Answer:
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing
The proverb 'A little knowledge is a dangerous thing' expresses the idea that gaining a little knowledge can mislead people into thinking that they are more expert than they really are. This mindset of overconfidence and pride can lead to making serious mistakes which we will regret later. The saying is attributed to Alexander Pope and found in his An Essay on Criticism, 1709. The purpose of the saying is not to stop us from doing something but to acquire as much knowledge as possible before doing it. When we do things with proper knowledge it minimises the risk and danger to ourselves and to other people.
A doctor who has not earned his degree through hard and dedicated work is a menace to his patients. He can cause death instead of curing and saving their lives. Large and long bridges or tall buildings built by an engineer with inadequate knowledge will collapse sooner or later.
There are many quacks and unskilled people who masquerade as specialists. They dupe and deceive people for selfish gains with no regard for the adverse consequences on other people. We must beware of these unscrupulous people.
A man with deep knowledge is humble and does not indulge in cheap publicity. He will be known by the high quality of his works. But a man of shallow knowledge always try to show off to impress other people. He proclaims himself to be an expert. Such a man causes great harms to the society.
This proverb warns us not to become falsely overconfident when we merely possess a small amount of knowledge about a subject. We should study and research on a topic extensively before proclaiming ourselves as experts.
