Knowledge Utility Quotes

Knowledge is dead; the school, however, serves the living.

Abstract knowledge is always useful, sooner or later.

Knowledge without mileage equals bullshit.

Learning locked in mildewed books is of little use to anyone and therefore of no value unless it can be used.

When asked "What do we need to learn this for?" any high-school teacher can confidently answer that, regardless of the subject, the knowledge will come in handy once the student hits middle age and starts working crossword puzzles in order to stave off the terrible loneliness.

There was never an age in which useless knowledge was more important than in our own.

Not all information is beneficial.

Perhaps the prevalence of pedantry may be largely accounted for by the common error of thinking that, because useful knowledge should be remembered, any kind of knowledge that is at all worth learning should be remembered too.

Do not seek for information of which you cannot make use.

Power rests on the kind of knowledge one holds. What is the sense of knowing things that are useless?

Just as the largest library, badly arranged, is not so useful as a very moderate one that is well arranged, so the greatest amount of knowledge, if not elaborated by our own thoughts, is worth much less than a far smaller volume that has been abundantly and repeatedly thought over.

It is of great use to the sailor to know the length of his line, though he cannot with it fathom all the depths of the ocean.

As the biggest library if it is in disorder is not as useful as a small but well-arranged one, so you may accumulate a vast amount of knowledge but it will be of far less value than a much smaller amount if you have not thought it over for yourself.

A peasant earns his bread honestly. He has ordinary knowledge of thc world. He knows fairly well how he should behave …. He understands and observes the rules of morality. But he Cannot write his own name. What do you propose to do by giving him a knowledge of letters? Will you add an inch to his happiness …. Our ancient school system is enough …. We consider your schools to be useless.

The ability to read becomes devalued when what one has learned to read adds nothing of importance to one's life.

Mind you, there is no value in learning. You are all mistaken in learning. The only value of knowledge is in the strengthening, the disciplining, of the mind.

All knowledge is good. It is impossible to say any fragment of knowledge, however insignificant or remote from one's ordinary pursuits, may not some day be turned to account.

Useless knowledge can be made directly contributory to a force of sound and disinterested public opinion.

There's so much to learn and so much of it not worth learning.

Information wants to be useful.