The Power of Sharing Knowledge

In the vast expanse of humankind, knowledge stands as the cornerstone upon which we construct our understanding of the world. It's not just the accumulation of facts, but the way we share this knowledge that propels us forward, both individually and collectively. To get philosophical, if we took Philippa Foot's Trolly Problem and ran the basic scenario:

A trolley is heading towards 5 people. You can pull the lever to divert it to the other track, killing 1 person instead. What do you do?

• Do nothing - Killing 5 people
• Pull lever - Killing 1 person

A majority of people would usually decide to to divert the trolly to the other track, killing the 1 person instead of the 5, but what if the person on their own is the only one with information we needed to know, would this make us consider pulling the lever to spare both their life and that information. This makes us question if knowledge is greater than life it's self. How far will people go to know something? Working with digital media in a world that becomes more and more technologically advanced everyday means staying on top of every development is vital. In my lifetime I have seen the birth of social media, websites like YouTube, and databases such as Wikipedia. All of these examples open the doors to learning new facts and skills, because of this everything we may look to become experts in may already be a competitive place. In more recent times we have seen the birth, and rapid improvment of AI, making it even more difficult to become an expert. With this in mind, I have always believed that the act of teaching others what we know becomes a catalyst for personal growth. Not only do we have the opportunity to share information, but we are able to refine our own understanding, honing our abilities, and discovering new depths to our expertise. Take this blog for example, as I write down my thoughts I evaluate them, questioning how I came to each concusions.

When we take the time to explain a concept to someone else, we're forced to dissect it, to simplify the complex, and to confront our own gaps in comprehension. This process illuminates areas where we need improvement, prompting us to delve deeper into our subject matter, explore alternative perspectives, and seek out new sources of knowledge. In short - teaching others forces us to get better. From a digital media perspective this could be finding out a new way to create something, or maybe a quicker, more efficient way of building a timeline. By sharing our knowledge and experiences with others, we not only help build the skills of our peers, but also our own. Through dialogue, debate, and the exchange of ideas, we challenge ourselves to think critically, to question assumptions, and to push the boundaries of what we thought possible. Another integral aspect of learning is embracing failure. It's through our mistakes that we gain insights and ultimately grow. It's important to not fear failure as doing so could stop our potential; instead, we must view it as a natural part of the learning process. By embracing our missteps we transform setbacks into opportunities for growth, emerging stronger, wiser, and more adept than before. In essence, I belive the pursuit of knowledge is a journey marked by collaboration. As we navigate this journey, embracing the role of both student and teacher is important to helps us cultivate our own growth. Together, we may help influence curiosity and reach further than we may on our own. Anyway, heres a link so you can go have fun hitting people with trollies: https://neal.fun/absurd-trolley-problems/