People say that knowledge is power. The more knowledge, the more power. Suppose you knew the winning numbers for the lottery? All of them? Not guessed them, not dreamed them, but really knew them? What would you do? You would run to the store. You would mark those numbers on the play card. And you would win...Same for killing people.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Knowledge is powerful, but knowing specific actionable information like lottery numbers or secrets about killing changes behavior immediately.
- In plain terms
- If you knew something dangerous or valuable for sure, you would act on it right away.
- What can you take from it?
- True knowledge compels immediate action.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What would you do with absolute certainty?
- Does knowing change the ethics of acting?
Another view
This view oversimplifies the moral weight of knowing dangerous things.
More from Lee Child
Jack Reacher ordered espresso, double, no peel, no cube, foam cup, no china, and before it arrived at his table he saw a man's life change forever. Not that th…
Permalink to quote #13 Suppose you wanted to kill people. You would need to know ahead of time how to do it. That part is not too difficult. There are many ways. Some of them are bet…
Permalink to quote #15 Friday. Five o'clock in the afternoon. Maybe the hardest time to move unobserved through a city. Or, maybe the easiest. Because at five o'clock on a Friday nob…
Permalink to quote #12
Related quotes
So much one man can do, That does both act and know.
Andrew MarvellAndrew Marvell quote #13 Because I think the more you understand the world around you, I think the more power you can have in it. And the more you can do. And I think that's important.
Alton BrownAlton Brown quote #86 The glory of the king of all the kings. You with the golden power on your brows, You kings, I think you know not what you are. First you shall learn yourselves…
Lascelles AbercrombieLascelles Abercrombie quote #1