The More You Know

The proverbial fact is that knowledge is power, that "the more you know, the better off you are." I have heard from multiple parents multiple times, "Kids these days know so much more than we did when we were their age." But I'm beginning to think that, as in too many other places, we're suffering from a loose definition here, too. What is knowledge?

Knowledge (thanks to our ever so helpful dictionaries) is defined as "that which is known". Okay, so it suggests a familiarity with facts. There are data, points of information. There are lots and lots of data. But until some point is known, it is only information. So knowing it is apprehending it, making it "mine", so to speak. Knowledge is not, then, merely information, but ownership of information.

So a Columbia University study comes out suggesting that "memory works differently in the age of Google." The study indicates that we are no longer putting things to memory if we're confident we can find it on the Internet. We no longer lodge information in our own memory banks; we simply remember how to go about finding the information again. Thus, while more data may be available, knowledge is decreasing because we aren't storing it. We aren't making it ours.

Now, in all honesty, given the glut of information available -- what is commonly referred to as "information overload" -- storing all that is available is not either possible or preferential. I mean, I get it. Why should we memorize the capitals of the 50 states if, with a few deft keystrokes, we can find them all online without error? I'm not suggesting necessarily that this is bad.

I think, though, by the shuffling I'm doing ("I get it", "not suggesting necessarily"), that you might be getting the idea that I do have a concern. And you'd be right. I'm raising my hand here. I'm a bit concerned. You see, there is a fundamental difference between having data available and knowing things. In purely human terms, you have to know things before you can understand them, and you must understand them before you can properly use them. That's some distance. Beyond that, who is not aware that, well, the Internet isn't exactly 100% reliable in its information? I'm sure that there are a few, but we mostly all know that it's a good idea to get a few sources rather than simply trusting the first thing we read online.

Take, for instance, the movie, Loose Change. Started by a film school student setting out to produce a fictional movie about a government conspiracy to blow up the World Trade Center and blame it on terrorists, his movie went viral online and spawned a living conspiracy theory including its own website that it actually was the government that did the job by doing a demolition on the WTC and launching a missile into the Pentagon. Oh, and Flight 93? Yeah, that didn't even crash. It landed safely in Cleveland. How did you guys miss that? The video went up on You Tube and became a sensation. The fact that the government as well as independent researchers, engineers, scientists, and another organization started to combat this mess have pointed out a whole host of errors and impossibilities offered, there are still those who know that it was a government conspiracy. "Don't bother me with facts. I know what I know."

My point? The best way to combat error is to know the truth. Unfortunately, if we are shuffling off our knowledge to what we can find on the Internet, what do we know anymore? Already we've decided that our favorite news network is our best source for political news, regardless of its accuracy (because we all know that "those other guys" are slanted, but "our" side is balanced). So if we don't know the truth, we cannot combat error.

There is a spiritual danger to relegating knowledge to outside sources as well. First, Jesus told us that knowing the truth sets you free. Not knowing it, then ... well, you can figure that out. Proverbs warns of a time when "Then they will call on me [Wisdom], but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD" (Prov 1:28-29). Indeed, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Prov 1:7). Biblically, then, failing to know is classified as foolishness, and failing to know results in a failure to choose the fear of the Lord. A failure of knowledge results in a failure of wisdom. Beyond that, we are told "Your word I have hid in my heart, that I may not sin against You" (Psa 119:11). We are to be memorizing God's Word, meditating on it, ruminating on it, chewing it over. That doesn't happen by calling it up easily from your favorite Bible website. It needs to be "in my heart".

There is indeed too much data out there for us to hold in our heads. There are, however, some truths that we would be wise to retain, to know. Some things need to be known. Some needs to be understood. Some needs to be properly applied. Without knowledge we are walking targets for foolishness, easy prey for those who would deceive. The fear of the Lord, on the other hand, is the first thing you should know and it is only knowledge that produces wisdom, something we should treasure.