ig·nor·ar·ro·gance: [ ig-ner-ar-uh-guhns] –noun– offensive display of superiority or self-importance due to one’s lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc.
This is a word I made up to describe those who are cluelessly cocky. Ever met those people? You know the ones who come off as overly confident when they ought to know better. Ignorarrogant people aren’t being intentionally evil, they’re often just unaware.
I hope I don’t sound arrogant saying this, but I’m an authority on the subject of ignorarrogance. Why? Because I’ve spent plenty of my life being the chief offender. As a leader I strive to be confident and to exude confidence. Yet no matter how hard I try to be humbly-confident I sometimes say the wrong thing and come off as a know-it-all-jerk. I’m not being intentionally evil, I’m often just unaware.
I mastered ignorarrogance when I was in my early 20′s and God has been working it out of my character ever since. His cure: learning. The more I learn the more I see how blind I’ve been and how to avoid old mistakes. Also, the more I learn the more I realize how little I know. Learning is empowering while also being humbling. It has the duel effect of creating competence with unpretentiousness.
So how do we tell the difference between ignorarrogance and plain-old-arrogance? Here’s my take:
- Arrogance is being 90% right and 100% certain.
- Ignorarrogance is being 90% oblivious and 100% certain.
Before you start labelling someone arrogant you should ask if they are rudely confident or if they just don’t know any better. Then you’ll know better how to help them.
