There is a proverb “Not to know is bad; not to wish to know is worse.”
What is your interpretation of this quote? Can the acquisition of knowledge be good or bad?
This essay response was written in a supervised examination hall with a time limit of 90 minutes
“Not to know is bad, not to wish to know is worse.” The quote simply talks about ignorance stating that the unawareness of something is bad and not willing or wishing not to know is worse. Not knowing about something simply means not having an idea or full idea of the existence or work of something. For example, not knowing about E-Commerce (online trading). On the other hand, not wishing to know is a greater ignorance that symbolizes the unwillingness and lack of concern about knowing more or little about a particular thing; more like apathy, which is known as the unwillingness to know about something. Therefore, the above quote is about being ignorant about a thing/subject/place etc. and not willing to know about it.
The first sentence of ignorance in the quote made me to understand that being blank to something is bad as it leads to so many things. I greatly agree that being ignorant about a thing is bad. For example, being ignorant about what we call online lessons i.e. “ULessons.” Many children who have difficulties in learning and are ignorant about online lessons tend to remain in their slow and poor academic performance that may eventually lead to dropout. The second sentence of ignorance in the quote made me to understand that being ignorant of a thing in a way that one is not willing to learn, is worse. For example, political apathy, which is the serious unwillingness to know about politics and involve yourself in it. Not wanting to know about something is a greater danger to the world because we humans are expected to learn every day for the betterment of our society, community, and the world at large.
I hereby support that the acquisition of knowledge is good as I mentioned earlier that we need knowledge for the betterment of our society. Let’s take deprival of school for the girl child as an example. Many people, especially the ones in the rural areas and villages, deprive girls of going to school, saying that they are meant to be full housewives and men are entitled to work for money. Parents who do this to their girls are ignorant of the fact that everyone is entitled to an education and everyone has the right to work. Some are partially ignorant, some are wholly ignorant, and some are just stubbornly ignorant, especially when it is a practice that has been happening for years and it is generational. The girl child needs an education because many of them are also future mothers to the future generation. So just imagine, 100 girls deprived of education. It endangers the life of the future generations that are yet to come.
In our society at large, I believe that the acquisition of knowledge has helped us become better people. If the man who invented light was ignorant about learning, we wouldn’t enjoy or even know what light is. Another example is the man who invented electricity, if he was ignorant that means the world would not still know about electricity, power supplies, and electrical supplies, and it would lead to poor development, economic instability, and even corruption. The acquisition of knowledge is very important for the world as a whole, be it through formal, informal, or semi formal education. Being ignorant about a thing is a step backward to our goals and dreams.
The acquisition of knowledge can also be in the form of handiwork, which is another powerful blessing. I take myself as an example, I always liked stuff about hairstyling and my parents couldn’t really afford to send me to a hairstyling shop or school to learn more. But I wasn’t ignorant about learning it. Anytime I had a chance to go through their phones, I searched on YouTube how to do certain styles and in two years, I gained a little knowledge about hairstyling. I now use my knowledge to make money, settle some personal needs and even family wants. Even overseas, hair stylists are greatly demandedand get great pay. So, imagine me being ignorant about hair as I couldn’t afford to learn, I wouldn’t have money to settles some needs, and I wouldn’t get the chance to help others with my handiwork, time, resources, and even money.
The acquisition of knowledge also has a great impact on the less privilege. In a case where a person doesn’t know about the mobile phone, it makes communication slower and less effective. Villagers in particular have been able to do a lot, even save lives through the mobile phones. In the olden days, before you pass across a message, you had to write it on a piece of paper and send it to the person going to the place you want the letter to be delivered. And it took months before your message was delivered. When I was little, I heard a story in my village about a man who had few days to live and was about to die. He told his second wife to send for his children in Lagos, so they could bid him farewell. But due to him being ignorant about the mobile phone, the man died without getting to see his children. Also, the children only got to hear about their father’s death a month after he passed away. Therefore, the acquisition of knowledge is good.
The acquisition of knowledge is good but it can also be bad. In a case where a little child acquires the wrong knowledge e.g. a porn site, he/she endangers his/herself by watching it and eventually developing an immoral life. Another case is when a teenager acquires the wrong knowledge about smoking and drinking. He/She starts going wayward, starts having poor academic performances, he/she can even become a dropout and it can lead to depression, which eventually leads to death. So, as knowledge acquisition can be good, it can also be bad, but I believe it does more good than bad and it leads to more progress than harm.
Knowledge can be acquired through different means but we humans are the ones who make the decisions about getting it from the right places and at the right time, in order to impact lives.
Knowledge can be acquired through learning in different ways. One can acquire knowledge in school, which is the modern acquisition of it. It can also be acquired through online research and learning. Knowledge can also be acquired through “mouth-to-mouth” communication, which is when a person says something to another person. It can also be acquired in the church through the pastor, the word of God, and Christ himself. Knowledge can also be acquired in our society by seeing, acting, and imitating what other people do. Knowledge can also be acquired through peer pressure, family teachings, end even in societal morals and etiquette. Knowledge can be acquired through different means but we humans are the ones who make the decisions about getting it from the right places and at the right time, in order to impact lives.
A.G. Project 