The Arrogance of Ignorance

Self-published blog essay, Oct. 31, 2025

Note: This is kind of a footnote I am putting at the beginning of my essay. It simply runs through the generations’ dates.

• Baby Boomers (born 1946–1964)
• Generation X (1965–1980)
• Millennials (1981–1996)
• Generation Z (1997–2012)
• Generation Alpha (2013–2025?)


Okay, this essay was inspired by Gen Z. My students know that I am not casually critical of their generation. I am not one of these self-congratulatory, self-indulgent, blowhard Gen Xers (or Boomers) who pat themselves on the back for riding their bikes without helmets when they were children. Wow, what an inspiration you are.

The Boomers also love to punch down at the Millennials and Gen Z for being fragile and wimpy; this is because the Boomers are—like my generation—impressed with themselves for being rugged and resilient.

Point of order: What two generations have brought the country to a low point? Why do we not have universal healthcare? Why is there a sociopathic circus clown in the White House? Why is the infrastructure falling down around our ears? Why is Wall Street signing us up for another 2008? Gen X and the Boomers, in all their rugged resilience, are responsible for the worst political cowardice and compliance maybe this country has ever seen.

So, to reiterate, I do not casually criticize Gen Z. I do in fact have a lot of experience with them. I spend five days a week in their company and have for years. I am familiar with their culture. And that said, I have noticed something that I cannot unsee.

Now, this behavior is not peculiar to Gen Z. It can be found in all generations. It’s prevalent in my generation, the Boomers seem to traffic in it, and the Millennials are not innocent of it.

Maybe it’s an American phenomenon; I’ll have to think on that a bit more. For now, I’m going to proceed like it is indeed an American phenomenon.

But like I said, it clicked first while observing Gen Z. I noticed that there lies a deep (and eerily quiet) arrogance in their culture. How did I arrive at this conclusion? Consider the following argument:

Premise 1: There exists among Gen Z culture (and others) the thinking that “If I don’t know it, it’s not important.”

Premise 2: The contrapositive of that conditional statement is “If it’s important, then I know it.” Contraposition is valid. (The contrapositive of a conditional statement is going from If P then Q, to If not Q then not P—valid.)

We proceed:

Premise 3: A person who knows all important things is intellectually complete.

Premise 4: Anyone who is intellectually complete is perfect.

Conclusion: The person who holds this view operates from the assumption that they are perfect.

And there it is. The ignorance that prevails in the culture (American culture) betrays an almost pathological arrogance. I know people who are 18 who think this way; I know people who are 78 who think this way.

But I am most concerned about Gen Z. I like them. I want more and better for them. I am honest with them. I share analytical observations with them—critical ones—that they don’t necessarily want to hear. But what kind of intellectual would I be if I did not tell people what they don’t want to hear?

I don’t want to see Gen Z make this terrible mistake. I don’t want to see them act like Boomers. The way to go through life—if one wishes for a richer life—is to live with a sense of curiosity and wonder. One must live one’s life open to new information, new ways of thinking, and new experiences. For all their very good qualities, I just don’t see this in Gen Z. And it scares me.