The Limits Of Knowledge

By Mr. Aleele Paago

Several years back (1988/89) a roadside radio repairer invented a transmitter and could broadcast radio signals to radio sets within a range.
He was taken to one of the universities in Eastern Nigeria, where the lecturers in Electrical and Electronics department asked to see his calculations and an explanation how his device works.
The young man who never attended school beyond primary school could not talk at their level and even with the evidence right before them, they threw out his invention.
He broke out of a box, but "learned men" quickly caged him.
They could not understand how he took components from a broken down radio receiver and turned it into a transmitter.
They were boxed by knowledge, he was freed by ignorance.

In 1600 the learned scientists believed a theory put forward by Aristotle for over 2000 years that the sun and stars revolved around the earth.
One scientist, Galileo Galilei had a different view.
He posited that the Sun was stationary and the earth revolved around it.
His view so scandalized the academia and challenged religion that he was sent to prison by the Catholic Church.
The Church believed that his theory negated the Bible in Joshua 10:13 (which states that the sun and moon stood still).
Today we know that Galileo was right.
He refused to be bound by knowledge. And he did not negate the Bible.

Knowledge is not necessarily truth.
What you know about the problem you are faced with may not be the truth. Even where it is the truth, it may only be limiting you.

Knowledge is constructed and taught along the lines of fact.
Science, the knowledge which leads humanity on the path of inventions and breakthrough innovations/ideas is based entirely on observable fact.

The tools and the place of observation and the subsequent analysis thereof affect the quality of the fact, diminish its truth content and strangely limit rather than enhance humanity.

That is the box; because you can only observe what is in your box.

What is your take on this? Do you know of any instances where knowledge was not a limiter? Please share your thoughts.