--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The scientist rigorously defends his…" description: "\"The scientist rigorously defends his right to be ignorant of almost everything except his specialty.\" — Marshall McLuhan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/marshall-mcluhan-641_ignorant_the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-rig_96187.png" --- # The scientist rigorously defends his right to be ignorant… ![“The scientist rigorously defends his right to be ignorant of almost everything except his specialty.” quote by Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/marshall-mcluhan-641_ignorant_the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-rig_96187.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/marshall-mcluhan-641_ignorant_the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-rig_96187.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/marshall-mcluhan-641_ignorant_the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-rig_96187.png) > “The scientist rigorously defends his right to be ignorant of almost everything except his specialty.” [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientists claim expertise while embracing ignorance elsewhere. **In simple terms:** Specialist ignorance Key Takeaway Know one thing, ignore the rest Themes expertise humility knowledge limits disciplinary focus Mood critical analytical Type observation philosophical When to use this quote - academic ethics - interdisciplinary research - science communication Key Concepts defended ignorance specialty focus Practical Applications - highlight limits of expertise - encourage collaboration Questions to Reflect On - Does defending ignorance hinder progress? - How can specialists acknowledge broader unknowns? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) ## Related quotes > [“I would rather be wise and than right and ignorant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-page/i-would-rather-be-wise-and-than-right-and-ignorant/) Chris Page > [“Only, the way I figure, no man has the right to be ignorant. 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Of course, if you're like me and you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/the-new-specialty-at-the-iowa-fair-this-year-is-fried-butter-on-a/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [love as a passion—it is our European specialty—must absolutely be of noble origin; as is well known, its invention is due to the Provencal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/love-as-a-passion-it-is-our-european-specialty-must-absolutely-be-of/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Impossible situations are our specialty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/impossible-situations-are-our-specialty/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [Public interest in most of the Middle East was slight at that time; the Arab-Israeli conflict was all that people were interested in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/public-interest-in-most-of-the-middle-east-was-slight-at-that-time/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) > [My specialty as a collector is books that almost have value. 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His specialty is rhythm songs which he renders in an undistinguished whine; his phrasing, if it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gould/mr-presley-has-no-discernible-singing-ability-his-specialty-is-rhythm/) [Jack Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gould/) ## More by Marshall McLuhan > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Language always preserves a play or figure/ground relation between experience, and perception and its replay in expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/language-always-preserves-a-play-or-figure-ground-relation-between/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Electronic man has no physical body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/electronic-man-has-no-physical-body/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [I am curious to know what would happen if art were suddenly seen for what it is, namely, exact information of how to rearrange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/i-am-curious-to-know-what-would-happen-if-art-were-suddenly-seen-for/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. 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Money is metaphor in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/language-is-metaphor-in-the-sense-that-it-not-only-stores-but/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) [Explore all 433 Marshall McLuhan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## More Ignorant quotes > [Don't judge me because I'm stupid. Don't judge me because I'm, mean. Don't judge me because I'm weird. Don't judge me for mistakes. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-harden-me/don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-stupid-don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-mean-don/) Isaiah Harden (Me > [... 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/) > [The poor and ignorant will continue to lie and steal as long as the rich and educated show them how.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-poor-and-ignorant-will-continue-to-lie-and-steal-as-long-as-the/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The masses are still ungrateful or ignorant. They prefer murder, poisonings, and crimes generally to a literature possessed of style and feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/the-masses-are-still-ungrateful-or-ignorant-they-prefer-murder/) [George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/) > [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The best lessons a man ever learns are from his mistakes. It is not for want of schoolmasters that we are still ignorant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/the-best-lessons-a-man-ever-learns-are-from-his-mistakes-it-is-not/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [If the civil magistrate be a Christian, a disciple or follower of the meek Lamb of God, he is bound to be far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-williams/if-the-civil-magistrate-be-a-christian-a-disciple-or-follower-of-the/) [Roger Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-williams/) > [Further conceive, I beg, that a stone, while continuing in motion, should be capable of thinking and knowing, that it is endeavoring, as far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/further-conceive-i-beg-that-a-stone-while-continuing-in-motion-should/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [...God does not possess a private knowledge of Himself and a separate knowledge of all the creatures in common. The universal Cause, by knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-dionysius/god-does-not-possess-a-private-knowledge-of-himself-and-a-separate/) [Pope Dionysius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-dionysius/) > [Who does not know that kings and rulers sprang from men who were ignorant of God, who assumed because of blind greed and intolerable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-vii/who-does-not-know-that-kings-and-rulers-sprang-from-men-who-were/) [Pope Gregory VII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-vii/) > [Calvin: The more you know, the harder it is to take decisive action. Once you are informed, you start seeing complexities and shades of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-the-more-you-know-the-harder-it-is-to-take-decisive-action/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Every single moment, an ignorant discovers an idea that has been known for centuries!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/every-single-moment-an-ignorant-discovers-an-idea-that-has-been-known/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Judging someone by the color of their skin is ignorant. Their skin complexion has nothing to do with their morals, beliefs or intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/judging-someone-by-the-color-of-their-skin-is-ignorant-their-skin/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The doctrines of the Bible are often not clothed in the language of strict truth, but in that which was fittest to convey to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/the-doctrines-of-the-bible-are-often-not-clothed-in-the-language-of/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [“...the difference between stupid and ignorant was that ignorant could learn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-difference-between-stupid-and-ignorant-was-that-ignorant-could/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) Browse all 2,048 Ignorant quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The scientist rigorously defends his right to be ignorant of almost everything except his specialty.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marshall McLuhan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-right-to-be-ignorant-of-almost/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ignorant" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-right-to-be-ignorant-of-almost/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/marshall-mcluhan-641_ignorant_the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-rig_96187.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/marshall-mcluhan-641_ignorant_the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-rig_96187.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/marshall-mcluhan-641_ignorant_the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-rig_96187.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The scientist rigorously defends his right to be ignorant of almost everything except his specialty.” — Marshall McLuhan", "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": "Marshall McLuhan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The scientist rigorously defends his right...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-right-to-be-ignorant-of-almost/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-right-to-be-ignorant-of-almost/#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 } } ] } ```