Why You Must be Knowledgeable

“Knowledge is power”--- Francis Bacon 

Education is all about knowledge. To educate is “to train or give information on a particular subject.” Knowledge in Mr. Bacon’s time may have been power but not anymore. Knowledge at today’s standards is information and power is what you do with the information. At today’s standards therefore, knowledge at best is POTENTIAL power while APPLIED knowledge is power.  Specialized knowledge is what separates Doctors from Farmers, Lawyers and other Professionals all of which are experts in their chosen fields. It is the use of this knowledge that the world pays a premium for. Those who make it in life never stop acquiring specialized knowledge. They always strive to keep with the trends in their chosen fields. This is why they stand-out from the crowd. Dr. Ben Carson is reputed to be the man who performed near-miraculous child brain surgeries known to Medical Science. He could have forever remained “the little-black-kid from the back-streets of Detroit” if he so decided as many of his peers did. In his book “Gifted Hands”; he is described as “the remarkable man who gives dying children a second chance at life.”  Dr. Carson’s specialized knowledge and expertise at pediatric neurosurgery at some stage made him a much sought-after Medical Personality at Johns Hopkins Hospital, USA and all over the world.

“The educated man is the man who has learned how to get everything he needs without violating the rights of his fellow men. Education comes from within; you get it by struggle and effort and thought.”  However, it should be noted that it is not only what you know that counts. What counts most is what you do with what you know. What you do with what you know is what determines who you are. Those who never apply their knowledge for the benefit of themselves and the society remain mediocre all their lives. This is why the world is full of educated derelicts. Look around you, there may even be one in your neighborhood.

 

Why You Must Be Educated

“Knowledge is power”--- Francis Bacon

About 200 years ago, the platforms of investment were severely limited, elementary and at times crude. Between then and now, the frontiers of knowledge have doubled several times over. Today, investment opportunities are unlimited. With Internet and e-commerce, the man who knows and obtains useful information first has a head-start over his nearest rival in fields of Commerce and Investment. The society never fails to notice and take stock. Women all over the world give birth to children everyday. It is either a baby boy or a baby girl. I have never heard that a woman delivered a Lawyer or a Doctor. It is simply a baby boy or girl. What later in life makes these babies to become Lawyers, Doctors or something else is what they learn as a deliberate process. This is education.

Education is therefore the foremost instrument for segmenting the society. This is why education is not only craved for, it is coveted. A man is what he knows. Even when you come across a group of Professors, chances are that they will all be specialists in various fields even though they are all Professors. Go to their homes and find out the books that dominate their libraries, you will have an idea what their areas of specializations are. I am told (I have never been there), that when you step into Professor Wole Soyinka’s country home high up the hills in Ogun State, Nigeria, you are likely to notice the books first before you notice the furniture. Chances are that his books collection will have more of history, drama and literature books than any other collections. The Nobel Prize has given the man world recognition for literature. This is what has defined the man most of his life despite his numerous other talents. Yet, with all his academic qualifications, Professor Soyinka may not be able to match the knowledge of his illiterate uncle who farms when it comes to the rudiments of farming. Just as his uncle may not be able to read and understand a single chapter in his book “The Man Died.” We all have our various areas of knowledge which specialize us. This is what segregates us into professions, vocations and businesses. Whatever you do, it is in your own best interest to be as knowledgeable and as proficient in that field as you possibly can.