"It's not what we know, but what we know that ain't so that gets us into trouble.
A recent reference gives:
It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so. --- Will Rogers The Harper Book of Quotations 3rd ed, Robert I. Fitzhenry, editor (No source cited.)
While I have only one citation for source, I have the following quotes in my list. If anyone has sources for the rest, I'd love to have them. This appears to be one of those quotes that got widely used and rephrased. Here are several, in the chronological order I think they were probably first stated,from the dates of the men who said them. It seems reasonable to assume that Hubbard and Rogers, at least, were repeating variationsof Artemus Ward. Comments on this deduction, anyone? More sources?
It ain't so much the things we don't know that get us in trouble. It's the things we know that ain't so. --- Artemus Ward (1834-67), U.S. journalist.
It is better to know nothing than to know what ain't so. --- H.W. Shaw (Josh Billings) Josh Billings' Encyclopaedia of Wit and Wisdom, 1874 [from H.L. Mencken's Encyclopedia of Quotations]
It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so. --- Will Rogers (1879-1935), U.S. humorist.
Tain't what a man don't know that hurts him; it's what he knows for certain that just ain't so! --- Frank McKinney "Kin" Hubbard (1868-1930), U.S. humorist, journalist.
He finds a WILLing horse, and then ROGERS it...
"It's not what we know, but what we know that ain't so that gets us into trouble.
A recent reference gives:
It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so.
--- Will Rogers The Harper Book of Quotations 3rd ed, Robert I. Fitzhenry, editor (No source cited.)
While I have only one citation for source, I have the following quotes in my list. If anyone has sources for the rest, I'd love to have them. This appears to be one of those quotes that got widely used and rephrased. Here are several, in the chronological order I think they were probably first stated,from the dates of the
men who said them. It seems reasonable to assume that Hubbard and Rogers, at least, were repeating variationsof Artemus Ward. Comments on this deduction, anyone? More sources?
It ain't so much the things we don't know that get us in trouble. It's the things we know that ain't so.
--- Artemus Ward (1834-67), U.S. journalist.
It is better to know nothing than to know what ain't so.
--- H.W. Shaw (Josh Billings)
Josh Billings' Encyclopaedia of Wit and Wisdom, 1874 [from H.L. Mencken's
Encyclopedia of Quotations]
It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so.
--- Will Rogers (1879-1935), U.S. humorist.
Tain't what a man don't know that hurts him; it's what he knows for certain that just ain't so!
--- Frank McKinney "Kin" Hubbard (1868-1930), U.S. humorist, journalist.
Above courtesy of Dave Kifer."