Knowing was a barrier which prevented learning. -Frank Herbert

As anyone debugging a computer program who has ever skipped over a routine they “know” is working can attest, knowledge can impede insight. Knowledge is a stone, a wall, a fallback position, an opt-repeated aphorism, a discussion-ender, an assertion of superiority, a casual rebuke to the curious. Learning is a river, a tide, a question, a detailed observation, a discussion-starter, an admission of ignorance, an invitation to the curious.

This intro leads me to a bifurcation, as I feel equally able to confirm or dispute this assertion, the curse of the former debater. I started writing with the expectation of confirmation so I will continue, though I admit that knowledge has some use in our world, used as a guide rather than a bludgeon, though I personally prefer lore.

Everyone today knows raw milk is dangerous to consume. That’s because raw milk was demonized to the public over doctors’ objections after industry was able to monetize homogenized and pasteurized milk in the 1920s. Milk is a natural substance that evolved to help baby animals grow–as opposed to nut milk, which is an oxymoron–and any human mom who has gone to the trouble of expressing her milk would never waste that effort by blending or microwaving it. This knowledge has nearly eliminated access to this therapeutic substance a century later, and led to a deluge of unnecessary “lactose-intolerance.”

Everyone knows that wild turkeys are quite dumb and really do drown by holding their mouths open in rain. Yet they are actually quite smart, as described by a variety of sources ranging from bamboozled hunters in North America during the 18th century to police reports of a wild turkey gang systematically terrorizing Brookline, Massachusetts in the 2000s. This type of knowledge, the assumption of human superiority over wild animals of all kinds, continues to prevent us from understanding numerous interconnections between us and wild animals, such as sharing of disease vectors.

In a recent poll, over 60% of Americans, almost everyone, were found to believe, or know, that crime is a huge problem in our country, though only 17% believe it is a problem for them locally. Statistics suggest that the gap may be due to media influence rather than reality. This knowledge leads to a fearful populace and to wasting community resources solving non-existent problems.

Everyone knows homelessness is caused by drug use, laziness, illegal immigration, lawlessness, and financial downturns. Those factors may contribute to anecdotal cases, but homelessness as a phenomenon is definitely caused by two few homes. It simply does not exist where there are plenty of homes. This knowledge guarantees we will never solve it.