In today's information-rich world, the emphasis often falls on capturing and storing knowledge. However, the real educational value lies not in the mere collection of information but in the process of engaging with it.

For example, simply owning a book means nothing; you gain nothing from it.

Reading a book, still, means nothing. Reading something doesn't mean that you understand it. Most of the understanding gained is superficial and fades quickly in your memory. This superficial grasp often leads to an illusion of understanding, where we overestimate our comprehension until we try to explain it to someone else.

Knowledge requires an actor to perform its function; otherwise, it remains a mere string of symbols. The value of knowledge is not in the text; it comes from how it transforms us. We embody information by using it to change our thinking and actions in life.

Self-Explanation as a Starting Point

You start to gain some value from reading a book by writing self-explanatory notes or explaining to a friend what you learn. This process is evidence of how your thoughts and perspectives are changing due to the act of consuming information. However, its value is quite small because most of this involves just rephrasing others' thoughts. And your understanding of the subject is mostly fragmented because you just read from one author - one perspective. It's similar to the story of blind mens and an elephant; no matter how skilled the interpreter, he can only describe a small part of the whole. You need to collect your understanding from multiple sources, step back further, and build your own model of reality.

Developing a Personal Model of the World

Now, your task is synthesize your understanding from multiple source to visualize the elephant hiding in the dark. This can be done through 'Concept Notes' or 'Evergreen Notes,' which synthesize and explain your unique perspective on the learned topic. Now you have some evidence that you have gained a concrete understanding of the "model of the world," or your own "schema" in terms of educational literature.

Embodying Knowledge Through Action

Wisdom gains value only when applied in real life. Understanding a concept is one thing, but taking action based on that understanding is the most difficult task. When knowledge in books clashes with reality, it shows its true usefulness. For example, humans can write a lot of papers about technology, but it only gains value when used to create a product, like the phone you hold in your hand, where you read this text.

So, after understanding what is written in the book, the question becomes, what do you do with it? Or how do you apply it to your life?

Embodying Knowledge and The Value of Education

The value of university might not lie in the content taught because high-quality knowledge might be abundantly accessible over the internet. The true value of education is the system that forces students to write essays and make arguments. This system engages students with information, helping them build their own understanding from the information they consume.

However, from my experience, the limitation of university education is that students often don't have the time and space to take action from what they learn. The university tends to think what makes their education worth the money is teaching more content, more complex theory. But from my view, these approaches to education still lack meaning. Students can't define which knowledge they want to focus on or find useful until they try to apply what they learn into real life.

Embodying Knowledge and The Value of Personal Knowledge Management Systems

You contain your food in a bowl or preserve it in a refrigerator. Similarly, we have created tools for managing knowledge. We have notebooks to store information and software to organize and manage it. But the true value of the knowledge process only starts when you consume, digest, and embody what you eat.