In Response to Matthew Reinbolds’s tweet, I have been thinking about what can make the world a better place. I think I have an answer too: knowledge.
From my Apple Dictionary I found a few gems about knowledge.
How much do you know about knowledge?
Knowledge applies to any body of facts gathered by study, observation, or experience, and to the ideas inferred from these facts (: an in-depth knowledge of particle physics; firsthand knowledge about the company).
Information may be no more than a collection of data or facts (: information about vacation resorts) gathered through observation, reading, or hearsay, with no guarantee of their validity (: false information that led to the arrest).
Scholarship emphasizes academic knowledge or accomplishment (: a special award for scholarship), while learning is knowledge gained not only by study in schools and universities but by individual research and investigation (: a man of great learning), which puts it on a somewhat higher plane.
Erudition is on a higher plane still, implying bookish knowledge that is beyond the average person’s comprehension (: exhibit extraordinary erudition in a doctoral dissertation).
Pedantry, on the other hand, is a negative term for a slavish attention to obscure facts or details or an undue display of learning (: the pedantry of modern literary criticism).
You can have extensive knowledge of a subject and even exhibit erudition, however, without attaining wisdom, the superior judgment and understanding that is based on both knowledge and experience.
Interesting…
