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Ifeatu
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Is knowledge really that important
December 12, 2007 - 03:41 PM
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blog by ifeatu on 06 December 2007, tagged as knowledge, intellect, and theory
I've been thinking about the nature of knowledge. Is knowledge overrated? Obviously it has its perks, you can explain stuff, and make stuff work, and it even feels really good to be smart...or at least smarter then your peers...but is it all that much better then, say...accumulating wealth? I mean man-kind has survived thousands of years with very little knowledge of how things have worked and they got along just fine...my question is not whether knowledge is important (because it is.) but, whether or not it is any more important then anything else? Where is the place that we feel knowledge will take us? Will it make us more happy? It seems to me that it causes exactly as many problems as it has created solutions...funny, I can make the exact same arguments about money...what are your thoughts?
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দেবশ্রীDebashree
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Re: Is knowledge really that important
December 12, 2007 - 11:14 PM
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The concept of Knowledge lies in its utilization rather application. It is not about gathering the stuff in your bucket & carrying it on the street, just to show of : "See I've so much Knowledge!"
I feel knowing something should end up in being aware of that thing. Thus Awareness makes us responsible and focused, as well leading to a positive direction. Gone are the days when we acquired theories to boast to our peers, it is time to pen down the theories you have; it is time to be vocal about the mind...
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Nick Yeo
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Re: Is knowledge really that important
December 18, 2007 - 06:37 PM
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ifeatuMbanugo wrote:
If I become the greatest physicist known to man and develop the theory of relativity only to be stripped of my accomplishment with the development of in discriminant killing machines...then I die, what was my life worth?
Ahhhh - but I would argue that the greatest physicist known to man wasn't primarily responsible for said indiscriminate killing machines. Your logic fails because you cannot measure the worth of a man based on the use of his theories by another man.
In fact - when Oppenheimer saw the destructive power of the atomic bomb, he himself cursed his involvement with the Manhattan project and wondered what sort of monsters man had become.
Knowledge is merely the collection and organization of facts, theories and beliefs that we collect over our lifetime. Wisdom is the effective application of said knowledge.
But being smart is knowing when to be wise....
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Wolf
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Re: Is knowledge really that important
January 4, 2008 - 12:48 PM
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Knowledge is a sign of intelligence, and intelligence is a survival skill. Intelligence is attractive in other people, up to a point. As is knowledge. Knowledge has taken us to the point that we can destroy our environment and overpopulate our planet. We are just one more animal, and our primary adaptation has now taken us to the brink of destruction--but it cannot bring us back from that brink, only the natural consequences of Earth's limits will do that.
At this point, I guess I weigh in that Knowledge is mind-candy, enjoyable for the life of each individual. I enjoy learning about biology. So, it's important for me, but I have a hard time seeing that it will have extrinsic / ultimate value for my species.
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Helena Rijoly
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Re: Is knowledge really that important
January 8, 2008 - 01:06 AM
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Yaa..haaaa...
Need to ask more?
Recently I hang out with old friends and she kep talking about climate change and global warming. I have another friend just kept silen and nod and smile and laugh whenever we are.
Later he confess he knows nothing... Well I never want to male myself look dumb.
So read... obsevere... participate... Learn... learn...
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Ifeatu
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Re: Is knowledge really that important
January 21, 2008 - 01:04 PM
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[/quote]But being smart is knowing when to be wise....
Precisely my point. Einstein spent many of his last days protesting the development of atomic weaponry. Thanks for your input
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Prometheus
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Re: Is knowledge really that important
May 13, 2008 - 10:54 AM
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The essential idea of mankind wanting to know everything that they possibly can is so that they can control as much as possible. Yes, Einstein was a genius who discovered many utterly astonishing things that some people dismiss for the atomic bomb, but he discovered to know. That makes him a genius. That seperates him from the rest of man kind.
The men who took this new knowledge and decided that they should be able to use it to their own advantage, you could call them smart. But they had no knowledge. They had no personal involvment in the discovery of what they wanted to control.
It's no different then the discovery of oil or natural gases. Men discovered them, men exploited them. It's just the way the world has come to be in the lives of men. We only want to know to say we do or to control what we have learned about.
Seeing as I haven't worded the above very well, let me summarize.
The difference between a man and a genius is the use of the knowledge. A genius uses it to evolve, a man uses it to control.
To put it into context, rijolyelena spoke of a friend of hers who used her knowledge of global warming and so forth to, what it seems to be, impress her old friends. This woman wanted to show her friends that she was smarter than them. She used her knowledge to control the conversation by keeping on something that only she knew about.
Yes, that is an assumption, but has that never happened to any of you?
In the overall, knowledge is the basis of human kind. Without it, we would relate ourselves to animals and simply collapse into nothingness as we would feel incompetant in comparison to anybody we came across, as we would all be equal.
And yet, we could perfectly live without knowledge, as we would be able to stay with what we know works, and would live as we had before the many amazing minds before us.
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jawad
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Re: Is knowledge really that important
September 23, 2008 - 01:25 PM
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i liked the way you described both being smart and having knowledge "prometheus" you have a great point of view ,as prometheus is a titan known for his wily intelligence.
anyways what i would like to add to my fellow colleagues is that we learn and read and try to enrich or minds with information so we can communicate with each others this life. in otherwords if i was somehow ignorrant i wouldnt have found this website nor tried to use the internet...if u were ignorrant i dont think you would fit in this life .
knowledge is a great weapon these days if used in the right way .
and i dnt think i can add more to what all of most of you said previously
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Dee
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Re: Is knowledge really that important
October 3, 2008 - 02:07 PM
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Knowledge is power. Being ignorant qualifies one to be a modern day slave. The more i learn, the more i see how easy it would have been for me to be cheated or taken advantage of if i was ignorant in that aspect. Sometimes it just helps to know a little about a lot of things.
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the1ultimate
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Re: Is knowledge really that important
November 17, 2008 - 07:32 AM
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I can't shake the feeling that the knowledge is taking us somewhere.
Although if you are only speaking short-term then obviously knowledge has limited appeal. For instance would you rather be stuck on a desert island with all the knowledge in the world (but no materials) or a well-equipped boat?
As for the long-term, I wouldn't even compare knowledge with money. Knowledge of science has made our world more comfortable. Would you consider living without science? The mortality rate would be so much higher and there would be no dental.  ouch.
You could argue that there was happiness before people know modern life. And this is true, however would you rather know, or not know?
We are now aware of other threats to our survival. So in the long-term, knowledge has become our greatest survival trait. There's not much room for natural selection when the whole Earth gets taken out by a flying chunk of rock.
Ultimately perhaps there is no future for the universe, perhaps we can't know everything. Perhaps we would be happier as ignorant savages who don't see heat-death coming. But I like to think that there are things worth knowing that we have yet to discover, and maybe we will find even greater happiness or even enlightenment.
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Emad
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Re: Is knowledge really that important
February 26, 2009 - 12:59 AM
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I believe being knowledgeable is what makes you well respected in the society at this time. Mankind have survived in the old days with a different knowledge that we have today. Their life revolved around how to hunt and be able to protect their children. This kind of knowledge was vital for them, was a matter of life or death. As mankind evolved, the standards of life have increased where our basic life needs are provided through our societies and governments. However, people’s knowledge today is driving the societies to innovation and freedom to have unity and peace in the world. At this time we still have a lot of problems to face, one with the economic turmoil that is affecting millions of people’s jobs around the world. Educated people that went to universities and secured a good job have escaped this economic problem. But guess who got laid off?
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Brian
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Re: Is knowledge really that important
March 1, 2009 - 11:30 AM
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- - - - - - - - Tired of Hip-Hop music about topics no person can relate too? because I was too. This aspired me to create my own music and Now I am making music about great topics not the classic hoes, cars and money. - - - - - - - -
Check it our some great classic style hip hop !
http://www.youtube.com/user/4DRecords
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ruthibelle
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Re: Is knowledge really that important
May 7, 2009 - 08:11 PM
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I WISH being knowledgeable made for respectablility, but that certainly doesnt apply in all cases... take Hollywood for example. Pretty ignorance glorified.
I think what this discussion lacks is a definition of the term knowledge. From the comments posted here, I guess most people are speaking about knowledge in terms of higher learning... the quest for more information about the systems and structures in our society.
But if you consider knowledge in an even more basic sense, as in, knowing anything about anything at all, then you realise that it is just indispensable. Knowledge sets us apart from all other species on the planet.
But let's suppose that we hadn't all the academically recognised 'learning' that we did; we would still require basic knowledge in order to survive. We'd still need to know the bare essentials of living... even animals have intuitive, somewhat subconscious 'knowledge' that allows them to practise survival (we call it instinct).
Knowledge is one of the basic units of life. I guess you could say it is a natural a characteristic of being. As long as we're around, knowledge will also be around because, basically, knowledge is what we know. Regardless of how little that is, it will always be whatever we know... or so I believe 
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