And if so, how can we encourage people to explore new avenues of learning without falling into the trap of knowing just enough to get themselves in trouble?
In what context? This seems too broad for anyone to answer. Knowledge is generally good, even when not benign, but there are cases when it's emphatically not. By teaching them enough that they learn how to get out of trouble, too.Is "a little knowledge" really a dangerous thing?
And if so, how can we encourage people to explore new avenues of learning without falling into the trap of knowing just enough to get themselves in trouble?
It's not good when your congressman, mayor or president guides their economic policy off a dusting of undergraduate economics. Especially when that education produces some kind of fervent belief. These types of people are also boors at parties, which yes is a bad fucking thing. It's the dismal science for a reason, because it doesn't work or make sense much of the time. It's bad when what you learn leads you to believe that you have an understanding that you don't have. I wouldn't be surprised if all the squishy sciences lead to this kind of ignorance.