Knowledge is not Power

Gurvinder Singh
May 27
2 min read

We have been told that 'knowledge is power'. So we fill our minds with data and information, mistakenly believing we are acquiring knowledge. Being informed is different from knowing.

Knowledge is not power, it is potential power.

Our understanding and circumstances shape our knowledge, and these are constantly changing. It is essential to constantly learn because knowledge itself is always evolving.

At one time, some religions believed that the earth was flat, but now a vast majority have acquired knowledge that the world is spherical. Then we acquired knowledge that there is a Universe, now we learn that there are 'Multiverses', meaning there are numerous Universes just like our own, but with differing constants, physical laws etc..

Power is acquired by the one who is able to understand, assimilate and deploy knowledge. Knowledge is never wasted, not even the acquisition of seemingly useless knowledge.

Take the case of Guglielmo Marconi who pioneered work in wireless telegraphy, which is the foundation of modern radio technology and all wireless communication systems. The knowledge he acquired from the works of English Professor Clerk Maxwell and German worker Heinrich Hertz is what gave Marconi and the Western governments power.

When Britain went scouting for oil to fuel their industrial revolution, they sent people out to find territories all across the world where oil was observed seeping out from the ground and then made a move to acquire the rights to extract petroleum oil. Imagine the huge cost of sending people all over the world to walk about and look for oil in that manner. Then they discovered a better way. They read the history books of many countries and discovered that the Arab world was using oil to light the streets of their cities. The Arab historians provided the knowledge, but the English transformed that latent knowledge into global power.

Knowledge has potential power. The greatest enemies of humanity are people, institutions, religions and governments who try to contain the human spirit and intellect so that it will not dare to spread its wings and learn.

Armies may be stopped, but not knowledge and an idea whose time has come.

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