Sayings

A little learning is a dangerous thing

This page is about the saying "A little learning is a dangerous thing"

Possible meaning:
It may be safer not to learn something at all than to half-learn it.

Note:
This well known proverb originates from Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Criticism":
A little Learning is a dang'rous Thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring:
There shallow Draughts intoxicate the Brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.
It is often stated as: "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing"

See also: Better untaught than ill taught

Quick Quiz

If you say "a little learning is a dangerous thing" you mean something like

a. it's better to know something than nothing

b. it's better to know nothing than to know something badly

c. it's not safe to learn too much
a) it's better to know something than nothing b) it's better to know nothing than to know something badly c) it's not safe to learn too much

See Saying of the Day today

Contributor: Josef Essberger