Knowing or not knowing?

jackydragon

jackydragon

Legacy Member
My Dad had a favourite saying and I do not know whether it was originally his or borrowed but it went like this.

Knowing and not doing is not knowing. It didn't make sense in the beginning, it does now.

What do you think about his philosphy?
 
Yes, this resonates with me. It is hard to truly know unless you do. It is possible to study honey, understand how it is formed, recognize its health benefits, and believe that it is sweet. However, until one tastes the honey, can they really be said to know about it?
 
Jacky, your father was very wise, and Janus, I love how you encapsulated the essence of that in the honey analogy. In most things, knowledge without experience is second best, and we should never settle for second best.

The only times when knowledge without experience is good is in life or death situations. For example, I don't need to be wired up to an electric chair to know it will be a lethal experience, and I don't need to be bitten by a rattlesnake to know that I might not survive the encounter.
 
I do agree with what most people here are saying, that if you do not experience you do not truly know what something is like. But like Sandra said there are certain things that I feel I do not need to experience to know about, life and death circumstances, or even painful circumstances such as knowing that if I touch a hot stove I will burn my hand. I would take it a step farther to say that there are certain things that I am just as happy not knowing everything about. I do not comprehend why some people enjoy the pain of others, and I am quite happy not understanding. I know that if I was in an abusive relationship I may understand those that feel trapped in them and choose not to leave better, but I am personally not willing to put myself in that position to understand. Sometimes I feel like being ignorant of certain things is best for all of us.
 
Your father has a very wise outlook on life. It reminds me of people who learn and study but never taking action. If you just learn and study but do nothing and don't take action, it's as good as not having the knowledge at all.
 
Aside from the interpretation of experiencing something to know it (ie knowing what honey is verse tasting it) I think the saying also is about saying we understand something and then not living it. For example, talking about patience and lecturing on it, but then not actually having patience yourself would not truly be knowing. If you truly know something then you should practice it and not just talk about it. It is easy to tell ourselves we "know" something, and a whole other creature to know and put our knowing to the test. I can "know" I am a great writer full of the potential to succeed, but unless I get out there and put my writing to the test what do I truly know?
 
I completely agree with that statement. How could you know something if you haven't done the research or did the action that is needed to understand it? In order to know develops you as a person and the more you know, the more mistakes and actions you take to become a wiser and much better person.
 
The most recent Vsauce video touched upon this!

We can study as much as we want about what others have experienced or deducted about an event or thing, but actually knowing what we've studied only occurs when we use our very own senses to experience them. The honey analogy perfectly illustrated the concept. It's about time people realize the difference between a symbol and the thing itself; much of education is based on this.

Real innovation can only come from knowing, and I really can't wait for the upcoming generations to take their knowledge to the workbench!
 
I don't know if I agree all the time, but it generally makes sense. But I don't like when people say that "you don't know; you weren't there" or something to that effect. I don't need to be stabbed in the face to know that it would hurt a lot. Still, it's hard to really "know" anything specific unless you've experienced firsthand. I just don't think it's an absolute truth.
 
I feel that this is very true. There is something about the essence of something that cannot be understood with just a definition. At its core, I feel that the 'knowing' that your father was describing is true 'understanding' that goes beyond the superficial and external characteristics of an action or object. There is always something deeper that comes with mastery and experience, and this is often ineffable and unable to be contained in just a description. An analogy I can think of is the difference between describing a color or an object to a blind person; they can know all its dimensions and properties, but there is always that something that's missing.
 
I would agree with that. I really feel to "know" something you have to experience it. Now you can say that you know something on an intellectual level, but to be able to really understand something, you have to experience it. There's a lot of us who know "Honesty is the best policy" but how many of us actually know what that means? It is the people who walk the walk who are actually the knowledgeable ones.
 
A great Philosophy that should truly be followed. It helps us remember that the road to success is not always easy, sometimes we will be faced with circumstance that we think we can never surpass. We will fail and continue to fail unless we decide that enough is enough and its high time for us to face that challenge. Life is filled with uncertainties and lesson, a lesson that we ought to learn and master. With this, we can stand once more with renewed strength and vigor ready to face the world.
 
Your father seems very wise. It took a minute for me to fully process the statement, but after doing so, it makes perfect sense.
 
This is a great philosophy specially for those who study computations, you know what? When you study calculus or algebra, then you don't practice it and answer it on your own, it is not knowing, because you wont understand calculus if you don't keep on practicing solving problems, if you are not doing it you won't know how to solve it when you're going to have a quiz or exam.
 
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