Written June 20, 2021
In another piece I wrote, — The Art of Truth Seeking, — I touched upon the difference between knowledge and belief, in the context of truth seeking. I aim to expand on that here, viewed from a different angle.
Epistemology teaches us the value of knowledge, as opposed to dogma, lies in its enduring and persistent nature. You may strongly (but wrongly) believe your favorite restaurant stays open until 10PM. The day you show up and find it closed at 10PM is the day you instantly let go of that previously held strong belief. But now you know for sure they only stay open till 9PM. That new knowledge-based belief will be immutable in you.
But not all knowledge, immutable as it may be, is useful. What good is knowing the King of Hearts is the only king in a deck of cards without a mustache? So we shouldn’t make it our purpose to indiscriminately pursue all knowledge. More is not necessarily better. We need to be purposeful in our pursuit of knowledge.
I posit most people pursue knowledge not with clear purpose in mind but heavily influenced by predisposition. Pragmatists (“doers”) tend to invest their time and energy in acquiring only “actionable” knowledge upon need, and usually “in the box”. These people view knowledge as the means to expertise which then leads to better jobs, more wealth, and power over others. Ideologues (“thinkers”), on the other hand, pursue knowledge tangentially as they daydream “out of the box” all the time. They wind up either creating, inventing, or changing the world with knowledge thus gained. Or, they simply living a more enriched life because to them, knowledge is the very purpose of life. And then there is this one person I know who randomly gathers a plethora of totally unrelated “news” everyday, and throws it at the wall to see what sticks with others. I guess he confuses meme for knowledge.
It follows then, that career success hinges on a good match between one’s predisposed way of acquiring knowledge and one’s choice of vocation. For instance, I have never met a technical PhD who is an effective CEO. The technical PhD tends to progressively drill to deeper levels of tunneled knowledge at the expense of breadth, when the latter is what running a company requires. Likewise, I have never met a theoretical academician who is a good auto mechanic. The latter acquires knowledge empirically (not theoretically) and applies expertise mechanically (not conceptually) in problem solving.
Theoretical and conceptual knowledge is more universal and immutable. But its payback is less immediate. Empirical and mechanical knowledge is more specific and limited in scope. But its payback is immediate. People derive gratification usually from one or the other, but not both. They would do well to match their personality and learning style to their vocations. Likewise, corporate hiring authorities would do well to decipher a candidate’s personality and learning style for compatibility with a specific job.
Next to philosophers, I find artisans most interesting among people who regard knowledge as the very purpose of life. Did you know there are still Japanese sword-makers who devote their entire lives to the ancient art of making Katanas (presumably for collectibles)? Contrast that with a Wall Street day trader who regards securities as disposable tissue for the sole purpose of turning a quick profit. Keep in mind, day trading requires a lot of expertise and knowledge too, — just a very different kind and for a very different purpose.
All this is to say, “Be purposeful in your knowledge acquisition. Let it either validate your purpose in life or illuminate need for change”. (I am unsure but assume the purpose of trivia pursuit is to derive dopamine rush from winning trivia games?)
