Knowledge or Intelligence??

Red means stop… all of us know it. This is Knowledge. To stop at Red is Intelligence.

Speed limit board of 60 means I should drive within 60 kmph. This is knowledge. Driving within the limit is intelligence.

I should not get angry… this is knowledge. Not getting angry is intelligence.

Debit what come in, Credit what goes out… any accountant knows this. This is knowledge. Creating a proper accounting entry is intelligence.

I was clarifying the doubts of one of my students the other day. The way I normally do it is that I ask a series of questions back to the students and they end up finding the answer on their own.

The one thing that I have learnt through this approach is that most of the time the knowledge required to solve the problem is available with us. We are just not able to apply the knowledge correctly.

Either we don’t apply the knowledge we have, or we apply it in the wrong place in the wrong way.

Knowledge used in the right place, at the right time and in the right manner is Intelligence.

The same logic applies everywhere, at work, at home, in the kitchen, on the road… everywhere.

It doesn’t matter how much knowledge I have in my life. The pace of my growth is defined by my intelligence and intelligence is nothing but the ability to apply the right knowledge at the right time, at the right place and in the right manner.

Lets move towards becoming more intelligent rather than being knowledgeable.