Knowledge vs Experience - ESSAY

Nowadays many people say that both knowledge and experience are the most

valuable concepts which a person can acquire. It’s hard to survive in the modern word

without acquiring these two notions. Knowledge can be described as understanding of,

or information about a subject that you get by experience or study, either known by one

person or by people generally. Academic knowledge through textbooks can teach indi-

viduals theories about life. Life, however, deviates from theory frequently. Experience al-

lows to better understand oneself and the surrounding world and it’s based on more

practical understanding of a subject. There’s a strong relationship between these two and

in my essay I’ll point out the differences and similarities between experience and know-

ledge in academic and also more abstract way.

Firstly, when a child starts to develop his consciousness it begins to learn differ-

ent things. As soon as an individual reaches such learning stage, he gets an admission to

a primary school, where he confronts with a number of textbooks. An individual learns to

read words and learn new concepts in the school and continues this learning concept un-

til he dies. A good book and impressive words can change the attitude of a person to a

great deal. However, the knowledge gained from books is limited. Every single book has

a different context, thus kindles limited concepts. Moreover, if the words on the page

are not practiced, they are highly likely to be forgotten with the passage of time. On the

other hand, the knowledge gained from experience has a lasting impression on the mind

of an individual. A person keeps on reading words on morality thought his life, but these

words are of no use until morality is being practiced or experienced. James Russell Low-

ell has rightly said; “One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning”.
 Secondly, experience becomes possible with some knowledge which means that

we need at least a small drop of understanding what is the subject about, before starting

to gain any kind of experience. There’s little possibility of us being successful, experi-

enced workers if we don’t have fundamental knowledge and essential skills. Becoming

specialists in specific areas is an advantage to any employer, regardless of size or service

offering. Having no experience leads to many mistakes and errors. Some people pretend

that they have some skills and in the most unexpected moments the truth comes out and

it might be too late to apologise for lying to your boss.

Additionally, both knowledge and experience require time and involvement to flour-

ish. We can’t acquire knowledge without sacrificing our time. Connecting both notions

leads to creative thinking and producing higher quality work.

Both knowledge and experience are useful in every walk of life. There’s a strong

connection between them and the more knowledge you have, the more experience you

gain. In my opinion knowledge is the key to success in life because the more I know, the

more I’m prepared for.