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About this quote

What does it mean?
Success is often attributed to ignorance and confidence rather than skill. This satirizes how people perceive achievement.
In plain terms
Confidence and ignorance can lead to success.
What can you take from it?
Overconfidence can sometimes drive results.

Where it applies

  • career advice
  • social commentary
  • leadership

Putting it to work

  • act confidently
  • recognize blind spots

Questions to consider

  • When has confidence helped you succeed?
  • Is ignorance ever a useful trait?

Another view

It ignores the risks of failure when acting on ignorance.

More from Mark Twain

  1. There is something worse than ignorance, and that's knowing what ain't so.

    Permalink to quote #163
  2. America is built on a tilt and everything loose slides to California.

    Permalink to quote #165
  3. What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know. It's what we know for sure that just ain't so.

    Permalink to quote #162

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