Knowledge is power and pain

Knowledge is power and pain. There is a reason ignorance is bliss, and there are many reasons the pain of knowledge is worth it.

If we boil it down, we come across two kinds of people: knowledgeable and ignorant. Unfortunately, the word ignorant is pejorative when used in English. Much like exciting refers to something positive, ignorant refers to something negative. A reader and friend offered feedback that I write as a preacher instead of a friend. I know this, and I do not want to preach. Yet, much of what I write maintains its preachiness. This knowledge is powerful and painful because I'm failing at choosing to become better. An ignorant version of me, lacking honest feedback, would live in bliss thinking that I was writing free of preachiness.

Ignorance is bliss

The phrase ignorance is bliss is attributed to Thomas Gray in his poem Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College. A simple definition of this phrase is that because one does not know something, one does not have to worry about it. It's easy to see how this mindset can benefit our lives. If we don't know how greenhouse gas emissions impact our climate, then we don't have to worry about driving a gas-guzzling vehicle. If we don't know that we shouldn't eat loads of added sugar, then we continue to drink venti frappuccinos.

But, who wants to be ignorant? When someone calls someone else ignorant, the receiver often becomes very defensive. The Oxford language dictionary defines ignorant in two ways: 1) uneducated and 2) rude. Collectively, we fail to use the word correctly. Many people use the word ignorant as stupid. There are plenty of educated, ignorant people and plenty of uneducated, un-ignorant folks. An ignorant person can become less ignorant through education. A stupid person will have a harder time changing his or her reasoning skills.

Knowledge reigns supreme. It's NOT okay to NOT want to learn. There's no reason that a person, with legitimate access to unlimited information, should say or do uneducated, ignorant things. But, when we choose to remain in the dark, we choose to remain ignorant, and we are choosing the wrong path.

Knowledge is power

While debate exists on who the original author of the phrase "knowledge is power" is, there is no debate on the phrase's truth. Knowledge, or wisdom, enables us to understand better the world in which we live. Importantly, knowledge also enables us to understand how another actor might take advantage of us. Knowledge protects us.

The power of knowledge has evolved over time. One hundred years ago, knowing how to read and write was powerful because one could understand contracts and laws. Today, knowledge can be used to understand better whether you should be charged extra money for home repairs or buy that insurance policy. Knowledge enables us to understand better the impact of pollution and protecting our environment. We can advocate for ourselves and rely less on middle people or "experts" to make decisions about what food to eat, what TV to purchase, or what home to buy.

Our collective knowledge also helps us steward our relationships. If I put in the energy to understand how my partner reacts in certain situations, I can avoid painful conflicts. When we see advertising for products, our knowledge helps us fight through the bias to make better decisions. There is a reason that more knowledge leads to higher earnings and better physical and mental health. Similarly, there is a reason that more knowledge leads to more mental anguish.

Knowledge is pain

While power is great to have in many situations, knowledge can also involve incredible amounts of pain. Understanding the health impact of sugary drinks is painful. Knowing which of our habits are bad and then failing to change those habits is painful. If I wake up and drink a sugary coffee and eat a donut every day when I know that I should not if I want to maintain my physical health is painful.

Many people choose not to gain knowledge because as soon as she knows, she has the power to make a change. And if the change is difficult, like seeing the world through a new lens, the change might be so painful that she avoids making the change. Because change is difficult and knowledge is powerful, some people simply choose to avoid gaining knowledge. Anything worth doing is challenging. Seeking out the knowledge that is needed to enact the change that we want to see in the world is critical.

It's easy to see why so many choose ignorance. Do we want to understand existential issues? Wasn't it easier sitting in a dark intellectual corner and minding our own business? Of course, it was. It's easy to meander through life and choose to avoid tough choices. But, if you're reading this, you are ready to make the tough choice.

Make a tough choice

Knowledge is a choice (in First World countries). The United States has a literacy rate of 99%. As of 2016, over 89% of all U.S. households have access to the internet. Simply put, the overwhelming majority of people can read and have access to the internet. Logically, the overwhelming majority in the United States can choose knowledge over ignorance.

But, we don't. Realizing that some things that we thought were truths with a capital T are not truths is painful. Finding out that we've been doing something wrong or incorrectly understanding something for our entire lives is depressing. I grew up in a very rural, very small town in Ohio. In my hometown, it's far easier for people to do what they are told by the media and to entertain themselves than to uncover new truths.

A different kind of entertainment

Many choose to watch entertaining Netflix shows like the Tiger King, but they do not choose to understand how disturbing it is to keep tigers in a zoo-like environment. As I'm writing this, the most popular show on Netflix is The Floor is Lava. I open my phone to find the most popular, free app today is TikTok. Documentaries and apps for learning rarely make it to the top of any list. We can choose entertainment that challenges us; it's right there for the taking.

Instead, we choose ignorance. With so much going on, all the time, in our work and personal lives, who wants to put in the hard work to learn about history, science, and technology? Who wants to spend the time pouring over documents and articles, trying to tease out biases, weigh evidence, and come to an informed decision? It's much easier to opt-out. But, it's also why we are in the state of the world we are in today. We do not have to be.