what is the limit to how much a person can know?

Question

please dont say limitless

Answer 1

That is a great question. Socrates died because of that question. The Delphi's oracle once said him that he was the wisest man alive. He didn't accept that and said that surely there must have been somebody who knew more. So he started asking questions to the most educated people of Athens. He asked the writers, the artists, the generals, the experts in their professions all the people that were considered wise.
But with the questions that he made, he brought them to the end of their knowledge making them look as fools. But these people couldn't accept it so that made him a lot of powerful enemies that put him in trial and decided his execution by poisoning.
In the end Socrates said that at least he knew that he knows nothing in contrast to these people that think they have the answers when they don't and that probably makes him wiser.
I agree with that view so I would say that the limit to how much a person can know is to realize that he knows nothing (considering what is there to know of course).

Answer 2

There are two main ways to look at this question as far as a real, definite answer goes. First, there is "functional memory", and second, there is "total memory".

With functional memory, the rule of thumb is 7 +/- 2. In other words, your average person can actively remember between 5 and 9 pieces of information at one time. This rule of thumb is one of the main reasons why phone numbers in the US are 7 digits long, plus an area code.

As for total memory, however, the answer is a bit more vague. For many years people have wondered what an average person's true mental capacity is, and have failed miserably to figure it out. One of the main reasons for the failure, however, is the way in which we retain information.

From birth, we learn by associations and categories. In fact, just last year, a study was conducted at Ohio State University which found there was an inverse relationship between the ability to categorize and the ability to remember details. Simply put, the more able and willing you are to put things into mental "groups", the less likely you are to ever recall the details.

To really take a look at how we could calculate "total capacity", let's look at language.

According to the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement, the average child upon completing High School knows approximately 45,000 words (of a total of about 88,000).

So, using our functional memory as a guide, a High School graduate on the low end of average would have access to a vocabulary of about 32,143 words, while an "exceptional" graduate would have 57, 857 words to pull from. A rather large difference when you think about it. From this range of numbers, we could make a reasonable guess as to just how much an average person can know as well.

A person with an ability to categorize information into no more than groups of 5 would actually have a total of 5+1 categories, the +1 actually being the association of good/bad, which is not exclusive to language. A person with an ability to categorize information in up to groups of 9 on the other hand, would be able to store their knowledge of a language in only 3 +1 categories. As you could guess, that gives a rather large advantage when retirieving knowledge, as well as granting the ability to make much quicker judgements about objects and events.

Finally, tying these figures into something we are all roughly familiar with, let's take a brief look at IQ. The highest confirmed IQ of any living person to date is that of Marilyn vos Savant (228), with the average being 100. So, using our previous figures, a completely average person would most likely have 7 main categories, with two subcategories each.

While that may not give a complete picture for you, with a little effort and time, you could very easily construct your own realtional model to work from... I hope it helps ;)

Answer 3

There really is no limit, but what a person has against them is time. You are only alive for so many years, and you may start to lose your memory as you age. Use your mind every day to it's full potential. Use it while you're alive, learn at least 1 new thing every day, preferably 5. You will never know everything, but you can always try.

Answer 4

I think even in higher worlds, one is still subject to the ego.
Ones own personal interests. I read channeling, supposedly
from higher life forms. Some say they have searched high
and low and found no Devil.
But if spirit is mind? How can one find something he does not beleive in?

Answer 5

The ability to recall what he comes to know, decides the limit to how much a person can know !
The rest, that is all that is yet to be known, going to be known afresh, forgotten etc , all that goes under "I DON'T KNOW" category !

Answer 6

Okay, I won't say limitless, instead I'll say infinite and it has no boundaries.

Answer 7

Death or being in a vegatative state can limit how much you can know.

Answer 8

i actually have thought about that...and could never come up with an answer...
but to be honest, i always thought that even our smartest men, buddha, albert einstein, knew very little in comparison to how much there is to know.

and it makes me sad that there is always something we'll never quite figure out :(

Answer 9

I don't know. This is quite possibly the best question I've seen on here....ever!

Answer 10

The possability of knowledge is endless and unfathomable.