Knowledge Quotes

It’s best to not even try.

“Today, or anytime, when you catch yourself wanting to condescendingly drop some knowledge that you have, grab it and ask: Would I be better saying words or letting my actions and choices illustrate that knowledge for me?“
Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic (Page 137) | Read Matt’s Blog on this quote ➜

Epictetus Quote on Learning and How Our Willingness To Appear Clueless Is Key To Maintaining Curiosity

“If you wish to improve, be content to appear clueless or stupid in extraneous matters—don’t wish to seem knowledgeable.”
Epictetus, The Daily Stoic (Page 38)

Beyond the Quote (Day 395)

The moment you believe yourself to be knowledgable is the moment you kill curiosity. After all, if you know, you know. What more is there to be curious about? You can only be curious about things you don’t already know. Or, maybe better said, if you think you already know, then there’s no more “know” to add. The problem with believing you know is that it implies the task is completed. It’s a statement of being done. But, acquiring knowledge/ learning is lifelong—never something that is completed. Which is precisely why you shouldn’t even wish to seem knowledgable in any area of your life.

“Reading can teach you the best of what others already know. Reflection can teach you the best of what only you can know.”
James Clear

Beyond the Quote (318/365)

And if you’re not doing either, where is it that everything you know is coming from? From social media? From click-bait websites? From news conglomerates? Or maybe from friends and family members? But, where then are they getting their knowledge from? From those same sources? The question you have to ask yourself is, how does the quality of this information compare to the quality of the information that might be obtained from reading and reflecting? I suspect that it may not only be substantially below in quality, but of little to no quality at all. I suspect that it’s a no comparison.

It has always seemed to me odd that the world does not realize the immensity of a state of ‘I do not know.’ Those who destroy that state with beliefs and assumptions completely miss an enormous possibility—the possibility of knowing. They forget that ‘I do not know’ is the doorway—the only doorway—to seeking and knowing.”
Sadhguru, Inner Engineering (Page 12)

Naval Ravikant Quote on Education and Why The Desire To Learn Is So Scarce

“Even today, what to study and how to study it are more important than where to study it and for how long. The best teachers are on the Internet. The best books are on the Internet. The best peers are on the Internet. The tools for learning are abundant. It’s the desire to learn that’s scarce.”
Naval Ravikant, Medium

Beyond the Quote (231/365)

This is (arguably) one of the main reasons why so many people subject themselves to expensive educations—because they don’t have a strong enough desire to learn on their own. Assuming higher education isn’t a necessary prerequisite for the career they desire (doctor, lawyer, engineer, etc.), as Naval points out above, all of the best information is already available. With a strong enough desire to learn, a way can almost always be found.

“Instead of praising those people who happen to possess some piece of knowledge, we ought to praise those who have the right attitude towards it, since only this benchmark also includes those who strive for the truth and miss out on it for reasons not entirely under their control. Consider traits such as intellectual humility (a willingness to be wrong), intellectual courage (to pursue truths that make us uncomfortable), open-mindedness (to contemplate all sides of the argument, limiting preconceptions), and curiosity (to be continually seeking).” ~ Jonny Robinson, Aeon

“We are incredibly well informed, yet we know incredibly little. Why? Because two centuries ago, we invented a toxic form of knowledge called ‘news.’ News is to the mind what sugar is to the body: appetizing, easy to digest—and highly destructive in the long run.” ~ Rolf Dobelli, The Art of Thinking Clearly

“Too often, convinced of our own intelligence, we stay in a comfort zone that ensures that we never feel stupid (and are never challenged to learn or reconsider what we know). It obscures from view various weakness in our understanding, until eventually it’s too late to change course. This is where the silent toll is taken.” ~ Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy

“One problem with our current society is that we have an attitude towards education as if it is there to simply make you more clever, make you more ingenious… Even though our society does not emphasize this, the most important use of knowledge and education is to help us understand the importance of engaging in more wholesome actions and bringing about discipline within our minds. The proper utilization of our intelligence and knowledge is to effect changes from within to develop a good heart.” ~ Dalai Lama

“Knowledge is only potential power. For the power to be manifested, it must be applied. Most people know what they should do in any given situation, or in their lives for that matter. The problem is that they don’t take daily, consistent action to apply the knowledge and realize their dreams.” ~ Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

“Let’s define dumb as being different from stupid. Dumb means you don’t know what you’re supposed to know. Stupid means you know it but make bad choices. […] Dumb used to be a by-product of lack of access, bad teachers, or poor parenting. Today, dumb is a choice, one that’s made by individuals who choose not to learn. If you don’t know what you need to know, that’s fixable. But first you have to want to fix it.”
Seth Godin, Whatcha Gonna Do With That Duck?

Be unstoppable.

“Through books you can start today where the great thinkers of yesterday left off, because books have immortalized man’s knowledge. Thinkers, dead a thousand years, are as alive in their books today as when they walked the earth.” ~ Wilfred Peterson, The Art of Living

“You open doors when you open books… doors that swing wide to unlimited horizons of knowledge, wisdom, and inspiration that will enlarge the dimensions of your life.” ~ Wilfred Peterson, The Art of Living

“In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject area) who didn’t read all the time – none, zero. You’d be amazed at how much Warren [Buffett] reads – and how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I’m a book with a couple of legs sticking out.” ~ Charles T. Munger

13 Provocative Osho Quotes on Love, Freedom, and Aloneness

Excerpt: This collection of Osho Quotes on love will challenge not only how you think about love, but how you think about freedom and aloneness, too.

“The knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet.” ~ Lord Chesterfield

“Sir Francis Bacon said, ‘Knowledge is power.’ He was right, but he forgot one word to make the phrase fool-proof. ‘Applied knowledge is power.’ If you know and you don’t do, you don’t know. It is as simple as that.” ~ Joachim de Posada, Don’t Eat the Marshmallow… Yet!