When people say 'knowledge is power' what do they mean?

Answer 1

I have an advantage over YOU, with this bit of knowledge.

Answer 2

"Knowledge is a tool that can be used to control and change the world. The idea is found in the Old Testament. (A man of knowledge increaseth strength. Proverbs 24:5, King James Version.) Many authorities attribute this aphorism to British philosopher Francis Bacon (1597): Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est. However, a similar phrase was used by Shakespeare in 'Henry VI' (1591). First attested in the United States in 1806. The proverb takes varying forms: Knowledge brings power; Knowledge itself is power." From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" (1996) by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996).

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/12/messages/1015.html

The more one knows, the more one will be able to control events. This sentence is found in the works of Francis Bacon.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=Knowledge+is+power&r=66

The famous phrase scientia potentia est is a Latin maxim "For also knowledge itself is power" stated originally by Sir Francis Bacon in Meditationes Sacrae (1597), which in modern times is often paraphrased as "knowledge is power." The phrase implies that with knowledge or education one's potential or abilities in life will probably increase. It is also used as a justification for a reluctance to share information as some form of advantage can be gained through the use or manipulation of knowledge. It is possible that Bacon was paraphrasing Proverbs 24:5: "A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength."

In a study of how power influences knowledge, the author found that even if Bacon's dictum that knowledge is power is true it is also an oversimplification (Flyvbjerg 1998). The opposite is often more true, that power is knowledge, in the sense that power decides which knowledge is produced in a given social setting and gets to count as knowledge in discourse and decision making.

Also quoted humorously by Lister in the Red Dwarf books and TV show, "Knowledge is power. Who said that?", to which neither he nor Rimmer knows the answer.

Used by Terry Pratchett in his Discworld novels as the basis of the mathematical explanation for L-Space, the dimensional stretching created by large quantities of books.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_is_Power

Answer 3

Let me put it to you like this.... Who would be more powerful per say in a gun fight? A farmer or a soilder?? Ok the soilder obviously would win and lets guess why.... because the soilder was trained to shoot guns load ammo kill people etc.... right?? Well the soilder had to absorb the information (knowledge) to learn how to be a soilder, soo theres a very simple analagy to help you understand what that phrase means.

Answer 4

Knowledge stems to tactics and tactics are the cause of power, the reason for victory. You just can't win by default. It's not fair.

Answer 5

In this world, we all have to be aware of the issues that can affect us and how to deal with them and how to deal with other people who want to exploit us. Therefore having knowledge of these things allows us to protect ourselves and also allows others to exploit our weaknesses, when they know what they are.

Answer 6

the more you know, the more you discover about this world, and when you discover more about the world, you can control the world by using your knowledge, that is power

Answer 7

our brain is like a computer

more data a computer has, the more things it could do (in most cases)
similarly, more knowldge a brain has, more functions it could do, therefore, more poewrful.