what is more important general knowledge or a highly educated mind?

Question

im not the sharpest tool in the box but i feel you learn in life what you need or want to learn to get you through life

Answer 1

For me - this question doesn't have one single, simple answer.
I consider it's 'Horses for Courses'.
People involved in a ‘Theoretical’ sphere of work would most probably require a so-called 'Highly Educated’ mind.
Whilst the more practical person will require a more general, and usable 'General Knowledge'.

Answer 2

I think it depends on what you do in life. A basic general knowledge would not be good enough to become a Doctor!
Experience makes some better at what they are and helps us cope with things as we get older.
If I want or need advice about anything I look for some-one who has the experience rather than someone who is only just qualified!
I do feel that people only really LEARN what they WANT to learn rather than what they NEED which is why life is HARD!
I had a good General Education but even now at 50+ I'm still learning!

Answer 3

The question seems to imply you have to choose one or the other. In my view you should be able to acquire a good general knowledge of the world and its practicalities as you grow up and go through life. On the other hand what you call a highly educated mind is never developed by default and requires effort to obtain. The rewards are enormous though, whatever the discipline or specialisation, as the understanding is far deeper. A highly educated mind should, by definition, be under-pined by good general knowledge. I think you actually meant to ask whether a common sense 'down-to-earth' approach to life is preferable to an academic or intellectual approach. If so, I'd have to answer both are important, but if forced to choose I'd have to go for the bigger, richer picture. This has nothing to do with class, social background, or whether someone has been through university. None of those are proof of, or a hinderance to, an enquiring mind.

Answer 4

If you need a plumber, an electrician or a car mechanic you want somebody who has the practical skills combined with a certain level of theoretical knowledge to do the job. You don't want somebody to write you an essay about plumbing, wiring or car engines.

I think the important thing is to have grounded knowledge - knowledge that has meaning and allows you to do things.

A highly educated mind that simply swims around in its own world of words without any kind of grounding does not really even know the meaning of simple things let alone the abstruse things which it pretends to know.

So I don't think it is either general knowledge or high education that is the more important. It is knowledge with good foundations that really makes a difference. But I think that general knowledge acquired from experience is more likely to have a solid grounding in the world.

Answer 5

I say general knowledge. A lot of people have highly educated minds in different work forces e.g. Doctors are highly educated people as well as someone like a Lawyer, we need highly educated people in our society but to live and lead a normal life we need general knowledge, thats how highly educated people start and the knowledge just builds on from there its not just a 'snap' and they're highly educated. I agree we all learn in life to get through in life. Good question it made me think a lot about how to reply.

Answer 6

Education is not meant to be about giving you a list of facts that will equip you to achieve stuff (although it's often done that way!).

In theory, an educated mind will allow you to learn more from the things you encounter in life, and to interpret your learning more accurately and flexibly.

That's where the old-fashioned idea of teaching people to read the Classics came from; other cultures have experienced all the same problems we face today, and the reasons why they handled them badly are as useful to know about as the times when they did it right.

It's possible that a BAD education can leave you focussed on the wrong things, or make you dismissive of the value of some useful stuff. And it's possible that most education is the bad kind...

Answer 7

Well a highly educated mind is important and you do need to learn many things in life to be able to survive also what you learn this way decides what you do with and how you act on general knowledge.
I have learnt academically and have found that in certain parts of my life it has helped me and also it has been a hindrance as I know to much if that makes sense!
My life experiences have taught me the most valuable lesson in life and that is if you know who and what you are inside out warts and all your strong points and weaknesses. Know what you want then you will do well for yourself and also others around you.

Answer 8

That depends, I have a high IQ and I feel that I am learning through life experiences all the time. General knowledge may carry you so far in the life, but to hold someone in a conversation you need a little bit more background knowledge.

Answer 9

There is information and there is knowledge.

You may have a lot of education and a head full of information, but it does not become knowledge until you put it into practice.

It is also important to note that in order to understand any one thing fully, you need to have a good general knowledge/understanding of everything else, and how things relate to each other.

Answer 10

It really depends on where you intend to stand. Highly educated minds, like academics and the like, speak to other highly educated minds and therefore increase the global general knowledge of different and probably highly specialised areas. However, academics seem to lead 'cloistered' lives, not really really relating to 'real' life as we plebs know it (the 'absent-minded professor' is a case in point).

For myself, I feel that what I have learnt in life is a lot easier to share with ordinary people. Which is not to say I am not educated, but life exoerience has to improve the whole thing.

Soooooo, there's a place for both, whatever turns you on!

Answer 11

General Knowledge and a highly educated mind are both the most important things anyone can have. its like thrust and flying, you can't have one without the other, a highly educated mind is something we all posses, its just a matter of unlocking that potential, and general knowledge is something we pick up in life, neither is more important, they both work together for the greater good!