Information Is Not Knowledge

I love the name of tonight’s title.  It is a quote from Albert Einstein.  Another saying, "the gate is not the house," has the same meaning.  Just because you have a lot of information doesn't mean that you understand it or can apply it.  You don't automatically become expert.  That takes training. 
It is pounded in us to practice.  I’ve been told over and over that you are more dangerous with a concealed weapon in your pocket if you never take it out to practice than if you didn’t have it there at all.  You don’t always have to physically practice.  Mental practice works too.  You can go over something in your head, practicing over and over until your brain makes it rote.  Then you can physically practice.  I had to do this when I first started carrying a weapon full time.  When I’d go to the range to practice shooting I’d shoot then keep my finger resting on the trigger.  I spent lots of time going over the shots in my head; each time removing my finger from the trigger and placing it on the guard.  Then I practiced with the weapon.  So much easier because I trained my brain. 

Information will lead you down the path to knowledge.  Once I learned the information, practicing the skill turned it into knowledge.  Recalling the knowledge should automatically or at least rather quickly happen mentally and physically.  It becomes a normal and natural response to whatever circumstance you find yourself in.  Can you perform even when you are distracted?  This comes from experience.  I don’t always succeed although I don’t often outright fail.

We practice everything in our lives.  I can cook, clean, do my job, raise a family, grow things, build things, drive a tractor, and so much more.  I’m pretty knowledgeable.  This is what one wants to strive for in order to succeed in this world.  And when TSHTF the more knowledge, not just information, the better off we will be. 

Your strategy is in your preplanning.  We read these blogs to gather up loads of information.  Are you doing something with what you are learning or are you just storing it aside for a SHTF day?  That’s why I started writing this blog.  I wanted to chronicle some of the things that I’m doing to prepare myself and my family.  Every couple months I reread some of what I wrote.  We’ve sure come a long way over the past couple of years.  It’s gone from wanting to do things to becoming knowledgeable. 

You need to prepare with multiple strategies but remember that someone will always come up with something that you never thought of or prepared for.  “Why didn’t I think of that?”  While you need to practice so you can operate smoothly, and predicting what someone else will do may make your job go smoother, make sure you don’t get caught in a panic because they changed the rules.  One thing we need to caution ourselves on is to not spend too much time predicting what the other person will do.  Now this isn’t to say that anticipating their next move is bad but you need to make sure that you don’t rely on your prediction.  What if you are wrong?  What if they always go from the road and follow the path?  Will you always be focused on the path?  Will you be confused if they do what you don’t expect?  If so, this will lead to hesitation and you will fail.