What I love about this quotation is that it’s humorous with a big shot of reality, much like Terry Pratchett’s writing.
Good Omens: My Introduction to Pratchett
Most people come to Pratchett through his Discworld Novels. I found Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Pratchett and Neil Gaiman first. I fell in love with the crazy humor, silly characters, and the running jokes. So many of the characters had a little knowledge and a good percentage of the characters lived in ignorance.
After all, what could be more fun than Satan misplacing the Antichrist? The plot thickens when God and Satan send an angel and a demon to find the missing Antichrist, who is happily playing with his mates in an English village completely ignorant of his destiny. Of course, neither the angel or the demon want the end of the world — they like it here. So, they set off to stop Armageddon.
Discworld
The books set in the Discworld are also full of zany characters, some cause havoc with a little knowledge. Many are completely ignorant while a few do know what’s going on.
I could take his quotation “They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it’s not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance” and apply it to 21st-century life. However, it would be a lot more fun, to read Pratchett’s books and sort out the plots and the characters with this quotation in mind. I have a sneaking suspicion this might be an interesting and fruitful way to view the Discworld books.
Life
It might even be fun or depressing to take this little quotation and analyze life. But I’ll let you do that because I prefer to read and analysis books, which I find enormously fun.
With that thought, enjoy Pratchett. In these crazy times, he’s the perfect author to revisit or discover.
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