THE ILLUSION OF KNOWLEDGE

 

“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance,

it’s the illusion of knowledge.”

Daniel J. Boorstin

 

 

I really admire people who give me an impression, that they are very ‘informed’ people… which means, they are well-read, well-travelled and knowledgeable. Actually, it’s not their encyclopedic mind that I am impressed with, it’s their eloquent speech – the fine gift of gab. These are the Shashi Tharoors around us… They can hop from one subject to another, just like the grasshopper hops from one blade of grass to another… You wonder: What a mind! What a Man!

So, do I envy Shashi Tharoors around me?

Yes, I do.

Am I lying?

No Sir… Seriously, I envy them.

“But, why should you envy anyone, who even though knows the entire brahmand and even though can present his knowledge with the grace of Brahma Himself?

I don’t know why… But, I, most certainly, get a complex when it goes on around me…

“You are an idiot,” said a near one, today, when I expressed before him my atmasankat, “Your assumptions are your windows on the world,” he quoted Isaac Asimov, “Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.”

I was quite relived… Isaac Asimov’s advice applies both – to ones like me, who suffer from a complex, and the Shashi Tharoors around me, who are accused of giving such a complex!

This much said, let me make it clear: This Post is not about curing the minds of Shashi Tharoors around me; it’s about curing the minds like mine.  

Let me also set the record straight: I, truly, admire Shashi Tharoor immensely for both his vast knowledge and amazing eloquence. But, I do not feel jealous of him at all. I dragged him in this Post, just in a lighter vein… No offence, Tharoor Sir… It’s nothing to do with you.

This Post is about our own illusion of knowledge… Yes, as Daniel Boorstin says, “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it’s the illusion of knowledge.”

No matter how much I know, I, also, better know, that I haven’t been able to ‘touch’ even the surface of the brahmand, leave alone scratching it. It’s like the proverbial one-eyed king in the kingdom of the blind!

So, when I know this truth, why should I feel bad at all when someone around me – even unintentionally – gives me an impression, that he or she is a ‘walking encyclopedia’? And, even if he can convey his knowledge with the eloquence of Brahma?

Why can’t I simply relish it, and feel good for him or her? Why can’t I simply express my appreciation? And, this: Why can’t I simply go about my life doing what I am supposed to do here on this earth, with whatever time handed to me?

Theodore Roosevelt said, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

Is there anything more to the brahmand?

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic’s: Pixels/ 1. Mohan Reddy 2. Artem Beliaikin

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