(Note: I use AI to help me translate my stories from Japanese to English.)
“Knowledgeable idiot” is a term coined by a Japanese Buddhist monk, Yusai Sakai.
Sakai was a famous monk in Japan who underwent extremely rigorous religious training. I like his books and have read almost all of them. In one of his books, he wrote about the idea of the “knowledgeable idiot.”
According to Sakai, many people today are knowledgeable idiots.
A knowledgeable idiot is someone who has a lot of knowledge but cannot put it into practice. Such people are good at criticizing others, but they cannot accomplish much themselves.
For example, imagine someone playing soccer. A knowledgeable idiot can make insightful comments about the game, but he or she may not be able to play soccer well.
I think I am a knowledgeable idiot myself. I have read many books, but I have not put much of what I learned into practice.
I used to think that reading a lot of books made me intelligent and wise. However, I was wrong. I lacked experience and action.
I enjoy reading English books, and I have read many of them. I thought that because I read a lot of English books, I would be able to speak English well. I was wrong again.
To speak English well, I needed speaking practice.
Today, we are surrounded by information and consume enormous amounts of it every day. But do we really know that much?
For example, suppose you read an article about New Zealand. Does that mean you truly understand New Zealand?
I don’t think so. To really learn about New Zealand, you need to visit it and experience it for yourself.
Let’s do a thought experiment.
Imagine a ten-year-old girl who stays in a room for her entire life and reads every book in the world without ever going outside. Would she become truly wise?
I don’t think so. She might become very knowledgeable and good at criticizing things, but she would struggle to create or accomplish anything on her own because she lacks real-world experience.
Don’t become a knowledgeable idiot.
People today have access to far more information than previous generations. But have we become wiser?
I believe that true wisdom comes from practice and experience.