A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing—Until You Add AI

“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” That line—first penned by Alexander Pope in the early 1700s—was never meant as a compliment. It was a warning. The idea was that a shallow understanding of something is actually worse than knowing nothing at all. It gives people misplaced confidence, prompting them to leap into situations they’re not qualified to handle. Think Dunning-Kruger with a powdered wig.

In business, this has historically played out in all kinds of ways—overconfident leaders making reckless decisions, consultants bluffing their way through client meetings, or employees misinterpreting data and taking the company off a cliff. And until recently, the antidote was clear: more depth, more expertise, more time spent drinking deeply from the fountain of knowledge.

But then… AI happened.

The Rise of “Just Enough” Knowledge

We’re now living in a time where a little knowledge + a powerful AI assistant can sometimes get the job done. In fact, some are calling this shift the democratization of expertise. You no longer need a PhD in supply chain optimization to ask ChatGPT for a workflow improvement model—or a marketing degree to create a full-funnel campaign plan.

And that’s… unsettling. Especially if you’re in the business of being the expert—consultants, advisors, analysts, strategists. AI can draft your proposal, outline your go-to-market strategy, recommend KPIs, and even roleplay your next sales call. It can do in seconds what used to take hours of billable work.

But here’s the catch...

Knowing What to Do Isn’t the Same as Knowing How to Do It

This is where the distinction matters. AI can give you the “what” and sometimes even the “how.” But it can’t give you the judgment, experience, or execution muscle to make it all work in the real world.

Case in point: Mike Burry.

Before he became famous for betting against the housing market in The Big Short, Burry wasn’t a traditional finance guy. He was a medical doctor—a neurosurgeon-in-training who taught himself how to invest. He started reading 10-Ks for fun (who hasn’t) after his hospital shifts. He didn’t know Wall Street, but he had a capability to process massive amounts of data, spot patterns, and follow the logic where it led—even when no one else could see it, and no one else believed him.

In many ways, Burry had a “little knowledge”—but it was paired with obsessive learning, something of an unusual personality, giving him the ability to connect dots. Now weall have access to AI we can ALL process bigger amounts of data and use the AI to surface patterns and connect those dots. It’s a force multiplier.

So Where Does That Leave Us?

AI isn’t replacing experts. But it is changing the rules of what it means to be one. Here’s the new reality:

• AI helps you do more with less expertise—but not without consequences. Misapplied, it can enable confident amateurs to make very professional mistakes.

• AI raises the bar for experts. It forces real professionals to move beyond surface-level knowledge and focus on the judgment, nuance, and action AI can’t replicate. Someone said we’ve moved from the information age into the interpretation age.

• AI empowers a new kind of operator. Like Burry, those who can combine AI’s raw processing power with human insight, skepticism, and strategic action will reshape industries.

  
  

Final Thought: We’re All Burry Now—Or We’d Better Be

A little knowledge is still dangerous. But in 2025, the bigger danger may be assuming AI knows enough for you.

The opportunity? Learning how to think like Mike Burry in a world where AI can give you answers, but not necessarily the whole picture – that remains up to us.