Part II. Knowledge
The intense motivation for knowledge is a rare gift.
My life and my knowledge are like my brain, all those chains of neurons connected and aware of one another, but with lots of vibrant loose ends seeking to grow and link to new worlds of my own creation.
––John Roberts
Intellect annuls fate.
––Ralph Waldo Emerson, Conduct of Life, 1860
Disinterested intellectual curiosity is the life-blood of real civilization.
––George Macaulay Trevelyan, 1876-1962
Nothing is as terrible to see as ignorance in action.
––Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Information’s pretty thin stuff unless mixed with experience.
––Clarence Day, The Crow’s Nest, 1921
He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool, shun him;
He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is a child, teach him.
He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep, wake him;
He who knows, and knows that he knows, is wise, follow him.
––Persian Proverb
There is no absolute knowledge. And those who claim it, whether they are scientists or dogmatists, open the door to tragedy. All information is imperfect. We have to treat it with humility. That is the human condition.
––Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man, 1973
To have knowledge consists in possessing the truth. False knowledge is impossible. One cannot say “I know” and add “but what I know is false or incorrect.”
––Mortimer J. Adler, Adler’s Philosophical Dictionary, 1995
We amateurs in the world of cancer cannot adequately learn or understand the knowledge, certainly not the wisdom, of the medical professionals. But, they have many different variations and patients to attend to, while we know ourselves better and have a self-care motive that no one can match. To some personal degree, we must therefore join in the study and merge it with our self-understanding and motivations. In some ways, we are an additional guide on the road, a little troublesome, always asking questions and pointing to where we want go on the journey. We trust our caregivers, but enhance their efforts with our attention and legitimate caution.
To say that knowledge is power is only the beginning: it must be converted to efficient and efficacious use. To know or understand something that others do not is money in the bank, but it must be spent, invested, multiplied. Knowledge for its own sake can be a wonderful thing, the joy of discovery and understanding without great practical application. But, for those of us concerned with cancer, the use of that knowledge to achieve other things, perhaps even life itself, can be a greater reward. Indeed, the ability to apply knowledge to create, to grow something practical, is part of knowledge itself.
I have always thought of knowledge, education, understanding, and wisdom as an empty library or computer of the mind, with miles of empty shelves and files to be filled over a lifetime. The brain is a huge card catalogue and memory system that enables access; but, the brain also has one big advantage over the book library: it can build a framework of networks and begin, at least, to tie it all together into a comprehensive view of the universe and one’s life. And, some of our intellectual disciplines guide the understanding and application of all that information.
The tragedy is that we die before we can learn as much as we want or need. Aside from our work and personal interests, we now add the specialty of medical knowledge to shepherd us through every day ahead. We have access to books, websites, and professionals; we share responsibility for relating appropriate information to our own needs and finding the treatments and cures to our illnesses and even our attitudes and ambitions. Knowledge, used properly, assists in professional decisions and adds quality and quantity to our lives.
