Expiring and Permanent
Two types of knowledge
Whether it’s how many mass shootings have occurred. The latest strand of the Corona Virus. Who’s running for President. The air quality due to fires in Canada. The stock prices. Or critiquing politics as if they knew better. We know that person. The man or woman that appears to know it all. They watch the news and read the newspaper, daily. They are well informed and this makes them feel good. Oftentimes they feel superior to those around them, as a result of staying informed on the issues. Feeling as if they’re smarter than everyone else.
This is what you would call expiring knowledge. It’s only good for the moment and nothing else. Expiring, meaning what they know will die out as events and times in the world change. Expiring knowledge is actually not knowledge at all. It’s information. On the contrary to expiring knowledge is permanent knowledge.
These are things that are timeless and will not crumble under the next breaking news cycle, change in economics or political turmoil. How to tell if what you are consuming is expiring or permanent:
Would I still care about this in 5 months? What about 5 years?
Ask yourself that question. When reading a book, a blog, an article, or anything else. Perhaps you’re like me and don’t care much about the news as this is not a helpful use of my time or brain activity and space.
Just like your friend that seems to know it all, that’s actually a flaw. By trying to know it all they end up knowing nothing at all (sounds like a Dr. Seuss line). The better option is to know fewer things well than it is to know many things not so well. We can only do so much or consume so much information before our minds simply dispose of it. Which is why focusing on permanent, useful knowledge is the best way to use your time. Brain. And life.
Permanent knowledge walks the line of what you value in life. And it makes life better. It helps make sense of the expiring knowledge that floods us each day.
I used to be an avid Wall Street Journal reader each day and I loved it. Being informed and appearing smarter than those around me. Then I stopped reading it. I couldn’t remember a single thing I read over a period of time. It was wasted. However, when I read a book I remember what I read. Not the whole book, but the stories and lines that were most impactful. By reading books you develop a better understanding of your world, how to interact with it and books help give you better filters for all the information out there for us to consume.
By reading books you get to learn from the experience of others. As Bismarck said:
“Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others.”―Otto von Bismarck
You get to learn about the change in the stock market and that is fine knowledge. But ask yourself, would you care about this in 5 months? With such limited capacity for knowledge in our brains, focus on the permanent. The more important. The knowledge that actually helps you achieve and live a better life.
Permanent knowledge does not only come from books. It may come from a seminar, a YouTube video, a blog, an audio book, a movie, a podcast and more.
Thought Provoking Question 1 : Is the knowledge you take in everyday permanent or expiring?
Dan Roman is a Husband, Father, and writer that releases a daily blog. A quick read on sharing wisdom and asking though-provoking questions.
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