Where Did Knowledge Go?

Knowledge is at our fingertips but most people don't have time for acquiring it. When I finally had some free time yesterday, I updated by film production page on Facebook. As I briefly scrolled through the social media platform, I saw a man asking people to sign a petition to put triceratops on the endangered species list. This video caught my attention straightaway.

He stood on the boardwalk on a beach in San Diego where I grew up.

Mark briefly explained to numerous people that trophy hunting celebrities were mercilessly killing triceratops for sport and hanging their mounted heads in their offices and living rooms. Oh, the shame! The cruelty! The utter horror!

Person after person vehemently decried the practice and signed the petition. From twenty-somethings to Baby Boomers, people of all races, creeds and ages willingly signed their names without delay. Meanwhile, I was laughing. Were you laughing or were you wishing you had a chance sign the petition?

I was laughing because triceratops and all the rest of the dinosaurs have been extinct for 6,000 plus years. They all died in the Great Flood as mentioned in the book of #Genesis. And no, I certainly do not believe for a minute that dinosaurs lived millions of years ago, but that was addressed in a previous post, so I'll not reiterate the valid arguments again. However, if you missed it, you may find it here: https://read.cash/@Scotty17/did-dinosaurs-walk-among-humanity-fa6453d3

Did we not learn and retain the facts that dinosaurs went extinct in elementary school? I certainly remember it!

Information overload

With the dawn of the Internet, information spread widely around the world. Today, online information doubles every six months or thereabout. The total sum of human knowledge doubles approximately every 2–3 years, and get this, it is expected to double every year!

As a researcher, I have found information on the Internet in mere seconds, deeper knowledge in mere minutes. Before the Internet age this knowledge was only available in trips to a library, if there was any information available at all in books. Speaking of books, did you know that in excess of a million books are printed every year? No, not copies - different books. So where did knowledge go?

Lack of Knowledge

Despite all the knowledge available at our fingertips, people still believe dinosaurs exist, that the Earth is flat, that there is more than two genders, that animals have an innate ability to reason, that aliens built the pyramids and other ancient structures, and that God does not exist.

Quite frankly, while a veritable plethora of knowledge does exist, people are dismissing it in favor of trivial pursuits and the pursuit of self.

In fact, while some are gaining exceptional knowledge, most people are in the process of dumbing down. They can tell you what's popular on #Netflix, what celebrities just got hitched and how lavish the ceremony was, what characters one should strive to obtain for in various video games, and make pitiful attempts to define love based on their experiences, as opposed to facts.

These pursuits are worthless in the grand scheme of things. Bestselling author Ayn Rand summed this up succinctly when she said: "You can ignore reality. But you cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.”

Real knowledge

I'll admit I've won trivia contests in the past. Some of the knowledge was useful, but most were just useless facts to spit out during meaningless conversations.

But there is knowledge that leads to wisdom, and a lot of us lack both of these valuable traits. Wisdom is about knowing when and how to use one's knowledge.

The prophet Hosea spoke to the matter of a lack of knowledge.

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge [of My law, where I reveal My will]. Because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being My priest" (Hosea 4:6, Amplified Bible).

King Solomon, the writer and collector of proverbs gives the reason for the collection, for giving: " knowledge and discretion to the young— let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—" (Proverbs 1:5, NIV).

Even kids are able to obtain knowledge from the Bible. Why not adults - are we so darn full of knowledge and wisdom already?

"For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding" (Proverbs 2:6).

"To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God" (Ecclesiastes 2:26, NIV).

Let's gather real knowledge, knowledge that matters, that leads to the application of wisdom. All else is vanity.

All images are free and courtesy of https://pixabay.com/