--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Real knowledge is to know the extent of…" description: "\"“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.” —Confucius”\" — Richard Oppenlander" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82a/richard-oppenlander-90798_ignorance_real-knowledge-is-to-know-the-extent-of_875934.jpg" --- # Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”… ![“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.” —Confucius” quote by Richard Oppenlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82a/richard-oppenlander-90798_ignorance_real-knowledge-is-to-know-the-extent-of_875934.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82a/richard-oppenlander-90798_ignorance_real-knowledge-is-to-know-the-extent-of_875934.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82a/richard-oppenlander-90798_ignorance_real-knowledge-is-to-know-the-extent-of_875934.jpg) > ““Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.” —Confucius”” Richard Oppenlander ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stating that true wisdom lies in recognizing the limits of one's knowledge, encouraging humility and continuous learning. **In simple terms:** Know what you don’t know. Key Takeaway Embrace humility and learning. Themes wisdom humility knowledge self‑awareness philosophy Mood reflective inspirational Type Ignorance:1 Knowledge:1 Learning:1 Real knowledge:1 Ignorance Confucius:0 Extent Ignorance:0 When to use this quote - education - personal development - leadership training Key Concepts epistemology self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess your knowledge gaps? - What steps can you take to expand understanding? A Different Perspective May be interpreted as discouraging confidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Real knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-knowledge/) ## Related quotes > [“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance. —Confucius The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-tegmark/real-knowledge-is-to-know-the-extent-of-one-s-ignorance-confucius-the/) [Max Tegmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-tegmark/) > [“Oh, Confucius, "real knowledge" is to know we will ever be able to measure the extent of our, or one's, ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-cia-ramos/oh-confucius-real-knowledge-is-to-know-we-will-ever-be-able-to/) Lúcia Ramos > [“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.” Be”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-gawdat/real-knowledge-is-to-know-the-extent-of-one-s-ignorance-be/) [Mo Gawdat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-gawdat/) > [Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/real-knowledge-is-to-know-the-extent-of-one-s-ignorance/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [“Education is learning the extent of one's own ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-c-nolan/education-is-learning-the-extent-of-one-s-own-ignorance/) [Raymond C. Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-c-nolan/) > [All I really know is the extent of my own ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/all-i-really-know-is-the-extent-of-my-own-ignorance/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/it-takes-considerable-knowledge-just-to-realize-the-extent-of-your/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“The source of all the problems in the world is ignorance - the limited view point or narrow mindedness or the conditioned state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-vazhakunnathu/the-source-of-all-the-problems-in-the-world-is-ignorance-the-limited/) [Thomas Vazhakunnathu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-vazhakunnathu/) > [The grain of real knowledge is concealed in a vast deal of esoteric chaff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-rupert-hall/the-grain-of-real-knowledge-is-concealed-in-a-vast-deal-of-esoteric/) Alfred Rupert Hall > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Knowledge is wealth, wisdom is treasure, understanding is riches, and ignorance is poverty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/knowledge-is-wealth-wisdom-is-treasure-understanding-is-riches-and/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“The study of medicine consists on the one hand in storing up in the mind an enormous number of facts, which are simply memorized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-g-jung/the-study-of-medicine-consists-on-the-one-hand-in-storing-up-in-the/) [C.G. Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-g-jung/) > [It will be contributing to bring forward the moment in which, seeing clearer into the nature of things, and having learnt to distinguish real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-will-be-contributing-to-bring-forward-the-moment-in-which-seeing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Worship (Bhakti) means one has the right to ask for everything and Gnan (Real Knowledge) means one cannot ask for anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/worship-bhakti-means-one-has-the-right-to-ask-for-everything-and-gnan/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“Teach honesty by all means - you do know what it is, don't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/teach-honesty-by-all-means-you-do-know-what-it-is-don-t-you/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) ## More by Richard Oppenlander > [“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” —John Muir”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-oppenlander/when-one-tugs-at-a-single-thing-in-nature-he-finds-it-attached-to-the-2/) Richard Oppenlander Explore all 2 Richard Oppenlander quotes ## 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 > [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 > [“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": "“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.” —Confucius”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Oppenlander" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-oppenlander/real-knowledge-is-to-know-the-extent-of-one-s-ignorance-confucius/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ignorance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-oppenlander/real-knowledge-is-to-know-the-extent-of-one-s-ignorance-confucius/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82a/richard-oppenlander-90798_ignorance_real-knowledge-is-to-know-the-extent-of_875934.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82a/richard-oppenlander-90798_ignorance_real-knowledge-is-to-know-the-extent-of_875934.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82a/richard-oppenlander-90798_ignorance_real-knowledge-is-to-know-the-extent-of_875934.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.” —Confucius” — Richard Oppenlander", "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": "Richard Oppenlander", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-oppenlander/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Real knowledge is to know the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-oppenlander/real-knowledge-is-to-know-the-extent-of-one-s-ignorance-confucius/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-oppenlander/real-knowledge-is-to-know-the-extent-of-one-s-ignorance-confucius/#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 } } ] } ```