Cocksure: A word that should be revived. It of course derives from the usage of "cock" that refers to a male chicken (rooster) or alpha male bird in general. But modern semi-literate people (of which there are too many) would immediately associate it with male anatomy which may be a good thing given the prevalence of patriarchy and especially white male privilege and how consciousness needs to be raised about that.
The actual quotation that Russell made was:
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
-- from the book "Mortals and Others" 1931-35, the essay "The Triumph of Stupidity" (10 May 1933), p. 203-204.
It has a certain potency that is missing from the watered down version posted.
All the same, it is still a great statement that can't be said too often.
We see it manifest itself in the certainty that the right wingers hold themselves in their regard, in statements of Republicans like "We don't do nuance", and in the rejection of science by such alarmingly large segments of society these days.
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