The Two Stages of Knowledge

Suppose you know something and are presented with the answer to a question or situation about it. You know the answer - in another form. Then, to verify you need to convert your knowledge to the new but equivalent form. If you cannot do this, you are marked wrong. But still, you know the answer!

Knowledge skills in any situation, especially tests, require at least two stages: understanding the question or situation and knowing the answer, and then identifying or discriminating the possibly given correct answer, even if you know the answer in another form.

So, true knowledge has at least two phases. Knowing and Converting. Our entire school system is based on knowing. Our entire testing system depends on converting.

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As usual, there is no limit to the suffering to be endured by the many to assure good feelings of the few. Indeed, it is the suffering impressed that makes their good feelings even better.

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If you stand for something, political or not, you are likely somebody’s useful idiot.

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