Don't be arrogant, because arrogance kills curiosity and passion.

Bissell’s warning links intellectual character to intellectual vitality: arrogance—an overconfidence that assumes one already knows—shuts down the questions that drive discovery and the emotional investment that sustains long work. Curiosity depends on admitting uncertainty and being willing to be corrected; passion depends on remaining open to surprise, challenge, and growth. The quote also implies a social dimension: arrogance can alienate collaborators and mentors, cutting a person off from the exchange of ideas that keeps inquiry alive. As advice, it urges humility not as self-effacement but as a practical discipline for learning and creative or scientific progress.