Ah yes, the academics who can’t tell the difference between fact and knowledge. Just to be clear about my thinking, take a ride on my train of thought…

Facts are tangible, they are made of matter, and can be measured (seen, heard, tasted, weighed, etc.). We can break facts apart, rearrange them, or throw them in the trash, but we cannot remove anything tangible from this planet. Every fact on this planet stays on this planet.

Facts are things, like skin colour, genitalia, physicality, etc. are adaptations common to all humans. These adaptations make it possible for humans to survive in all the different environments found on this planet – including the most extreme environments, such as Alaska, the Sahara Desert, and New York City.

Knowledge is intangible, it has no matter, it is made of nothing. Like dreams, knowledge vanishes – poof it is gone. The only way to hold onto knowledge is to share it. You and I are walking libraries, chock full of knowledge. If we do not make our knowledge tangible, it will vanish with our dead bodies. Without knowledge, humankind is trapped in time forever – we cannot leave without it.

Conflating facts with knowledge is a mistake that leads to all kinds of trouble. Sometimes it’s an innocent mistake, but when it is intentional, we are looking at a shapeshifting, unstable, and unreliable person and we best be on guard. Unfortunately, elected officials, the uber-wealthy, preachers, and academics make this mistake, intentionally, too often to ignore. Far worse than the abuse of power, it is the abuse of trust, for these people are the guardians of knowledge.

We cannot build knowledge when we treat it like facts. Just like everything tangible on this earth, knowledge must evolve along with us. If the door to knowledge is closed, we are trapped in time and find ourselves in the Twilight Zone, unable to move forward, incapable of growing and living our lives on repeat. As a farmer once told me, if it isn’t growing, it’s dead.

My train of thought has reached its destination…