Knowledge is Not Power

I’m a child of the 70’s, my earliest memories being the late Carter years, and one message that we had drummed into us in the 80’s was the following: “Knowledge is Power.”Looking back , it was part and parcel of the drive to teach kids “smarter is better”, and went hand in hand with the belief we are blank slates which, given proper education, would turn out to be just as good as anyone else. The drive was felt even then to shove everyone into college; the ultimate failure to realize that correlation re: college attendance and income was not necessarily causation.

Photo by detait on Unsplash

Nevertheless, it was everywhere. The ubiquitous “The More you know” logo , though I believe that was the 90’s, G.I. Joe and “Knowing is Half the Battle.”

The problem is that it’s not really true. Power is power. Hell, even if where the line exists separately from power is gray, even influence isn’t really power. Money buys influence, but influence is only power insofar as people will do what you lean upon them to do… as I note the caution my father gave me to not issue orders I know will be disobeyed (or you cannot force compliance), as it further undermines your influence, and thus power.

Knowledge is an awareness of possibilities, facts on the ground, and known relationships. Knowledge can also be understanding, or wisdom. Wisdom, and yes, this is oversimplified as whole books can and have been written, is in having a bullshit detector, in choosing from the better possibilities, being able to accurately see the relationships, to validate the ones you were told, draw new ones, bluntly, to understand what things mean and imply. “Surprise is in the mind of the enemy” after all lies in the difference between what you believe can be done, and what actually can be done.

Wisdom is often hard earned and learned from fuckups.

As an aside - part of what catalyzed finishing this up and posting it was a similar point by the Brothers Krynn in his post on the movie “The 9th Gate” : “There’s also the theme of too much knowledge being a dangerous thing. Curiosity is good, wisdom though is required to disseminate between darkness and light.” You may remember the expression that there is a difference between an open mind and a hole in the head. Over and over we are reminded that knowledge, even in the context of “understanding,” and wisdom are two different things. If even such related terms are different, how could knowledge possibly be power, vice enabling it?

To the extent “Knowledge is Power” has any truth, it is that with a limited number of options in front of you, you are less likely to be able to choose a good option. In the end though, when two men have the same knowledge, it’s the person with the best ability to apply that knowledge that wins. Two people playing chess have perfect knowledge of the places the pieces occupy, if not what is in their opponents mind for plans. They can both perfectly see the possibilities, even if going beyond the first, second, and other orders becomes progressively more difficult.

This is where Sun Tzu applies as metaphorical truth. It’s not only those possibilities, but which ones your opponent is likely to take, and under “knowing yourself”, what your weak points are that he can take advantage of. This isn’t just troop numbers, and logistics, where the pieces are, but what it implies for constraints, or unforseen mobility. Who the generals or commanders are, and how they like to operate. Not just on their side. Not just on yours.

In the end, knowledge gives you options for applying power effectively. It can give you paths to avoid problems or find solutions. It is important - a force multiplier.

Knowledge lets you know where you can apply power.

But cunning and bluffing can only get you so far.

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