Thread by @paraschopra

1/ Been thinking that there is no such thing as ‘common’ or ‘generally accepted’ knowledge.

2/ First, even if *you* think someone has figured out how black holes behave, unless *you* understand or follow the logic, it’s not knowledge you can claim to have.

What you don’t know but someone else knows is equivalent to what nobody knows.

3/ This train of thought is a great inspiration for learning basics in any topic.

If you feel a field of study has advanced and you feel dismayed by inability to match the *experts*, at least fill in the gaps in *your* knowledge that you can.

4/ Even the importance of cutting edge knowledge of *experts* is debatable because at the edge a field, debates about truth of statements happen between very small group of experts.

Such knowledge is as much contingent on politics and persuasion as it’s ok reality / truth.

5/ The entire episode of heliocentric view being suppressed for so many years should tell us how contingent is now-common knowledge on historical contexts.

6/ Another fact: imagine how many good ideas are contained in obscure journals, blog posts or even simply people’s heads.

An unmotivated genius contributes nothing to ‘human knowledge’.

7/ This implies resting on the notion of ‘human knowledge’ is a cheap excuse for not seeking that knowledge yourself.

If you read something new from a book or do your own research, the knowledge-gain for you is the same.

8/ And also, support or rejection of ideas is also a personal responsibility. Many breakthroughs happen when individuals oppose well established ideas.

9/ So, parroting that evolution is true without understanding *why* is very similar to mindless political activism, where someone else uses you for their gain. Don’t be that person.

All knowledge is personal knowledge.