--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No, the bigger problem is that we’re…" description: "\"“No, the bigger problem is that we’re proud of not knowing things. Americans have reached a point where ignorance, especially of anything related to pu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c07/thomas-m-nichols-8933_anti-intellectualism_no-the-bigger-problem-is-that-we-re-prou_1781314.jpg" --- # No, the bigger problem is that we’re proud of not knowing… ![“No, the bigger problem is that we’re proud of not knowing things. Americans have reached a point where ignorance, especially of anything related to public policy, is an actual virtue. To reject the advice of experts is to assert autonomy, a way for Americans to insulate their increasingly fragile…” quote by Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c07/thomas-m-nichols-8933_anti-intellectualism_no-the-bigger-problem-is-that-we-re-prou_1781314.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c07/thomas-m-nichols-8933_anti-intellectualism_no-the-bigger-problem-is-that-we-re-prou_1781314.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c07/thomas-m-nichols-8933_anti-intellectualism_no-the-bigger-problem-is-that-we-re-prou_1781314.jpg) > ““No, the bigger problem is that we’re proud of not knowing things. Americans have reached a point where ignorance, especially of anything related to public policy, is an actual virtue. To reject the advice of experts is to assert autonomy, a way for Americans to insulate their increasingly fragile egos from ever being told they’re wrong about anything.”” [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) ## 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 celebrated as a virtue, and rejecting expert advice protects fragile egos. **In simple terms:** People value being wrong over being right. Key Takeaway Question the value of expertise. Themes politics ignorance ego expertise Mood critical skeptical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - voting - policy debates - education - media consumption Key Concepts cognitive bias social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Why do people resist expert guidance? - How can societies value knowledge without feeling threatened? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on ego can hinder collective problem solving. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anti-intellectualism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-intellectualism/) [Experts Assert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experts-assert-1864533/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Ignorance Especially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance-especially-1864532/) [Knowing things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing-things/) [Point Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-ignorance-1082647/) ## Related quotes > [“None of us is a Da Vinci, painting the Mona Lisa in the morning and designing helicopters at night. That’s as it should be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/none-of-us-is-a-da-vinci-painting-the-mona-lisa-in-the-morning-and/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [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/) > [We constantly see surveys that reveal this ignorance, especially among our high school students,78 percent of whom, in a recent nationwide multiple-choice test, identified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/we-constantly-see-surveys-that-reveal-this-ignorance-especially-among/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [The consequences of whiteness are particularly lethal right now. And the ignorance about it, especially on the part of white people themselves, makes them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/the-consequences-of-whiteness-are-particularly-lethal-right-now-and/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [We have reached the point where ignorance and neglect are the best we can hope for in a ruler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-have-reached-the-point-where-ignorance-and-neglect-are-the-best-we/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“It is a new Declaration of Independence: No longer do we hold these truths to be self-evident, we hold all truths to be self-evident,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-nichols/it-is-a-new-declaration-of-independence-no-longer-do-we-hold-these/) [Tom Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-nichols/) > [“...the danger that American society as a whole will over-esteem intellect or assign it such a transcendent value as to displace other legitimate values…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hofstadter/the-danger-that-american-society-as-a-whole-will-over-esteem/) [Richard Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hofstadter/) > [“And I wonder, therefore, how James Atlas can have been so indulgent in his recent essay ‘The Changing World of New York Intellectuals.’ This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/and-i-wonder-therefore-how-james-atlas-can-have-been-so-indulgent-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Sonnet 1106 When an expert doesn't know something, They say, "I don't know", without tricks. But an armchair intellectual knows it all, Tiktok and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/sonnet-1106-when-an-expert-doesn-t-know-something-they-say-i-don-t/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Smart shaming affects society at large by advertising mediocrity, villainizing the intelligent, and idolizing the foolish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-ravago/smart-shaming-affects-society-at-large-by-advertising-mediocrity/) [E. Ravago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-ravago/) > [“The fact that the stupid person is often stubborn must not blind us to the fact that he is not independent. In conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/the-fact-that-the-stupid-person-is-often-stubborn-must-not-blind-us/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“As long as the acquisition of knowledge is rendered habitually repugnant, so long will there be a prevailing tendency to discontinue it when free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/as-long-as-the-acquisition-of-knowledge-is-rendered-habitually/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [“Since the time of Voltaire and two-chamber Government, which is at bottom simply distrust and personal self-examination, and gives the popular mind that bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/since-the-time-of-voltaire-and-two-chamber-government-which-is-at/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [“I love your body 'cause I've lost my mind If you want someone to talk to, you're wasting your time If you want someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/i-love-your-body-cause-i-ve-lost-my-mind-if-you-want-someone-to-talk/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [“The specific use of folks as an exclusionary and inclusionary signal, designed to make the speaker sound like one of the boys or girls,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/the-specific-use-of-folks-as-an-exclusionary-and-inclusionary-signal/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) ## More by Thomas M. Nichols > [“Conspiracy theorists manipulate all tangible evidence to fit their explanation, but worse, they will also point to the absence of evidence as even stronger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/conspiracy-theorists-manipulate-all-tangible-evidence-to-fit-their/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“Today, by contrast, students explode over imagined slights that are not even remotely in the same category as fighting for civil rights or being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/today-by-contrast-students-explode-over-imagined-slights-that-are-not/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“And when voters lose control of these important decisions, they risk the hijacking of their democracy by ignorant demagogues, or the more quiet and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/and-when-voters-lose-control-of-these-important-decisions-they-risk/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“As the economic writer Ben Casselman pointed out in 2016, most college applicants “never have to write a college entrance essay, pad a résumé…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/as-the-economic-writer-ben-casselman-pointed-out-in-2016-most-college/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“People do not come to the Internet so that their bad information can be corrected or their cherished theories disproven. Rather, they ask the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/people-do-not-come-to-the-internet-so-that-their-bad-information-can/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“If the public has no idea about the substance of an issue, and will vote based on who they like rather than what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/if-the-public-has-no-idea-about-the-substance-of-an-issue-and-will/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“The issue is not indifference to established knowledge; it’s the emergence of a positive hostility to such knowledge. This is new in American culture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/the-issue-is-not-indifference-to-established-knowledge-it-s-the/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“At the root of all this is an inability among laypeople to understand that experts being wrong on occasion about certain issues is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/at-the-root-of-all-this-is-an-inability-among-laypeople-to-understand/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“The requirements of a degree in a STEM field (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), a demanding foreign language, or a rigorous degree in the humanities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/the-requirements-of-a-degree-in-a-stem-field-science-technology/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“In 2015, a Massachusetts accountant named Stephen Pasceri lost his seventy-eight-year-old mother to cardiovascular disease. Mrs. Pasceri had a long history of health trouble,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/in-2015-a-massachusetts-accountant-named-stephen-pasceri-lost-his/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/there-is-a-cult-of-ignorance-in-the-united-states-and-there-always/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“The modern media, with so many options tailored to particular views, is a huge exercise in confirmation bias. This means that Americans are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/the-modern-media-with-so-many-options-tailored-to-particular-views-is/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“Americans no longer distinguish the phrase “you’re wrong” from the phrase “you’re stupid.” To disagree is to disrespect. To correct another is to insult.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/americans-no-longer-distinguish-the-phrase-you-re-wrong-from-the/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“There aren’t enough pages in this or any other book to catalog the amount of bad information on the Internet. Miracle cures, conspiracy theories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/there-aren-t-enough-pages-in-this-or-any-other-book-to-catalog-the/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“Populism actually reinforces this elitism, because the celebration of ignorance cannot launch communications satellites, negotiate the rights of US citizens overseas, or provide for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/populism-actually-reinforces-this-elitism-because-the-celebration-of/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) [Explore all 76 Thomas M. Nichols quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) ## More Anti-intellectualism quotes > [“The specific use of folks as an exclusionary and inclusionary signal, designed to make the speaker sound like one of the boys or girls,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/the-specific-use-of-folks-as-an-exclusionary-and-inclusionary-signal/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [“I love your body 'cause I've lost my mind If you want someone to talk to, you're wasting your time If you want someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/i-love-your-body-cause-i-ve-lost-my-mind-if-you-want-someone-to-talk/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [“Since the time of Voltaire and two-chamber Government, which is at bottom simply distrust and personal self-examination, and gives the popular mind that bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/since-the-time-of-voltaire-and-two-chamber-government-which-is-at/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [“As long as the acquisition of knowledge is rendered habitually repugnant, so long will there be a prevailing tendency to discontinue it when free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/as-long-as-the-acquisition-of-knowledge-is-rendered-habitually/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [“The fact that the stupid person is often stubborn must not blind us to the fact that he is not independent. In conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/the-fact-that-the-stupid-person-is-often-stubborn-must-not-blind-us/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“Smart shaming affects society at large by advertising mediocrity, villainizing the intelligent, and idolizing the foolish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-ravago/smart-shaming-affects-society-at-large-by-advertising-mediocrity/) [E. Ravago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-ravago/) > [“Sonnet 1106 When an expert doesn't know something, They say, "I don't know", without tricks. But an armchair intellectual knows it all, Tiktok and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/sonnet-1106-when-an-expert-doesn-t-know-something-they-say-i-don-t/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“And I wonder, therefore, how James Atlas can have been so indulgent in his recent essay ‘The Changing World of New York Intellectuals.’ This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/and-i-wonder-therefore-how-james-atlas-can-have-been-so-indulgent-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“...the danger that American society as a whole will over-esteem intellect or assign it such a transcendent value as to displace other legitimate values…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hofstadter/the-danger-that-american-society-as-a-whole-will-over-esteem/) [Richard Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hofstadter/) > [“It is a new Declaration of Independence: No longer do we hold these truths to be self-evident, we hold all truths to be self-evident,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-nichols/it-is-a-new-declaration-of-independence-no-longer-do-we-hold-these/) [Tom Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-nichols/) > [“She feared long words she did not understand. Beelzebub lay hid among too many syllables.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-blackwood/she-feared-long-words-she-did-not-understand-beelzebub-lay-hid-among/) [Algernon Blackwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-blackwood/) > [“What they produce is not culture but a population allergic to logic, addicted to drama, and proud of their own mental stagnation. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-ravago/what-they-produce-is-not-culture-but-a-population-allergic-to-logic/) [E. Ravago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-ravago/) > [“You could take seriously a president that quoted T. S. Eliot. But none do, and none ever would. No president would ever dare to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sinclair/you-could-take-seriously-a-president-that-quoted-t-s-eliot-but-none/) [David Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sinclair/) > [“There is a great superficiality in today's evangelical world. Many Bible-believing Christians share the contemporary case for self-gratification, emotionalism, and anti-intellectualism. Many people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-edward-veith-jr/there-is-a-great-superficiality-in-today-s-evangelical-world-many/) [Gene Edward Veith Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-edward-veith-jr/) > [“Parents and schools are teaching children how not to think, but how to be good little groupthinkers and people of faith, how to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sinclair/parents-and-schools-are-teaching-children-how-not-to-think-but-how-to/) [David Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sinclair/) [Browse all 39 Anti-intellectualism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-intellectualism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“No, the bigger problem is that we’re proud of not knowing things. Americans have reached a point where ignorance, especially of anything related to public policy, is an actual virtue. To reject the advice of experts is to assert autonomy, a way for Americans to insulate their increasingly fragile egos from ever being told they’re wrong about anything.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas M. Nichols" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/no-the-bigger-problem-is-that-we-re-proud-of-not-knowing-things/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anti-intellectualism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/no-the-bigger-problem-is-that-we-re-proud-of-not-knowing-things/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c07/thomas-m-nichols-8933_anti-intellectualism_no-the-bigger-problem-is-that-we-re-prou_1781314.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c07/thomas-m-nichols-8933_anti-intellectualism_no-the-bigger-problem-is-that-we-re-prou_1781314.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c07/thomas-m-nichols-8933_anti-intellectualism_no-the-bigger-problem-is-that-we-re-prou_1781314.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No, the bigger problem is that we’re proud of not knowing things. Americans have reached a point where…” — Thomas M. Nichols", "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": "Thomas M. Nichols", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“No, the bigger problem is that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/no-the-bigger-problem-is-that-we-re-proud-of-not-knowing-things/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/no-the-bigger-problem-is-that-we-re-proud-of-not-knowing-things/#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 } } ] } ```