Knowledge is
power. This is true, when it is used for human welfare. Miseries and crimes may
be the result of ignorance, but far more and worse are the effects of bad use
of knowledge. Chemistry is a noble science. Should it be called a harmful
science if it is used to invent poison gases to be let loose on women and
children? It is a clear misuse of knowledge.
The man who knows has an
advantage over the Man who does
not know.
By his medical knowledge, the Physician can cure disease and save his patient’s life. But the blackmailer, by his knowledge of some guilty secret, can bleed his victim white under the threat of disclosure. Lord Tennyson has rightly said “Knowledge comes but wisdom lingers.” He means that science has provided us with a huge stock of knowledge but unfortunately it is not being put to right use. For example, Atomic power be employed both for destructive and useful purposes. Its enormous potentialities to destroy life were demonstrated; when in August 1945 two atom bombs were dropped in the Japanese cities, Hiroshima & Nagasaki. The devastation caused by them was unprecedented in the history of mankind. Of late, however, scientists have been concentrating on harnessing atomic energy for purposes of human welfare. If we do not apply wisdom in the use knowledge, we shall miserably fail to achieve the desired object. Physically, man is comparatively weak animal.
He cannot naturally run like the horses nor fly like the birds. He is no match in strength for the elephant, the lion or the bear. He has no natural weapons of defence like the tiger’s fangs and claws. Yet, all these strong and fierce beasts, and forces some of them to be his servants. It is his superior knowledge and intelligence that makes him the master of creature’s superior to him in physical strength. Knowledge is beneficial to man when it is thorough and clear.
But a man who is ill-informed does more harm than good. If, for example, the task of piloting a plane is taken up by a novice the fate of the crew and the passengers is a foregone conclusion. Dangerous, again, is he who haughtily takes upon himself the task of driving machines and engines without knowing how even to handle them.