There is a saying saying that it's so strange that silly and fool peo...?

Question

...ple are sure about themselves, while clever ones are confused about themselves. Can you explain this???

Thank you all of you for your informative and helpful answers{!}

Answer 1

Silly, foolish people lack an understanding or comprehension of the world around them while clever, intelligent people often over-analyze, always believing that they have missed clues for the ultimate, correct answer. Here's a quote that I think captures the essence of what you are seeking:

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines." ~~Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882), U.S. essayist, poet, philosopher. “Self-Reliance,” Essays, First Series (1841, repr. 1847).

In my experience, I have often come across clever people who come up with silly, foolish answers.

"Thought is the sculptor who can create the person you want to be." ~~Henry David Thoreau quotes (American Essayist, Poet and Philosopher, 1817-1862)

Answer 2

The idea is that clever people know how much they don't know, so they become confused. Silly or foolish people don't understand or see the broader context for, or different perspectives of, an event or an idea so they have no reason to question their own opinion of it.
An example would be something like an argument over a policy issue like whether the government should help feed the homeless. A simple, foolish person might say, "I met a homeless person and he smelled terrible and didn't make any sense. He needs to straighten up and get a job a job like me, and I don't want my money going to feed him." A clever person might reach the same or a different conclusion, but is going to be confused by all of the issues surrounding the homeless-- they may be mentally ill and unable to work or they may have messed themselves up with drugs and alcohol, if we merely feed them, we are taking money from hard-working people to feed non-working ones, or we could feed them to help them get the help they need to turn their lives around or to find a safe shelter or to get the dangerous ones off the streets to protect innocent people.... The answer of what and how to handle the problem becomes more complicated and the clever person will have a harder time reaching a conclusion (even if the ultimate conclusion she reaches winds up being the same as that of the simple person).