There’s nothing quite as frightening as someone who knows they are right.
Interpretation
Confidence in one's correctness can be intimidating and potentially dangerous.
This quote by Michael Faraday highlights the unsettling nature of individuals who are unwavering in their beliefs. When someone is completely convinced of their own correctness, it can lead to an inflexible mindset that may not only disregard other perspectives but can also create an environment of fear or intimidation, showing that certainty can sometimes overshadow reason and open dialogue.
In practice
In a debate about environmental policies, one speaker quoted Faraday to emphasize the potential dangers of dogmatic perspectives.
I think chemistry is being frittered away by the hairsplitting of the organic chemists; we have new compounds discovered, which scarcely differ from the known ones and when discovered are valueless-very illustrations perhaps of their refinements in analysis, but very little aiding the progress of true science.
I am no poet, but if you think for yourselves, as I proceed, the facts will form a poem in your minds.
It is on record that when a young aspirant asked Faraday the secret of his success as a scientific investigator, he replied, 'The secret is comprised in three words- Work, Finish, Publish.'
When I consider the multitude of associated forces which are diffused through nature - when I think of that calm balancing of their energies which enables those most powerful in themselves, most destructive to the world's creatures and economy, to dwell associated together and be made subservient to the wants of creation, I rise from the contemplation more than ever impressed with the wisdom, the beneficence, and grandeur, beyond our language to express, of the Great Disposer of us all.
Water is to me, I confess, a phenomenon which continually awakens new feelings of wonder as often as I view it.
It is right that we should stand by and act on our principles; but not right to hold them in obstinate blindness, or retain them when proved to be erroneous.
Our age is essentially one of understanding and reflection, without passion, momentarily bursting into enthusiasm and shrewdly relapsing into repose.
God's blessings are dispensed according to the riches of his grace, not according to the depth of our faith.
Demands that you believe the impossible do not lead to peaceful outcomes.
Most of us, if we're not careful, tend to dehumanize the enemy.
Many of us actively working to interrupt racism continually hear complaints about the 'gotcha' culture of white anti-racism. There is a stereotype that we are looking for every incident we can find so we can spring out, point our fingers, and shout, 'You're a racist!'
Sometimes it is better to lose and do the right thing than to win and do the wrong thing.
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