The Danger of Knowledge

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   Mark Johannposted 12 years ago

   It has been said that too much of knowledge could harm human beings. Like Einstein's E=mc2, he said if he would have known that his invention could harm people, he wish he would never been a scientist.

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      mts1098posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      how is this for knowledge...someone once told me that knowledge isn't knowing what to say...knowledge is knowing what not to say...

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      Shadesbreathposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I think it's more accurate to say that he regretted the development of the a-bomb, not his life as a mathematician and man of science.

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         Paul Wingertposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         That same technology went into developing nuclear power. Just be happy that we deveolped the A bomb before Nazi Germany did.

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            Shadesbreathposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            So, to further clarfify, I think he wasn't too happy that ANYONE would develop the a-bomb. The bomb was the problem. Not the unlocking of energy. And yes, I agree with you on the rest.

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               Paul Wingertposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               For the last thousand years, inventers came up with the ultimate "end of the world machines" that ranged from the invention of gunpowder to percussion caps, from high explosives and nuclear fusion.

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                  Shadesbreathposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Yep. But every generation wants to think it matters more than those nameless masses that have passed before in the uninteresting spans of time. So, we have to assume that, since we didn't get to be the first generation, we will be the last. That way we matter.

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      gmwilliamsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      This premise is totally..........you know what- TWISTED!    Ignorance is dangerous, not too much knowledge.   One can never have too much knowledge.    Many people have gotten into dangerous stituation because they refused to do any research regarding the matter.   
      
      There is no such thing as too much knowledge.   The more knowledge a person has, the further he/she goes.    Knowledgeable people are likely to have a better quality of life.   They have better jobs and in many cases, they make better parents because they can impart more to their children.    If one is knowledgeable, one knows how to take care of himself/herself and is less likely to be taken advantage of by others.   
      
      Having a massive amount of knowledge is an asset in this world, thank you kindly!  The statement reminds one of the  Nazis, Puritans, and other inquisitors who insisted that those who possessed a too high amount of knowledge were dangerous to the former's status and/or modus operandi.    The Nazis, Puritans, and other inquisitors preferred an ignorant population as to manipulate them and keep them in their place.    Yes, the premise that too much knowledge is "dangerous" in that people with a high level of knowledge will not be manipulated into being an unquestioningly obedient automaton.   They also can see through the psychosocial debris.

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   Lisa HWposted 12 years ago

   My remark here is not directed at anyone on this particular thread.  (I don't want it to come across as a verbal swipe at anyone on this particular thread.):
   
   Worse than any danger of knowledge is the number of people who are absolutely clueless about one thing or another (and/or about any number of things) but who have the egos that don't allow them to consider that there is a whole universe of things about life, and about other people, that they know nothing about.  Equally dangerous are people who have had somewhat more experience with, or education in, one area or another, than "the average person" may have; but who still don't realize that there remains a whole world of things they don't know/understand about the subject. 
   
   As a look just through these forums alone will show, the number of people who are absolutely unwilling/unable to imagine the possibility that they don't "have all the answers" to everyone else's problem, issues, and/or questions is disturbing.
   
   People shouldn't be afraid of knowledge.  They ought to be afraid of the kind of ego that stops them from enhancing their own knowledge/understanding by listening to others and considering the fact that they most likely don't know everything there is to know about a subject (or person or situation).
   
   It doesn't take great brilliance or exceptional ability in reason/logic to grasp the idea that one individual cannot possibly fully understand what a world full of other individuals has lived with or lives with.  All it takes is being open to the idea that one just may not know what he thinks he knows/understands about any number of things.  If everyone could get a grip on that ego they hang onto for dear life, there'd be a lot more understanding of other human beings in this world - and it wouldn't matter what Einstein or any other scientists discovered that could be used by the egotistical, arrogant, and violent individuals in the world to cause harm to others.

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   cheaptrickposted 12 years ago

   The greatest danger involving knowledge has to be,when you've finished learning everything knowable,you run the risk of being labeled a"Know it all"and no one invites you to parties and girls wont date you and your friends avoid you and etc,etc.
   Personally,I took to heart what my marriage taught me,"Ignorance is bliss",and follow the Ostriches example of head in sand at all times.
   I may go down to destruction but I'll be happy and partying to the last moment...

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   Uninvited Writerposted 12 years ago

   I find that the more I learn the more I realize that I don't know everything.

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      Kris Heeterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I would be in the same camp!  At no point can anyone really know or learn it all:)

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      Mark Johannposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Hahaha! Yes, I believe this idea.

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   Lisa HWposted 12 years ago

   All the people who know they don't know everything (I gratefully count myself among them) should form a big club and start being a lot more vocal about what those who think they do know everything really don't have a clue about.     The problem with the kind of ego that's more interested in feeling superior to others than in understanding others more is that that kind of ego also tends to be far more vocal than a healthier ego.  Really - it's a major problem in society these days, I think.  I swear that from the Baby Boomers' generation on down, way too many people have been raised to know how capable, smart and generally "wonderful"  they are without also being raised to know that pretty much all other mentally healthy people are also capable, smart and "wonderful".  Throw that in with a reasonable amount of (or even lots of) good luck and some of the modest (and unspectacular) accomplishments of the average person, and you've got a society full of clueless know-it-alls who don't think they have anything to learn from other people, and whose only aim is "teach" other people what they know (or think they know).   

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   knolyourselfposted 12 years ago

   "Roots Of The Neo-Con Junta"
   Leo Strauss - " The best regime is that in which the best men habitually rule, or aristocracy. Goodness is, if not identical with wisdom, at any rate dependent on wisdom: the best regime would seem to be the rule of the wise, In fact, wisdom appeared to the classics as that title to rule which is highest according to nature. It would be absurd to hamper the free flow of wisdom by any regulations; hence the rule of the wise must be absolute rule, It would be equally absurd to hamper the free flow of wisdom by consideration of the unwise wishes of the unwise; hence the wise rulers ought not to be responsible to the unwise subjects. To make the rule of the wise dependent on election by the unwise or consent of the unwise would mean to subject what is by nature higher to control by what is by nature lower, i.e., to act against nature." ...
   "Once the "gentlemen" are in office, the "wise" may then set to work on the actual governance of the masses. The greatest threat to the "wise" is that their essentially good work will be uncovered by the "unwise", and as the "unwise" are by their very nature suspicious of wisdom, will seek to unseat their natural superiors." ...
   "Therefore it is always necessary for the "wise" to rule from the shadows. The "wise", as the natural elite, will do what is of the ultimate "good" for society. This may mean that certain "noble lies" are told to the "unwise masses" in order to secure their consent. Once that consent is obtained, any level of tyrannical power can be wielded to further the aims of the "wise".

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   WryLiltposted 12 years ago

   A *small* amount of knowledge is a dangerous thing.
   
   I plan to train as a doula next year hopefully, and consider myself fairly well informed on birth and pregnancy.
   
   I follow a lot of mummy pages on Facebook where women ask all sorts of questions. MANY of them simply answer based on what a single person has told them or with blanket statements based on things they've heard, with no actual research or knowledge. And that can be very dangerous if people are recommending anything to do with birth and labour.

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   gmwilliamsposted 12 years ago

   +1!

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   peoplepower73posted 12 years ago

   Six Sikhs were gunnned down in a temple today.  How many people that don't know what a Sikh is will do the research to find out?  This is where knowledge is of value.  From what I have seen on the news, many people already have a preconcieved idea that they are Muslims, which they are not.  In this case, there is a danger of lack of knowledge.
   
   Someone once said that money isn't the problem, it's the lack of money that creates problems.  It's the same about knowledge.  Knowledge isn't the problem, it's the lack of knowledge that creates the problems.

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      gmwilliamsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      THANK YOU!

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         Paul Wingertposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Well put!

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