Knowledge is Power
I think we’ve all probably heard the phrase, “knowledge is power”. Francis Bacon said it, in 1597. Knowledge is what set kings apart from peasants. Sages, from fools. And the acquisition of power was a difficult, often bloody task. Wars were fought over knowledge, and sacrifices made.
The more knowledge you have, the better a life you can build for yourself and the people around you. Today, people get hired and given a wage based on the amount of knowledge they have of a certain subject. There is one major difference concerning power today, as apposed to the 1500’s or 1600’s or any other time in history for that matter: Knowledge is as common an easily accessible as dirt.
The Magic of the Internet
What do you do when you want to know more about something? Hop on the Internet and find out! Imagine telling a common person 500, 300, even 100 years ago, that you could answer any question they had about anything. What will the weather be like for the next 2 weeks? Instantly have access to the worlds best and brightest minds without having to travel 100’s of miles and risk certain death. Imagine proving to them that you could solve their toughest math problems, engineering problems and whatever else, without even having to go to school or anything! You would be a god. Can’t get much more powerful than that.
Bring that same ability to answer questions into the present, and you’re an average Jane/Joe, at home on your couch on Tuesday night, asking Google if that weird growth between your toes is something you should take care of, or will it go away on its own in a few days… Not quite as powerful as a god now.
So, Who has Power Now?
So, what changed? Infinite knowledge is now something that everyone has equal access to, yet no one seems to be much more powerful than anyone else. In fact, most of us can’t even use all that knowledge and supposed power to break away from our 9–5’s that we hate so much and live a better life! What is missing?
The powerful people today (outside of the horrifically corrupt) are innovators, pioneers, visionaries and other people who are constantly testing and breaking barriers, and working to move humanity into the future. They take all the knowledge that is available to them and apply to new and different applications. How do they do it? They ask questions.
“Whomsoever asketh the more perfect questioneth, haseth the more powereth.” Caleb Rohr said that, in 2021. Now that knowledge doesn’t require work, it’s not as valuable. It still is, just not as much. Knowing what to do with it, and how to use it to its maximum potential, that is what will give a person power today.
A More Beautiful Question
I read a book recently, called A More Beautiful Question. The author, Warren Berger, talks about this sequence of questioning to get breakthroughs in life and work: Why, What If, and How. Knowledge has got us to where we are now, and for regular people like me, following along in the deep ruts that great men have established for us seems safe and makes sense (“making sense” here meaning it looks like everything everyone else is doing), but it isn’t really making my life that amazing. If I want things to change for me, I need to ask myself questions. Why are things the way they are now? What if they could they be different, better? How can I make them into the different and better that I just what-if’d in my head?
Maybe you’re a manager or someone in a position to create change at work or in your establishment or business. Asking questions is how you find out what needs to change, and where to unleash all that pent up knowledge! It does you no good to keep watering dead grass if the amount of water isn’t the issue. Why is the grass dead? What if I did this or that to make it better? How can I accomplish said “this” and “that”?
There are a million other questions to ask, but “why, what if, and how” are a great place to start. It’s amazing what happens when you start consciously asking those questions in your day to day life. All kinds of new possibilities open up, and you see things you never would have without being inquisitive.
Another couple gems that I pulled from A More Beautiful Question are to stop assuming that what we’ve learned, and what we think is correct. Never stop being curious. We stop asking questions at an alarmingly young age, and we start getting really good at forcing things to fit into our paradigms instead of letting them be and fit into their own bespoke little box.
Go Forth and Ask
I think this is an important topic to think about and play around with in our age. We argue a lot, without asking enough questions of the other person. We don’t question our fundamental beliefs enough, and that prevents us from evolving as individuals. Growth requires curiosity. If you feel stagnant, go ask yourself some real, scary, honest questions.
Much love to all!