“Those who know do not talk; those who talk do not know.”Lao Zi · Cartea despre Dao și Virtute · -400 · capitolul 56
Those who know the limits of what they know speak little and carefully.
The line does not condemn speaking itself, but the link between certainty and words. Someone who has gone deep into a subject knows its limits, its nuances, and how much remains to learn, so they speak carefully. Those who talk endlessly often fill the gap of understanding with noise. The mechanism is psychological: the loudest voice in the room usually belongs to the person with the least to lose. Ask a hard question and the expert answers briefly; the amateur delivers a speech.
Why it matters An antidote to instant-opinion culture, where the loudest person passes for the most competent. It helps you weigh speakers by their measure rather than their volume, and to check your own view before proclaiming it.