Useful Knowledge Quotes:

Provided that nothing like useful knowledge could be gained from them, provided they were all story and no reflection, she had never any objection to books at all.

- Jane Austen

source: Jane Austen (2007). “The Complete Novels of Jane Austen”, p.1078, Wordsworth Editions

topic: Book, Reflection, Stories, Useful Knowledge

The business of a scientific school is the dissemination of useful knowledge, and this is a noble enterprise and indispensable withal; society can not exist unless it goes on.

- Albert J. Nock

topic: School, Noble, Goes On, Dissemination, Useful Knowledge

Perhaps the prevalence of pedantry may be largely accounted for by the common error of thinking that, because useful knowledge should be remembered, any kind of knowledge that is at all worth learning should be remembered too.

- Albert J. Nock

topic: Thinking, Errors, May, Pedantry, Useful Knowledge

This [Scientology] is useful knowledge. With it the blind again see, the lame walk, the ill recover, the insane become sane and the sane become saner. By its use the thousand abilities Man has sought to recover become his once more.

- L. Ron Hubbard

topic: Men, Insane, Use, Useful Knowledge

A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.

- Marcus Garvey

topic: Love, Friendship, Relationship, Knowledge And Ignorance, Knowledge Of The Past

A good decision is based on knowledge, and not on numbers.

- Plato

topic: Business, Numbers, Decision, Knowledge And Understanding, Good Decision

The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government.

- Sam Houston

topic: Education, Government, Aquariums, Government Education, Useful Knowledge

Leisure and curiosity might soon make great advances in useful knowledge, were they not diverted by minute emulation and laborious trifles.

- Samuel Johnson

topic: Knowledge, Curiosity, Might, Useful Knowledge

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.

- Confucius

topic: Inspirational, Positive, Real, Knowledge And Ignorance, Knowledge And Understanding

Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.

- Bruce Lee

source: "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Add, Martial Artist, Discarded

Knowledge is like underwear. It is useful to have it, but not necessary to show it off.

- Nicky Gumbel

source: Twitter post from Apr 10, 2014

topic: Knowledge, Underwear, Shows, Showing Off, Useful Knowledge

Science is the knowledge of consequences, and dependence of one fact upon another.

- Thomas Hobbes

topic: Science, Reality, Facts, Another Time, Dependence On Others

To make a man happy, fill his hands with work, his heart with affection, his mind with purpose, his memory with useful knowledge, his future with hope, and his stomach with food.

- Frederick E. Crane

topic: Memories, Heart, Men, Useful Knowledge

The learning and knowledge that we have,is,at the most,but little compared with that of which we are ignorant.

- Plato

topic: Philosophical, Ignorant, Littles, Useful Knowledge

Take what's useful, discard what is not.

- Bruce Lee

topic: Live By, Martial Artist, Martial Arts Inspirational, Absorbing, Self Development

The best armor of old age is a well-spent life preceding it.

- Charlie Munger

topic: Age, Armor, Bearing Witness, Useful Knowledge

Knowledge is love and light and vision.

- Helen Keller

topic: Christian, Education, Knowledge, Light And Knowledge, Pursuit Of Knowledge

As the biggest library if it is in disorder is not as useful as a small but well-arranged one, so you may accumulate a vast amount of knowledge but it will be of far less value than a much smaller amount if you have not thought it over for yourself.

- Arthur Schopenhauer

topic: Knowledge, Library, May, Useful Knowledge

Knowledge gained through experience is far superior and many times more useful than bookish knowledge.

- Mahatma Gandhi

source: Mahatma Gandhi (1958). “Collected Works”

topic: Inspirational, Experience, Knowledge Gained, Knowledge And Experience, Useful Knowledge

Knowledge is two-fold, and consists not only in an affirmation of what is true, but in the negation of that which is false.

- Charles Caleb Colton

source: Charles Caleb Colton (1823). “Remarks on the Talents of Lord Byron and the Tendencies of Don Juan”, p.102

topic: Knowledge, Science, Two, Negation, Scientific Knowledge

It's where we're nearest to our humanness. Useless knowledge for its own sake. Useful knowledge is good, too, but it's for the faint-hearted, an elaboration of the real thing, which is only to shine some light, it doesn't matter where on what, it's the light itself, against the darkness, it's what's left of God's purpose when you take away God.

- Tom Stoppard

topic: Real, Light, Shining, Faint Hearted, Useful Knowledge

In order to the attaining of all useful knowledge this is most necessary, that we fear God; we are not qualified to profit by the instructions that are given us unless our minds be possessed with a holy reverence of God, and every thought within us be brought into obedience to Him.... As all our knowledge must take rise from the fear of God, so it must tend to it as its perfection and centre. Those know enough who know how to fear God, who are careful in every thing to please Him and fearful of offending Him in any thing; this is the Alpha and Omega of knowledge.

- Matthew Henry

topic: Christian, Fear, Blessing, Alpha And Omega, Useful Knowledge

The best aid to give is intellectual aid, a gift of useful knowledge. A gift of knowledge is infinitely preferable to a gift of material things.

- E. F. Schumacher

topic: Giving, Intellectual, Aids, Useful Knowledge

I do not know what 'moss' stands for in the proverb , but if it stood for useful knowledge... I gathered more moss by rolling than I ever did at school.

- Ernest Shackleton

topic: School, Moss, Rolling, Useful Knowledge

Do not be discouraged because you cannot learn all at once; learn one thing at a time, learn it well, and treasure it up, then learn another truth and treasure that up, and in a few years you will have a great store of useful knowledge....

- Wilford Woodruff

topic: Years, Treasure, Discouraged, One Thing At A Time, Useful Knowledge

The best Armour of Old Age is a well spent life preceding it; a Life employed in the Pursuit of useful Knowledge, in honourable Actions and the Practice of Virtue; in which he who labours to improve himself from his Youth, will in Age reap the happiest Fruits of them; not only because these never leave a Man, not even in the extremest Old Age; but because a Conscience bearing Witness that our Life was well-spent, together with the Remembrance of past good Actions, yields an unspeakable Comfort to the Soul

- Marcus Tullius Cicero

topic: Past, Men, Practice, Good Actions, Useful Knowledge

Oho, now I know what you are. You are an advocate of Useful Knowledge.... Well, allow me to introduce myself to you as an advocate of Ornamental Knowledge. You like the mind to be a neat machine, equipped to work efficiently, if narrowly, and with no extra bits or useless parts. I like the mind to be a dustbin of scraps of brilliant fabric, odd gems, worthless but fascinating curiosities, tinsel, quaint bits of carving, and a reasonable amount of healthy dirt. Shake the machine and it goes out of order; shake the dustbin and it adjusts itself beautifully to its new position.

- Robertson Davies

topic: Knowledge, Order, Healthy, Scrap, Dustbin

No one has a monopoly on knowledge the way that, say, IBM had in the 1960s in computing, or that Bell Labs had through the 1970s in communications. When useful knowledge exists in companies of all sizes and also in universities, non-profits and individual minds, it makes sense to orient your innovation efforts to accessing, building upon and integrating that external knowledge into useful products and services.

- Henry Chesbrough

topic: Communication, Effort, Innovation, Useful Knowledge

It is your mind that matters economically, as much or more than your mouth or hands. In the long run, the most important economic effect of population size and growth is the contribution of additional people to our stock of useful knowledge. And this contribution is large enough in the long run to overcome all the costs of population growth.

- Julian Simon

topic: Running, Hands, Long, Useful Knowledge

The most important benefit of population size and growth is the increase it brings to the stock of useful knowledge. Minds matter economically as much as, or more than, hands or mouths.

- Julian Simon

topic: Hands, Growth, Mind, Useful Knowledge

I am not of the opinion generally entertained in this country [England], that man lives by Greek and Latin alone; that is, by knowing a great many words of two dead languages, which nobody living knows perfectly, and which are of no use in the common intercourse of life. Useful knowledge, in my opinion, consists of modern languages, history, and geography; some Latin may be thrown into the bargain, in compliance with custom, and for closet amusement.

- Lord Chesterfield

topic: Education, Country, Latin, Modern Languages, Useful Knowledge

That discipline which corrects the eagerness of worldly passions, which fortifies the heart with virtuous principles, which enlightens the mind with useful knowledge, and furnishes to it matter of enjoyment from within itself, is of more consequence to real felicity than all the provisions which we can make of the goods of fortune.

- Robert Blair

topic: Real, Heart, Knowledge, Felicity, Useful Knowledge

The principal object of your reading should be for the acquisition of useful knowledge , and the strengthening, refining, and ennobling of your character.

- Grenville Kleiser

topic: Book, Reading, Character, Refining, Useful Knowledge

We have heard of a Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. It is said that knowledge is power, and the like. Methinks there is equal need of a Society for the Diffusion of Useful Ignorance, what we will call Beautiful Knowledge, a knowledge useful in a higher sense: for what is most of our boasted so-called knowledge but a conceit that we know something, which robs us of the advantage of our actual ignorance? What we call knowledge is often our positive ignorance; ignorance our negative knowledge.

- Henry David Thoreau

source: Henry David Thoreau (2000). “Walden and Other Writings: (A Modern Library E-Book)”, p.669, Modern Library

topic: Beautiful, Ignorance, Negative, Useful Knowledge

A young man passes from our public schools to the universities, ignorant almost of the elements of every branch of useful knowledge.

- Charles Babbage

source: Charles Babbage, Anthony Hyman (1989). “Science and Reform: Selected Works of Charles Babbage”, p.116, Cambridge University Press

topic: Education, School, Science, Useful Knowledge

Useful knowledge, practical kindness, and beneficent laws -- these are not the Gospel; but, like philosophy, they are, or may be, its handmaids. They may make its task smooth and grateful; they may associate themselves with its victories, or they may prepare its way.

- Henry Parry Liddon

topic: Kindness, Philosophy, Grateful, Handmaids, Useful Knowledge