You attain knowledge
According to Wikipedia, “knowledge is a familiarity, awareness, or understanding of someone or something, such as facts, skills, or objects…The term “knowledge” can refer to a theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. It can be implicit or explicit; formal or informal; systematic or particular…”
Dictionary.com says, “knowledge is an acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation; general erudition.”
You will notice that one key word that stands out in both definitions is “facts.” Imagine, when you have facts at your fingertips, no one is able to lie to you or mislead you. Worse case, the lack of knowledge (facts) can destroy you both physically and mentally.
You’re able to make informed decision
When you are informed with facts, it is very easy for you to make decisions that are less likely to destroy you.
Let’s say you want to visit Africa and your trusted friend tells you that Africa is the worse continent in the world, gives you several reasons why, and concludes that you should not visit Africa because you will put yourself in physical danger.
Let’s examine this carefully – At this stage your friend has imparted their knowledge on you.
These are your likely action plans: 1. You have your own facts about Africa to make an “informed decision” 2. Or you use your friend’s facts about Africa to make an “uninformed decision.”
If you are informed about Africa, then you can easily assess your friend’s information and compare it to what you know to help you identify the best outcome for you.
Let’s say you don’t know anything about Africa. You will trust your friend’s facts and might make the decision to never visit Africa. When in fact, Africa is the most beautiful and safest place to visit.
You improve your analytical and critical thinking skills
Let’s continue with the same example mentioned above. Having your own facts about Africa allows you to examine your friend’s and your fact in detail to discover how to use logical reasoning to come to a conclusion. In addition, you will become critical by examining and judging the facts provided by your friends.