The onion, or spherical, model of knowledge

Onion
Image: WebTechExperts/Pixabay

Note: This is an opinion piece. No references will be provided.

What is knowledge?

We all have our senses. At least most of us do. We all have functional brains. At least most of us do. So we all see, hear, smell, touch something 24 hours a day. So our senses collect data points for us 24 hours a day, visual, audial, tactile. That is the data entering our nervous system of which our brains are central units.

However, we are all different in our abilities to collate those data points and make sense of them. And it is the patterns that we discern in that ocean of data that becomes knowledge. Usually, we don't take this journey on our own. This is where training and education comes into play. Yet even with those resources available to us the outcomes are disparate, sometimes drastically so. So in short, we all get data but we are far from equal in opportunities availed to us to convert that data into knowledge, or in our ability to do so even when it is all but served to us.

Why would that be?

Natural intelligence

Intelligence is a measure of our ability to sort and make sense of data we collect. We can argue about what part of it is something we are born with but some part certainly is innate. There are people who just "get it" immediately even when subject matter requires considerable thought and effort on the part of most everybody else. They are an exception. But then there is the bulk of us whose intelligence, while average, is also quite considerable. Or at least has a potential of being substantial if properly nurtured.

So natural intelligence is certainly a real thing. But is it the only component of intelligence? Based by all available evidence, it is not; it may not be the most significant component.

Development of intelligence

A child starts developing intelligence from birth, if not prenatally. The data enters a child's brain by way of external stimulation. Obviously, the cardinal role in that process is played by the adults in hat child's life. And this is what forms the child's personality and intelligence.

Education is part of that process, too. So the child is a product of their environment, to a large degree.

Starting at a certain point the child is mature enough to engage in intellectual self-training, which, much like physical self-training, also contributes to the child's development. And this is where the most important distinctions happen.

Where do we all start?

The childhood is where it all begins. We are born with little but some genetic predilections, instincts and reflexes. Then we start the training process. It consists of experiencing everything. Our individual cells are designed to adapt to changing conditions and naturally so is our central nervous system, And, of course, social and educational inputs shape us too.

Now place yourself at the center of the onion and imagine that this is the womb you are in as a fetus. Your ability to have learning, or training, experiences is at that point limited to the very small inner sphere you are in. But that is only the start.

Where to from there?

If all goes well, eventually you are born and go on with your development.You get an exposure to what is outside he innermost sphere at that point. And you start your journey towards more knowledge and, potentially, higher intelligence.

How you proceed is to some degree determined by your genetics, to some degree by your circumstances and to some degree by your own preferences and choices. Any normal development requires moving a few layers out. You learn to walk, talk, socialize. If you don't, due to some sort of physical, mental or psychological disability, for example, you don't really get to join the society in a meaningful way and end up disabled for life. While this article is, for he most part, a discussion concerning functional members of society, it is worth mentioning well-documented examples of "feral children", i.e., children growing up raised by animals or in other environments where they were deprived of human interaction. These children in most if not all cases never learn how to become functional members of society. In fact, those children sometimes never even learn to speak a human language. So yes, we are all products of our childhood, at least to some degree.

A child learns everything, from what to explore to what to avoid. So they can be forced into abandoning their natural curiousity. And this happens often, especially in cult-like, disciplinarian environment. For example, in the Middle Ages (or Dark Ages, as they are sometimes called) questioning the religious dogma was a taboo so strict you were told not to question it, and most people never dared to. So they forced themselves not to try to explore their knowledge beyond the sphere they were told to stay within.

Idiot's illusion of full knowledge

Think of yourself as a worm originating in the center of the onion. You may make your way out, or you may end up staying somewhere in the inner spheres. Every sphere on your way out is larger than the ones closer to the center. If you never make your way far out you may end up exploring the spheres you have reached quite thoroughly but you are still at that point not aware that all the world outside even exists. And that gives you an illusion that you know all there is to know. I am sure you have met people like that - those who know well the niche hey occupy, the trade they do, the subject they have studied - and believe they know all there is to know. But they are simply ignorant of he whole huge realm outside of the sphere they have reached.

What does all that truly mean?

I can only give you my perspective. I think people who present themselves as omniscient are just ignorant people who have never made it far out of the center of the onion. I think most who have actually made it relatively far out tend to realize limitations of their knowledge and wisdom. I think if you have a brain it is in your long term interest to seek your way out as far and as much as you can.

But this is just my perspective, As for you - I, once again, suggest you do your own research, use your own brain and reach your own conclusions.

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