First Blog

Complete self-confidence is not merely a sin; complete self-confidence is a weakness.   ---   G. K. Chesterton, in Orthodoxy , 1908.   Though Orthodoxy was written as a Christian apology, this quote has an especially   definite and profound secular value. Most truly intelligent people I know have incomplet e self-confidence. The self-confidence allows them to approach extremely difficult problems, while the incompleteness delimits first guesses and jumps toward a firmament of knowledge without proof. Complete self-confidence often comes with a built-in orthodoxy allowing easy conclusions based on easy thinking. Complete self-confidence offers self-assurance, thus casting self-doubt, introspection, and rigor aside. Complete self-confidence weakens the   holder’s   grasp on reality in favor of an internal mechanism of an unmerited self-righteousness.   Complete self-confidence weakens the need for rigor in acceptance or belief in almost everything. Complete self-conf