People Who Are Truly Ignorant Usually Say These 11 Careless Things Without Even Thinking
They lack a level of thoughtful intelligence.
microcosmos | Shutterstock Many people intentionally choose ignorance as an excuse to act selfishly, according to research from the American Psychological Association. Whether it’s avoiding things they don’t understand at work or misguidedly accepting “fake news” to support their own ideas, people who are truly ignorant usually say these careless things without even thinking.
Like the study’s researchers argue, being righteous is “costly” — requiring people to give up their own time, effort, and energy, so ignorance is often their easy way out. They find ways to lean into weaponizing incompetence and sheer ignorance in every aspect of their lives, all to conserve their own internal selfishness and safeguard themselves from facing internal insecurities.
People who are truly ignorant usually say these 11 careless things without even thinking
1. ‘I don’t know’
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Rather than trying to seek out an answer, help someone solve a problem, or learn the answer to something they don’t understand, people who are truly ignorant usually say “I don’t know” without even thinking.
People with a certain level of intellectual curiosity often seek out learning opportunities and use “I don’t care” as a starting point, like a study from the European Journal of Personality suggests. But careless, ignorant people leave it at that.
They’d prefer to entirely avoid things they don’t understand, especially if it puts them at risk for making mistakes that they perceive as “failures,” especially in social situations.
2. ‘That’s how it’s always been’
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Truly intelligent people often have a level of deep thinking that allows them to dive into complex topics and see small details through a much larger lens. Whether it’s a conspiracy theory or challenging age-old traditional stereotypes, they’re not people who accept things at face value or cling to one side of an argument to avoid nuance.
However, ignorant people often use careless phrases like “that’s how it’s always been” to justify their own laziness. Rather than indulging in and learning from people with different opinions or contextualizing controversial issues through the lens of inevitable change, they cling to a phrase like this.
Not only does this encourage them to live a personally stagnant lifestyle, without any kind of desire for personal change or growth, it leaves them ignorant in the context of the world, which is always shifting and evolving — even when we’re not aware of it.
3. ‘It’s not that deep’
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To invalidate another person’s intelligence, minimize their deeply felt emotions, or find ways to support their own selfishness and ignorance, a careless person will regularly rely on gaslighting phrases such as “it’s not that deep.” It’s a way for them to protect their own selfishness and sometimes even cope with their insecurity around critical thinking.
They don’t understand how to think about and consider the nuance of even the smallest situations, especially if it doesn’t support their own beliefs and comfort, so they attack people for attempting to bring it up.
4. ‘I was just joking’
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People who are careless with their word choice and more focused on personal attention than protecting people’s feelings often use phrases like “I was just joking” to minimize other people’s hurt. When they say something mean or make someone uncomfortable, they minimize the situation and invalidate people’s feelings to avoid taking accountability.
While an emotionally intelligent person is willing to support others and apologize, even if they don’t “agree” with another person’s hurt, an ignorant, careless person does everything in their power to make excuses for their mistakes.
5. ‘Just get over it’
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Empathy is the “superglue” that holds people together and ensures relationships have a safe place to thrive. However, people who are truly ignorant are often careless with their words and behaviors in ways that completely overlook empathy.
They’re always invalidating how other people feel, giving unsolicited advice, and marching right over the struggles of others — especially if it’s something they’ve never experienced before.
Especially in the framework of mental health, an ignorant, careless person often minimizes people’s experiences, believing that just because they haven’t experienced something like anxiety or depression, it doesn’t exist. They’re willing to “support” people’s struggles from afar, but when they personally affect their own desires and expectations, they’re met with ignorant sentiments like this one.
6. ‘They’re probably exaggerating’
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Careless, ignorant people often indulge in inherently narcissistic habits without realizing it. They’re more focused on protecting their own time, energy, and comfort, so they’re less likely to support other people without criticism or judgment.
Rather than leaning into the discomfort of learning something they don’t understand or making space for someone’s complicated feelings, they use phrases like “they’re probably exaggerating” to justify their passivity.
7. ‘Well, I’ve never had a problem with it’
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A person who relies on a phrase like this is willfully ignorant. Rather than investing time into learning someone else’s experience, challenging themselves with opting into a more nuanced worldview, or accepting that their beliefs aren’t the only ones, they look the other way and justify their selfishness with “well, I’ve never had a problem with it.”
It all comes from a place of internal insecurity that people with a strong emotional intelligence often lack. An emotionally regulated and intelligent person doesn’t minimize another person’s experience because they don’t understand — they invest time into learning it.
8. ‘They had it coming’
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Like a study from Psychological Science explains, there are many reasons why a person chooses willful ignorance or maintains a generally careless attitude in their lives.
The first is selfishness — they want to act in their own best interest, and sometimes the “not knowing” is how they justify doing so. The second is to preserve their self-image, largely by manipulating other people’s views of them and protecting their own internal insecurities.
Lastly, protection from discomfort, in general. These people don’t have the emotional intelligence or regulation skills needed to help others and support people, so they instead use “not knowing” as a way to both justify their actions and protect themselves from the ugly internal truth that they’re bad friends or partners.
9. ‘You can’t say anything anymore’
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Ignorance often manifests in truly unfortunate, unique ways depending on the person and situation. Someone ignorant from a place of insecurity with their friends may justify a lack of accountability, while someone insecure about their world views may make excuses for their lack of education.
Instead of accepting when their word choice or language hurts other people or offends someone, learning the “why” behind it and making a change, they instead use phrases like “you can’t say anything anymore” to protect themselves.
They’re uncomfortable with change, don’t want to accept that they’re wrong, and refuse to give people the satisfaction of being “smarter” or “more intelligent” than them — even if that’s not the case.
10. ‘It’s not my problem’
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Willful ignorance often leads to several charged behaviors, from ignored information that doesn’t align with personal beliefs to acting in a selfish way that harms relationships and social interactions. Selfishness and insecurity lie at the core.
If someone is too insecure to admit they’re wrong and too selfish to spend learning how to grow, they’re always going to use the crutch of ignorance to their advantage.
People who are truly ignorant usually say careless things like “it’s not my problem” without even thinking. If it doesn’t directly impact their attention, self-image, or status, they’re not interested in entertaining it.
11. ‘I could’ve told you that’
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Ignorant, selfish people are always working in retrospect, telling you how foolish you are for making decisions or amplifying their own intellect after the fact. They never support you, care to help, or offer helpful advice in the moment, but after it’s all said and done, they’re the first ones to use a phrase like “I told you so.”
They care more about amplifying their own deluded overconfidence to actually show up and offer support, especially if it comes at the expense of their own time, energy, and attention.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
