"Being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn to do things the right way". (Benjamin Franklin)
The illusion of knowledge is not education, but ignorance. Foolish people have a strange kind of confidence which comes only with ignorance. There is nothing wrong with ignorance, but making a career out of it is stupidity. Some people accumulate ignorance and then confuse it with education. Ignorance is not bliss, it is misery, tragedy, poverty and sickness. If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy? If a little knowledge is dangerous, so is a lot of ignorance, which leads to pettiness, fear, dogmatism, egotism and prejudice. Wisdom is nothing more than dispelling ignorance.
We live in an information age, it is estimated that the amount of information is doubling every year. With information so readily available, it is easy to dispel ignorance. It is sad to see that we are taught everything but the most essential things. We are taught the three Rs (reading, riting, rithmetic), but what good is intellectual education without understanding human dignity and compassion? Schools are a fountain of knowledge: some students come to drink, some to sip and others just to gargle.
Commonsense
We are born with five senses: touch, taste, sight, smell and hearing. But Successful people have a sixth sense "commonsense". Commonsense is the ability to see things as they are and do them as ought to be done. The application of education and knowledge without commonsense is meaningless.
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Commonsense may not necessarily be a result of education. The best education without commonsense is worthless. An abundance of commonsense is wisdom.
Sharpen Your Axe
Here is a short story of a man named John a woodcutter, who worked for a company for five years but never got promoted. The company hired Bill and within a year he was promoted. Then John resented Bill's getting a raise after only a year and went to his boss to talk about it. The boss said, " You are still cutting the same number of trees you were cutting five years ago. We are a result oriented company and would be happy to give you a promotion if your productivity goes up".
John went back, started hitting harder and putting in longer hours but he still wasn't able to cut more trees. He went back to his boss and told him his dilemma. The boss told him to go talk to Bill. "Maybe there is something Bill knows that you and I don't". John asked Bill how he managed to cut more trees, Bill answered, "After every tree I cut, I take a break for two minutes and Sharpen my axe. When was the last time you sharpened your axe?".
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When was the last time you sharpened your axe? Past glory and education don't count for much. We have to continuously sharpen the axe.
Thanks for stopping by, still your boy Tonybest.
