--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I learned is that it's arrogant to…" description: "\"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 they know it all.\" — Lis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/lisa-gardner-7497_arrogant_what-i-learned-is-that-it-s-arrogant-to_464782.jpg" --- # What I learned is that it's arrogant to be certain of… ![“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 they know it all.” quote by Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/lisa-gardner-7497_arrogant_what-i-learned-is-that-it-s-arrogant-to_464782.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/lisa-gardner-7497_arrogant_what-i-learned-is-that-it-s-arrogant-to_464782.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/lisa-gardner-7497_arrogant_what-i-learned-is-that-it-s-arrogant-to_464782.jpg) > “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 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. Certainty breeds arrogance; the world’s complexity demands humility and openness to uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Being sure of everything is foolish. Key Takeaway Stay curious, avoid arrogance. Themes humility uncertainty complexity Mood cautious introspective Type advice motivational When to use this quote - decision making - relationships - learning new skills Key Concepts cognitive bias critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - When have you been wrong about a belief? - How can you check your assumptions? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can lead to poor judgments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrogant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant/) [Idiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiot/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“The world is a complex place and only idiots and assholes think they know it all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/the-world-is-a-complex-place-and-only-idiots-and-assholes-think-they/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [I've learned that if one is arrogant and if something bad happens to him, people won't want him to succeed. They will make more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lapo-elkann/i-ve-learned-that-if-one-is-arrogant-and-if-something-bad-happens-to/) [Lapo Elkann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lapo-elkann/) > [I feel the first ten years of my career I really didn't care what the director said because I felt so arrogant. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-newton-howard/i-feel-the-first-ten-years-of-my-career-i-really-didn-t-care-what-the/) [James Newton Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-newton-howard/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [Keep learning; don't be arrogant by assuming that you know it all, that you have a monopoly on the truth; always assume that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/keep-learning-don-t-be-arrogant-by-assuming-that-you-know-it-all-that/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [The dumbest people I know are those who know it all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/the-dumbest-people-i-know-are-those-who-know-it-all/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [My concept of an advice giver had been a therapist or a know-it-all, and then I realized nobody listens to the know-it-alls. You turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/my-concept-of-an-advice-giver-had-been-a-therapist-or-a-know-it-all/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Those who think they know it all have no way of finding out they don't..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/those-who-think-they-know-it-all-have-no-way-of-finding-out-they-don-t/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [Life's about a hell of a lot more than being happy. It's about feeling the full range of stuff: happiness, sadness, anger, grief, love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marsden/life-s-about-a-hell-of-a-lot-more-than-being-happy-it-s-about-feeling-2/) [John Marsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marsden/) > [If you think you know it all, you really know nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/if-you-think-you-know-it-all-you-really-know-nothing/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [There is nothing wrong with making mistakes and not having all the answers, so long as we are willing to admit this and strive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/there-is-nothing-wrong-with-making-mistakes-and-not-having-all-the/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [People love to help. I don't have to be insecure and know it all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-wilson/people-love-to-help-i-don-t-have-to-be-insecure-and-know-it-all/) Chip Wilson > [You can't know it all. No matter how smart you are, no matter how comprehensive your education, no matter how wide ranging your experience,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/you-can-t-know-it-all-no-matter-how-smart-you-are-no-matter-how/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) ## 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 Arrogant quotes > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [ \[T\]he tax code has been piling up, year after year, a symbol of everything gone wrong in America, of arrogant rulers and lost freedom,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/t-he-tax-code-has-been-piling-up-year-after-year-a-symbol-of/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [What I would say to filmmakers, if I may be so bold or so arrogant, is to draw inspiration from other filmmakers, but go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/what-i-would-say-to-filmmakers-if-i-may-be-so-bold-or-so-arrogant-is/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [I absolutely hate arrogant people, irks me to no end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-absolutely-hate-arrogant-people-irks-me-to-no-end/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Splutter, splutter. Yes - we're off - we're rising. But why start off with an engine like that? But it smooths out now, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/splutter-splutter-yes-we-re-off-we-re-rising-but-why-start-off-with/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Mourinho is a bit arrogant, but you've got to like him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nicol/mourinho-is-a-bit-arrogant-but-you-ve-got-to-like-him/) [Steve Nicol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nicol/) > [Some say work smarter, not harder, but the wisest are both. Whether you're more of a hard worker or a smart worker, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-tatem/some-say-work-smarter-not-harder-but-the-wisest-are-both-whether-you/) [Colby Tatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-tatem/) > [I was spoiled and I was arrogant. I was very demanding, had an overblown image of who I was and got a reputation for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judge-reinhold/i-was-spoiled-and-i-was-arrogant-i-was-very-demanding-had-an/) [Judge Reinhold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judge-reinhold/) > [We are not being arrogant or complacent when we are said that our country, as a united nation, has never in its entire history,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/we-are-not-being-arrogant-or-complacent-when-we-are-said-that-our/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [“So you intend to go through life never loving anyone? Just … things?” “No. I’m looking for something more.” “More than love?” “Yes.” “Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-ahdieh/so-you-intend-to-go-through-life-never-loving-anyone-just-things-no-i/) [Renee Ahdieh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-ahdieh/) > [People are tired of wasteful government programs and welfare chiselers, and they are angry about the constant spiral of taxes and government regulations, arrogant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/people-are-tired-of-wasteful-government-programs-and-welfare/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“He was a man. Handsome as sin, arrogant as fuck, and in need of at least one woman to prove he wasn’t God’s gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-blue/he-was-a-man-handsome-as-sin-arrogant-as-fuck-and-in-need-of-at-least/) [Melissa Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-blue/) > [Being nice to people gets you nowhere. Being arrogant gets you nowhere. Blackmail, now that's a thing that will get you everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-nice-to-people-gets-you-nowhere-being-arrogant-gets-you-nowhere/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's amusing how arrogant people can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-amusing-how-arrogant-people-can-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,146 Arrogant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What I learned is that it's arrogant to be certain of anything. 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