Knowledge versus Wisdom
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“If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom”
Continuing with the quote series, I thought about how a deeper and more thought-provoking quote would be good this time around. If you want to take a look at the previous posts in the quote series, take a look here.
This week, I started reading Adam Grant’s book Think Again and had to stop and write this line down. It immediately hit home for me and I can’t wait to see how Grant unpacks his ideas around this simple yet impactful sentence. (Keep a look out for this book review. 😀)
When I read and re-read this quote, I think about its connection between my own spiritual nature, how it pushes me to be more open-minded, and how the new information I consume, because of my open-mindedness, could help me excel in other aspects of my life.
Let’s start with definitions of the two most important words in this quote.
From Oxford Languages, the definition of knowledge is “facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education”.
From Oxford Languages, the definition of wisdom is “the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment”.
Spiritual
As a young boy, I was taught about religion and science. I was taught about biblical events that defied the laws of physics as well as about atomic elements that I couldn’t even see with my classroom microscope. In each instance, school gave me knowledge.
I didn’t learn that there are different viewpoints to every event. I learned that there were good guys and bad guys. And most of the stories that were told to me were that the group of people I associated myself with were the good guys.
Understanding that there is more to the world than what was in my little bubble is eye-opening. Just like when I traveled to a new place, or state, or country, I learned that there are different customs, traditions, and daily lives besides my own.
And that I had no idea how many or what they are like. For example, I know there is the French language, but I personally do not know to speak it. This is knowledge or lack thereof. A different thought process is that I don’t know how many spoken languages there are or have been in the world and I don’t know how to speak them.
That distinction is what I think Grant is trying to say in this quote. Having the wisdom to understand that there could be an unlimited number of things out there to discover and then we can choose to learn about those things.
When we choose to learn about those things, that is where I believe our spirit supports our mental growth.
Mental
When I graduated from high school, I thought I knew everything. In my heart, I was going to be a great engineer because I knew calculus, physics and was great with equations. What I didn’t know was all of the things that I needed to learn. I thought I had already achieved something before having stepped into my first college class.
My mindset changed by the time I graduated. I came out of school terrified of all of the things I had yet to learn. I was scared that there were going to be pop quizzes at work and I’d fail to deliver the correct answers.
What I realized school didn’t teach me, was the understanding that it’s okay not to know everything. It’s okay to say “I don’t know” because they are doing two very wise things when someone says that.
- They are admitting that they don’t know everything.
- They are curious to learn more.
Learning more, gaining more information and facts, increases knowledge. Understanding that there is more to learn increases wisdom.
Conclusion
I believe this comes back to people’s belief that ignorance is a negative adjective. To me, it is ignorant to think that. (See what I did there. 😀)
From Oxford Languages, the definition of ignorance is “lack of knowledge or information”.
Admitting ignorance not only shows great wisdom, but it also opens the mind to so many more possibilities to learn facts, information, and perspectives that can help in all aspects of life.
If I don’t try to understand the other person’s perspective in a disagreement, how can I hope to resolve that conflict? If I don’t try to understand other cultures, I might offend other people by my inadvertent actions. All of this is because I lacked knowledge and I didn’t realize that I lacked that knowledge.
Ignorance shouldn’t have a negative connotation. It should be used more frequently and by those that understand what Grant’s quote is trying to say.
Therefore, I believe that admitting ignorance is wise, and learning about that which you are ignorant of is knowledge.
Could the ignorant actually be the wisest among us?
