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
Every individual in the universe was neither born with knowledge nor with wisdom. But as we begin to grow, we start to acquire knowledge. From knowing the touch of our mother’s hands to learning how to eat and read and write. Till date, I have never asked myself what knowledge is, neither have many, but we develop it while trying to acquire it. Knowledge is simply understanding and gaining insight to whatever we have put ourselves to. To sum it all up, knowledge is knowing; to know. As the quote says, “Not to know is bad; but not to wish to know is worse” we can derive from the saying that the will to know should stem in the hearts of everyone. Those who do not know or understand something might be seen as daft, illiterate or sometimes playful and forgetful, but the ones that wish not to know or even make an effort are as good as useless.
First and foremost, the acquisition of knowledge is not just a day-to-day process, it is but a lifetime experience and an infinite one at that. We keep learning every day and our thoughts keep changing, so also the brain continues to develop. Someone once said, “growth is not a physical change but a mental change.” We measure growth based on how much one knows and not on how long one has lived. Knowledge has transformed everything here on Earth, the way we talk, walk, our surroundings and even the decisions we make. Every day that we live longer, we learn something new. It is these new things we learn that have transformed our lives and made a difference in the way we live today. As we look around we begin to discover it is this knowledge that has brought forth an improvement in the quality of life.
We must have heard someone say “knowledge is power” but we might not have understood those words. Somewhere in our minds, we must have deceived ourselves into thinking it is the kind of power that enables us to become rich and successful, one that only the educated can seek and only the rich can afford. That is one of the reasons many would have fallen prey to the idle and shameless mentality that it is useless to know and knowledge hasn’t improved lives. Knowledge is not only acquired in school or a university, but it can also be acquired at a more sub-standard level. We know billionaires that didn’t attend university and we’ve heard world-changing ideas from people who didn’t study in a fancy school. The reason is that knowledge stems from everything we do, have heard or seen. So, to acquire knowledge we don’t have to study in a fancy school or make enough money and become “successful”. The fact that people are going to schools worth billions to attain knowledge does not mean that you who is attending a one-story school with no usable toilets and hardly any writing material will know less.
Only those that have knowledge have the will to spread it. Only those that have read have the power to teach it, so if everyone stops learning, then the world is as good as dead.
Every decision we make today is due to the knowledge we have. Both spiritual or religious, educational, traditional, emotional, and practical knowledge is involved. We all can spread knowledge to people around us in one way or another. And some might have been life changing. Only those that have knowledge have the will to spread it. Only those that have read have the power to teach it, so if everyone stops learning, then the world is as good as dead. That is the reason why numerous communities around the world not only create schools or educational apps for obtaining knowledge but also have begun to create other grounds for learning, some of these are learning sports, chess, tailoring and handiworks, content creation, cooking, and business. These are being created and developed so that man would not be lacking in knowledge, either basic or in any other form of it.
Man would be useless to himself if he had no knowledge. What is power in the hands of someone who lacks knowledge? One of the reasons for the bad governance in Nigeria is due to the fact that power is given to those who lack the proper knowledge of how to handle it. When the leaders are given power without attaining the relevant knowledge of the position, we the citizens suffer. Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers, and politicians are required to obtain proper knowledge in their field before they can be approved or certified. An opposing writer might have decided to say knowledge has had some infinitely damaging impacts on the lives of many. For example, with the increased consumerism and knowledge of new good and item, so many people have been throwing waste wherever they wished to, others burnt the waste and are not conscious of how these wastes affect our water systems. However, due to scientific discovery, we found out that these acts have bad impacts on the planet. We discovered that these waste kill fishes in the sea and cause the greenhouse effect. We now understand what we must do to keep our environment clean as whatever we do will impact the earth, wither good or bad. This knowledge we’ve attained has changed many things we do now. Without this knowledge man would have brough maybe even further destruction to our planet. In addition, knowledge is the wisdom that has impacted us in infinitely, usefully, and substantial ways. So unwise is the person who loses the will to learn and attain knowledge.
In conclusion, it is preferable to fail to know than to give up on knowing at all. The benefit of knowing widely outweighs the disadvantages of knowing. It is not only reflected in my points above but also universally and in our everyday activities. And with the little knowledge that I have contributed on this topic, I hope I have been able to spread knowledge that resonated with everyone. Knowledge acquired is gold processed.
A.G. Project 