Skip to content
quotesby

There's something that remains barbarous in educated people, and lately I've more and more had the feeling that we are nonwondering primitives. And why is it that we no longer marvel at these technological miracles? They've become the external facts of every life. We've all been to the university, we've had introductory courses in everything, and therefore we have persuaded ourselves that if we had the time to apply ourselves to these scientific marvels, we would understand them. But of course that's an illusion. It couldn't happen. Even among people who have had careers in science. They know no more about how it all works than we do. So we are in the position of savage men who, however, have been educated into believing that they are capable of understanding everything. Not that we actually do understand, but that we have the capacity.

Saul Bellow#42

EducationIllusionKnowledgeIgnoranceModern lifeModestyTechnology

About this quote

What does it mean?
Bellow argues that modern education creates an illusion of understanding, leaving us as primitive people who marvel less at technology despite believing we comprehend it.
In plain terms
We think we understand modern technology because of school, but we really do not.
What can you take from it?
Acknowledge the limits of your understanding even after formal education.

Where it applies

  • classroom discussions
  • tech industry introspection
  • cultural analysis

Putting it to work

  • question assumptions of mastery
  • embrace curiosity over certainty

Questions to consider

  • When did you last marvel at something you use daily?
  • What illusions of competence do you hold?

Another view

The quote may overstate how little experts actually know about their own fields.

More from Saul Bellow

  1. In politics continental Europe was infantile - horrifying. What America lacked, for all its political stability, was the capacity to enjoy intellectual pleasur…

    Permalink to quote #41
  2. We take foreigners to be incomplete Americans - convinced that we must help and hasten their evolution.

    Permalink to quote #43
  3. One naturally regrets not being an expert or one of those insiders who thoroughly understand. It's hell to be an amateur. A little reflection calms your sorrow…

    Permalink to quote #40

Related quotes

  1. The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism.

    William OslerWilliam Osler quote #1
  2. Art hath an enemy called Ignorance.

    Ben JonsonBen Jonson quote #1
  3. First come I; my name is Jowett. There's no knowledge but I know it. I am master of this college: What I don't know isn't knowledge.

    Henry Charles BeechingHenry Charles Beeching quote #1