Knowledge vrs Wisdom

1. KNOWLEDGE VRS
WISDOM
-Dr. Karishma Chaudhary

3. Definition of Knowledge
◦ The term ‘knowledge’ simply refers to the understanding or awareness, about a person, thing
or subject, such as facts, skills, information, etc.
◦ It is the state of what you know about a particular topic. It is the familiarity with different
objects, ways of doing things, places, cultures, events, facts, ideas, etc.
◦ It can be theoretical or practical proficiency gained over time through education or experience
by learning, observing, researching, discussing, studying and so on.

8. Definition of Wisdom
◦ Wisdom is a wider term than knowledge and intelligence.
◦ It is the quality of person to think, act or discern what is best, right, true and enduring. It is the
application of common sense, knowledge and experience, at the right time, place, manner
and situation so as to follow the best possible course of action.
◦ It develops the ability to judge and make beneficial and productive decisions in life.
◦ Knowledge and understanding are the basis of wisdom, but the experience is the key to
attaining wisdom. It unites knowledge and experience into insights and increases an
individual’s understanding of relationships and meaning of life.

9. Key Differences Between Knowledge
and Wisdom
◦ The main differences between knowledge and wisdom are discussed in detail in the given
below points:
◦ Knowledge refers to the collection of information and facts about something or someone by
learning and experience. The ability of a person to judge, apply education & experience in
practical life and make right choices is called wisdom.
◦ Knowledge is nothing but organised information. It is not about the plethora of information,
but that should be relevant. On the contrary, wisdom is the quality to implement knowledge
into practical life.
◦ Knowledge is selective in nature, in essence, it only stores specialised information. Conversely,
wisdom is comprehensive and integrated.

10. ◦ Knowledge is deterministic while wisdom is non-deterministic.
◦ Knowledge results in the understanding of the particular subject, whereas wisdom develops the
discernment and reasoning ability in a person.
◦ The approach of knowledge is theoretical. In contrast to, wisdom which has a spiritual approach.
◦ When it comes to the acquisition, knowledge is acquired by obtaining information or learning
about the facts by observation or education. As opposed to wisdom, which is developed in the
person through the day to day experiences in life.
◦ Knowledge has the same relation to mind, like that of wisdom with soul.

12. Conclusion
◦ Hence, it can be concluded that there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom, but
they are connected concepts. Knowledge without wisdom is possible, but wisdom without
knowledge is impossible.
◦ While knowledge is limited, wisdom has no visible end. Knowledge can have positive or
negative effects in the sense that it can be useful to people if they use in a right way, but can
also harm others if they use that knowledge in a wrong direction. Unlike wisdom which has
only positive results, because it is the implementation of knowledge with an active and
benevolent attitude.

14. ◦ Knowledge refers to the facts, information, awareness and understanding gained by a person
through experience, education or learning. It is broadly classified into two main categories –
explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge.
◦ Explicit knowledge is the structured set of information which can be recognized, recorded,
stored and shared.

15. ◦ We all know that every person gains something from the surroundings, circumstances, incidents,
patterns, observations, etc. This is what we call personal experience, which forms the base for
Tacit Knowledge. It is an unrecorded, hidden and unstated huge depository of knowledge,
which is possessed by every person.
◦ The basic difference between explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge is that explicit knowledge
is already codified, whereas tacit knowledge is rooted in the mind.

16. Definition of Explicit Knowledge
◦ Explicit Knowledge can be described as the knowledge present in the fundamental form,
which can be easily delivered. This is due to the fact that such knowledge is available as
written material and saved which can be read, accessed and interpreted by any person. It is
documented or recorded information, which facilitates a course of action.
◦ Preferably, explicit knowledge is meant for reuse.
◦ It can be clearly stated by the knower, through verbal statements. It comprises of facts,
theories, rules, relationships and policies which can be put to words, in physical or electronic
form and shared with people.
◦ Encyclopedia and books are classic examples of such knowledge. It may take the form of
procedure manuals, documents, videos, reports, pdf, memos, database, websites and so forth.

17. ◦ Definition of Tacit Knowledge
◦ Tacit knowledge, as the name suggests is the knowledge which a person owns, gathered from
his/her personal experience, insights, emotions, observations and circumstances. It is held by
knower in their minds, which is highly personalized and specialized.
◦ Further, its acquisition is due to cognitive processes. Such a form of knowledge is difficult to
explain, write down, transfer or quantify.

18. ◦ It is obtained mainly by way of association with other person and needs a mutual effort to be
imparted, for its transfer.
◦ It is intuitive knowledge, which is engrained in the context, experience, values, opinions,
practices, ideas, perspectives and experiences. It is possessed by an individual, but it is not
available in a codified form and is difficult to articulate, as it is stored in the mind of the person.
◦ Hence, for effectively passing on such knowledge factors like personal contact, continuous
interaction and mutual trust play a significant role. It adds a competitive skill to a person, as it is
difficult to imitate.

19. ◦ Such skills include:
◦ Playing a musical instrument
◦ Prediction
◦ Body language
◦ Humour
◦ Emotional intelligence
◦ Face recognition
◦ Speaking a certain language
◦ Leadership

20. Key Differences Between Explicit
Knowledge and Tacit Knowledge
◦ Explicit knowledge is one that can be articulated, expressed and recorded in the form of text,
number, symbol, code, formulae or musical notes. On the contrary, tacit knowledge can be
defined as the knowledge which a person acquires from his personal experience, such as by
working in an organization or by handling a situation.
◦ While explicit knowledge is objective, logical and technical, tacit knowledge is subjective,
cognitive and experiential.
◦ When it comes to codification, explicit knowledge can be codified, i.e. it can be written down
or expressed in words or carved in a design. Conversely, the tacit Knowledge is innate and not
easy to comprehend, so it cannot be communicated, interpreted or used.

21. ◦ Explicit knowledge is easily transferable. This means that one need not have subject-knowledge
for transferring the same. As against, Tacit knowledge cannot be transferred from one person to
another without proper knowledge of the same. Further, the transfer is effective only when there
is a face to face interaction, apprenticeship and mutual trust and understanding amidst the two.
◦ Explicit knowledge can be gained through logical deduction and also obtained by way of
practical experience in the concerned field. However, to gain tacit knowledge one must have
practical experience in the relevant area, as well as it is acquired through in-depth analysis,
observation, research and experimentation.
◦ Explicit knowledge can be recorded at a particular place and stored in physical forms, such as
document, book, pdf, files, etc. In contrast, tacit knowledge is intimate and circumstantial. It is
scattered, whose accumulation is difficult. Hence, it requires complete participation and
cooperation, for dissemination.

23. ◦ Conclusion
◦ In a nutshell, Explicit knowledge is that form of knowledge which can be expressed through
words, codes, signs and symbols, as well as which can be stored in books or devices such as a
computer, pen drive, tape, hard disk, etc.
◦ Contrastingly, Tacit Knowledge is difficult to transmit by expressing it in written form or by way
of speech and it cannot be stored, as it resides in the mind of human beings.

25. ◦ BE WISE