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Are Books More Important Than Experience?


hirt

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It has been said, "Not everything that is learned is contained in books." Compare and contrast knowledge gained from experience with knowledge gained from books.

 

 

 

 

Whether we get knowledge from books or gain it by experience, we should account our necessity and desire to gain knowledge in our preference. Experience is the foundation of books and they can help us to improve books. Nonetheless, books offer an easier and organized alternative. So we should make a relationship between our method of learning and our subject that we want to acquire knowledge about.

 

 

First of all, experience is a great source of learning. Good deal of knowledge of books, except the portion which consists of mathematical inference, comes from human experiences. Also, there is knowledge, noticeably substantial, which one can not find in any book. Likewise, in detailed and state-of-art cases, the knowledge within books not only can be incomplete but also can be wrong. Experience has a reassuring effect, no matter how many times we have perused books for a particular subject, experiencing and doing it, can reinforce considerably that subject, like laboratory tests and experiments that can be bolstered in mind once you have done them rather than reading manual over and over again.

 

 

On the other hand, knowledge in books is much more organized, detailed and meticulously pursued than one gained from experience. Subjects that intrigue us have intrigued hundreds of people before, and luckily, so many of them were - and still are - generous enough to share their thoughts, findings and experiences with others. Of course there are subjects that we have gained knowledge about them, intentionally or not, by experience; in such cases, books, and tapestry of knowledge they represent, can give us a validating tool to ensure our experiences.

 

 

Although, as represented, there are lots of merits to these two methods of learning, i.e.: absorbing wisdom and knowledge from documented materials or by experience. In some cases these two methods can equally be effective and practical. For instance, if someone wants to gain knowledge about a far away country from his/her own country, like east Asian countries for Europeans, traveling to that country, visiting it, imbibing and immersing in that society can have a titanic effect on that person's knowledge about that country, knowledge that can be unique that it could be unlikely to gain from any book. That person can get enough, yet not exact, information faster, cheaper and easier by reading books. Thus, it is a matter of necessity and willingness that can answer better to quandary of knowledge gaining.

 

 

Finally, Whether we are a bookworm who seek answers of every question or a practical and hand-on person, we should accept that we can learn by both means, what is important is that our preference should not be immutable and based on situation; we should acknowledge and use most suitable methods of learning.

Edited by hirt
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