-preserve-me-from-idiots-and-men-in-love-which-is-the-same-thing/) [M. V. Heberden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-v-heberden/) > [Forget the idiots, they're going to see what they want to see, even if you change. They don't want to see you happy. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/forget-the-idiots-they-re-going-to-see-what-they-want-to-see-even-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Missing out an apostrophe or two does not make you an idiot. But equating party allegiance with nationhood certainly makes you a thug. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-webb/missing-out-an-apostrophe-or-two-does-not-make-you-an-idiot-but/) [Robert Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-webb/) > [Humanity is OK, but 99% of people are boring idiots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/humanity-is-ok-but-99-of-people-are-boring-idiots/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Build a company that idiots could run because eventually they will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-rabois/build-a-company-that-idiots-could-run-because-eventually-they-will/) [Keith Rabois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-rabois/) > [Las Vegas turns women into men and men into idiots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bugsy-siegel/las-vegas-turns-women-into-men-and-men-into-idiots/) [Bugsy Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bugsy-siegel/) [Browse all 465 Idiots quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiots/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The world is a complex place and only idiots and assholes think they know it all.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lisa Gardner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/the-world-is-a-complex-place-and-only-idiots-and-assholes-think-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Idiots" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/the-world-is-a-complex-place-and-only-idiots-and-assholes-think-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bc/lisa-gardner-7497_idiots_the-world-is-a-complex-place-and-only-id_829068.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bc/lisa-gardner-7497_idiots_the-world-is-a-complex-place-and-only-id_829068.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bc/lisa-gardner-7497_idiots_the-world-is-a-complex-place-and-only-id_829068.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The world is a complex place and only idiots and assholes think they know it all.” — Lisa Gardner", "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": "Lisa Gardner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The world is a complex place...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/the-world-is-a-complex-place-and-only-idiots-and-assholes-think-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/the-world-is-a-complex-place-and-only-idiots-and-assholes-think-they/#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 } } ] } ```