How does one go about acquiring knowledge?

Answer 1

Hi Third P.

We go about acquiring knowledge in many ways.

From the moment we enter this world, we begin acquiring knowledge. As infants, we only have our 5 senses to use to gain knowledge; but we learn an incredible amount in those early months.

Our sense of smell in an amazing teacher. Studies have been done on one-week old newborns. The infant's mother & another nursing mother both placed their bras in mesh bags. The 2 bags were placed next to the infant's head, mom's on one side, and a stranger's on the other side.

Over & over again, babies turned their heads toward the side where their own mother's bra was. This happened regardless of which side of the head it was placed on & regardless of how many other nursing moms were in the study. At one week old, newborns have already acquired the knowledge, by smell alone, to identify their own mom.

We learn, throughout infancy, with smell, sight, hearing, taste & touch. Babies, toddlers & small children gain an incredible amount of knowledge using their God-given senses. It is a big reason why humankind has survived this long.

We continue to use our senses to acquire knowledge throughout our lives. However, as we grow, we develop new ways to gain knowledge. Our ability to speak & understand language gives us a tremendous leap in learning. Now we can ask others about things we want to learn.

Our parents become our first teachers. They talk to us, tell us what is safe and what is dangerous. Of course, we have to include our own experiences with things as teachers. For example, a child, with a towel draped down his/her back, jumps out of a tree and learns about gravity before he/she has even heard the word, never mind the concept.

Then we learn the written word. This opens the world up to us. Books become, hopefully, our lifelong link to obtaining knowledge. There is an endless fountain of knowledge available to us via the written word.

To guide us along this particular path, are our schoolteachers, from grammar school, through high school, through college & beyond. We, as adults, can continue to take classes in virtually any subject that interests us.

Other people teach us, too. For instance, if we want spiritual knowledge, there are always Bible classes from which we can absorb knowledge. During Sunday service, my Pastors give a Sermon, meant to add to the knowledge I already have.

We gain knowledge by observing the behavior of others. Hopefully, we had parents & family that taught of morals & virtue. We will grow up to be ethical human beings, with the added aid from ministers & teachers, books, & by simply watching & emulating the behavior of other moral people.

We acquire knowledge of other cultures by, not only reading about them, but by traveling to other countries, if possible, and by having friends from different cultures. It is very helpful to learn other languages, too; it certainly broadens our horizons.
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These are the most important steps to acquiring knowledge, and acquiring knowledge should NEVER stop until the day you die. There is always something new to learn.

One major factor in gaining knowledge is — your own mind — it's thirst for knowledge is there, to what degree depends upon many variables. Your own mind is capable of sussing out what is something you want to store away in your memory cells or toss away as nonsense. Without our mind working away to acquire that knowledge, we won't gain much. Our brain is a magnificent organ, and our mind is our best tool for learning.

I hope this has been helpful to you. I am pleased to "meet" so many curious people who hunger for knowledge. I must say I have learned much during the 4 months I have been on YA.

Thank you for your question.

Good luck.

Answer 2

I am sure that a part of the people that are enrolled in College, or University, the people that have more knowledge, are the young at Heart, I am not going to say old, because some people say that you are as young as you feel. My father who did not have any Schooling, or for some reason he could not attend School, had a good memory, he could tell you when the second World War, started, when it ended and the war of 1812, and a lot of them that are too much to mention, he also could tell you about Pretty Boy Floyd, who robbed Banks and people, do not ask me when did this happened because I never paid attention to his talks. Bonnie and Clyde were his favorites, why? only he knew. He also could tell you about his adventures when he was young, the time he felt the Devil wanted to take him, and a lot of Ghosts Stories too many to mention. So, where did he get Knowledge, to know some much? I think he liked to read a lot, and when someone told him something that happened, he never forgot it. How I wish I had his Memory, or listen when he always was talking of something important.

Answer 3

Media and experience.

All human knowledge breaks into two kinds.

The kind you have experienced directly and the kind you have aquired by media.

Experiencing how to ride a bike, write, walk or chew gum, whistle or singing, is an experiential process that takes time.

Other experiences are similar but come from other media, most folks might say reading but that doesn't completely cover the base, since music , art , television and the internet all operate on visual and audio experiences.

Reading is perhaps the most historically important because only a small amount of what you can learn is available via just the visual or audio media and must be translated particularly (audio books, videos).

Answer 4

What schools? Of course in this system of American government (at least for now...hopefully to stay) religion of course should not have a place in the standardized curriculum. But of course many private schools are church based and have religion in the curriculum which is what the parent is choosing for the child and they have the right to do so. If the point was to acquire faith then I doubt school could seriously give "true" faith to children or even adults. Could it provide the strong and maybe even unwavering belief in a religious "facts" like the story of Moses in the Bible, Mohammad in the Koran, Joseph Smith of the Book of Mormon or Jesus's resurrection, suuurreee...but that, despite what many might think, is not really all what faith is. Faith has little to do with facts, things like loving your mother or adoring your child have little to do with just the plain fact that they were born, but more so how you feel in their presence along with other mystical experiences that can't be explained in cold hard facts. Knowledge, at least for religion, is not always the best source of faith...although it can help, a lot of times if you do research BEYOND your faith and look up opposing arguments you might find your faith falters. It's easy to stick to the Bible or any holy book and surround yourself with it's supporters but harder to have faith once you have listened to the knowledge of others (despite your own biases) and what people of other faiths or atheists have to say. And if some people think Christianity should be taught in public (grade 1-12) schools then so should all the rest of religions and just as equally to represent ALL Americans not just the majority...if that were the case, that religion course would be one LOOOONNNGG lesson plan!

Answer 5

I would echo answerer #1's words.

I would also add, that knowledge comes from our experiences through life.

We are learning and acquiring knowledge in everything we see; everything we hear; everything we do.

One needs an open mind to be able to be a knowledge sponge. To soak it all in; take it all in.

True knowledge and wisdom is proven when we can take what we have learned through our lives, add into it our own experiences and be able to draw it out and share with others and using it to help and improve the lives of others around us.

Answer 6

This is a very important question.

One way of course is through the senses and that is knowledge of the transitory field of life, but the far more important way to gain knowledge is through cognition.... and that kind of knowledge comes in "Stillness." This is the mysterious thing that Monks and Yogis have been doing for thousands of years.

This is not a matter of "God talking to someone" but it is simply becoming quiet enough to perceive what has always been there.

More details on this kind of learning can be found on the on line resource "Gospel Enigma." Find it at New Free Books.

Answer 7

Aristotle opens his book of metaphysics, as you know, by saying: "All men (i.e. human beings) by nature desire understanding". So I'm sure your question is NOT concerned about why we acquire knowledge, or even through which [obvious or at times not so obvious] channels, but rather vis-à-vis what [filtering] strategy. ... I do as I "preach", and that is: I pay no heed to any "preachings" and reject all that is dogmatic and fanatical. ... Find the courage to embrace/acquire knowledge with wondrous enthusiasm and open mind - that's how. ... Have Fun!

Answer 8

Humans acquire knowledge through various learning styles. Styles of learning have been categorized in several ways, and understanding "how we learn" remains one of the more interesting topics to explore.

"Cognition can be defined as "the act or process of knowing in the broadest sense; specifically, an intellectual process by which knowledge is gained from perception or ideas" (Webster's Dictionary)."

I would suggest researching cognitive learning styles which "refer to the preferred way an individual processes information."

Learning styles have been categorized in several different ways. Three of them are documented in the study below (see ref. link #4).

I personally find Bloom's Taxonomy interesting. Bloom breaks down an competence levels based on skills demonstrated, and his classification of knowledge is very informative as the base to his structure of learning.

"Knowledge
* observation and recall of information
* knowledge of dates, events, places
* knowledge of major ideas
* mastery of subject matter
* Question Cues:list, define, tell, describe, identify, show, label, collect, examine, tabulate, quote, name, who, when, where, etc."

Hope this helps!

Answer 9

Knowledge can be acquired both intellectually and intuitively.
Start it with yourself. Knowing one's self is a long journey through which you come to know everything, even God

Answer 10

Stop, look, listen, and read,read, read a great variety of things from many different sources.That said,don't accept everything you read, hear or see as the "gospel truth" (which is an oxymoron, anyhow).Ask a lot of questions. At work, pay attention in order to progress.In school, study hard.It works!