#MyWordForToday is #Knowledge

#MyWordForToday is #Knowledge.

My first interaction with the word "knowledge" came from an inscription on my primary school bus "if you think education is expensive, try ignorance". 

I remember reflecting on what this meant. In my house, I'm known to be a voracious reader because I would often steal away to read books belonging to my older cousins. So it was their dictionary I turned to for answers. 

The understanding I got reading through that day, was that education is the acquisition of knowledge through instruction or tutorial. 

My young mind then rephrased this to "if you think knowledge is expensive, try ignorance". This is because you cannot be educated without knowledge.

The word "knowledge" came from the Greek word "Gnosis" which is "knowing through observation or experience". 

I daresay my rephrase was right on the money. We grow to know or understand a thing either by observing, being taught or experiencing same.

Indigenous people, for instance, have intimate knowledge of how the environment works. For years, they have protected the environment by ensuring to balance what they use versus what they grow back. They understood that Earth's resources are finite.

This is why we must be careful not to substitute information for knowledge. In this age of information, there is too little knowledge and too much information. 

The distinction is important because information is just pure data, it is when it is learnt and understood that it becomes knowledge.

Information is useless without learning.

Perhaps this is why Benjamin Carson said: "there is no such thing as useless knowledge; you never know what doors it's going to open up for you".

Steven Silbiger in the Jewish phenomenon says that the Jewish people acquire knowledge for the purpose of acquiring. I would like to believe this is linked to Ben Carson's quote above. 

For me though, knowledge on its own is useless if one refuses to take action on it. It is pointless to do so, in my opinion. I also feel it is unwise. 

APJ Abdul- Kalam says "knowledge with action converts adversity into prosperity". Boom!!!

Your earning ability in today's world is largely dependent upon how you combine your knowledge, skill and ability to create value for customers who will pay for such….this is Brian Tracy rephrased 😊 

And I concur absolutely. 

In the words of Margaret Fuller "if you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it". 

Abu Bakr was reputed to have said that "knowledge without action is useless, and action without knowledge is futile".

The beautiful thing about acquiring knowledge is that once acquired, no one can take it away from you. I believe this is why people often say that "knowledge is power".

I'm reminded of a scene in the series "Game of Thrones" where Littlefinger accosted Queen Cersei with the phrase "knowledge is power".  

Cersei immediately commanded her guards to seize him and cut his throat. In that same breath, she changed her mind and said " Stop! Oh, Wait, I've changed my mind, let him go. She ended that scene by telling a petrified Lord Baelish that  "power is power".

I don't know why I was so fascinated by this scene. But in my mind, it translates to the fact that "knowledge is not power" if we will not act on it.

Knowledge is only power when we are able to take that information and put it to use. It also means that knowledge can be used for good and for bad. 

This is where the distinction between knowledge and wisdom comes in. 

Wisdom is defined as "a practical usage of your knowledge". I have included wisdom in my lexicon as another gracious word because it is one of those words that has very few negative connotations.

This is why I am not going to say wisdom is useless without knowledge 🙈

Wisdom is the ability to discern how to use knowledge. So one can never be wise without first acquiring knowledge, but you are not wise simply because you have acquired knowledge. 

Like Marie Osmond said, "we can have all the knowledge in the world, but it means nothing without the wisdom to know what to do with it". 

I won't end this blog without this favourite phrase of mine "knowledge is knowing or understanding that tomato is botanically a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put tomatoes in a fruit salad".

It would mean so much to me, if we could convert this monologue to a dialogue, please let me have your thoughts in the comments section. 

Namaste 🙏🏽

Bibireosefowora 💌