Renowned French philosopher and Enlightenment author Voltaire had a sharp sense of social absurdities. He was renowned for his keen sense of humor and critical opinions on a range of topics related to intellectual life and human behavior. One well-known quote that is ascribed to him discusses wisdom and knowledge.

Imagine a person strolling through a huge library with books stacked from floor to ceiling. Regardless of whether they have actually read or comprehended anything, this person boldly accepts every book that is offered to them, opens each one, and speaks about its contents without hesitation. They may speak endlessly about anything that is presented to them, but their words are shallow and do not reflect true understanding.

This situation is reflected in Voltaire's quote, which implies that a person is probably ignorant or foolish if they feel obliged to respond to every question that is posed to them. The premise is that real experts or knowledgeable people are aware of their limitations and are at ease admitting when they are wrong rather than acting otherwise.

By drawing attention to such conduct, Voltaire promotes a more deliberate method of education and idea sharing. He contends that two qualities that are crucial to intellectual discourse are humility and candor about one's limitations. This viewpoint emphasizes the importance of meaningful engagement with knowledge over the outward display of intelligence and challenges the idea that speaking loudly or frequently equates to wisdom.