Does Knowledge Always Abolish Ignorance?
Just because someone is educated, does it mean that they are not ignorant. Ignorance is not automatically banished by education or knowledge. Education and knowledge only provide a pathway away from ignorance, but whether we choose to walk it or not is often our choice. In "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," Percy goes to one of the best schools in the world, yet follows his father into the mountain, straight to his death. If education and knowledge were able to banish ignorance, Percy would've seen that if they blew up the mountain above them, they would be buried alive. But he doesn't. He has the education and knowledge to know enough about why that is a bad idea, yet he remains ignorant. So why do we say that education and knowledge are the best ways to fight ignorance?
Knowledge and education help us see and maybe understand why certain things in the world are the way they are, but people can't be forced to use it. For example, Percy followed his father into the mountain, possibly knowing what might happen to them, yet he didn't say anything because the risk of giving up his life was worth it if it meant that there was a chance of saving their wealth from the aviators. However, I believe that Percy remained oblivious to the possible consequences on purpose because he thought he knew what he was doing.
Ignorance occurs and spreads when people think that they are knowledgeable about something, when they truly know nothing.
I completely agree with your post! People automatically conjure up the idea of having a lack of ignorance equates to a plentiful amount of knowledge, but that is definitely not always the case. Thanks for the great insight!
ReplyDeleteI agree that somebody who is seen as intelligent can also be ignorant, despite common belief. I like how you mentioned the example of Percy going to that school but being ingorant enough to want to save wealth rather than lives.
ReplyDeleteI love this blog! It portrays a new idea that I have never thought about, yet I completely agree with your statements. Someone can be extremely educated but make stupid choices. The cure to ignorance is not necessarily knowledge.
ReplyDeleteAnkita, I love your post! I completely agree that people automatically have the idea that a lack of ignorance is the same as having an excessive amount of knowledge, but that is totally not true. Your blog gave me a new insight! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteIt was so interesting to read your interpretation of Percy's actions and how they relate to his ignorance. I agree with your statement that education doesn't necessarily signify an absence of ignorance because there is definitely a lot of knowledge that you can't glean from a textbook. I also discussed ignorance in my blog this week, but your ideas really helped me to look at it in a new way.
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