The Physics of Psychology: Knowledge is (NOT) Power

Much of our lives we’re taught that “KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!”

What if I told you that was wrong.

I can even prove it to you mathematically and in the world of physics!

If this is the first post you’re reading in my “Physics of Psychology” series, let me give a quick background.

I’m what many would consider a “nerd”. I’m an engineer who has always loved math & physics. As I dove in to the world of learning about success & self-development, I started to see some common themes. Themes that I saw as having parallels in the physical world. So, I thought I’d share some of my musings and try to make some connections. Psychology is a tough thing to see & touch. Physics can be quite the opposite. You see it every day and the basic ideas are easy enough for anyone to understand.

For some more detail, I definitely recommend reading the first post in this series titles “The Physics of Psychology: Getting Started”. You’ll get some more insight there and another example of how the world of psychology can be seen in physics.

As kids we’re taught “Knowledge is Power!” go to school and get your education so you can be a powerful force in the world and be wildly successful!

Albert Einstein

Bill Gates

Thomas Edison

Stephen Hawking

Elon Musk

Some of the most brilliant minds in the past hundred or so years. All have/had tremendous knowledge and made an undeniable mark on the world.

Now imagine if they all just sat on their butts and never did anything. What good is all that knowledge?

I’d like to propose another view on this (and I’m not by any means claiming this to be an original thought):

Knowledge is not power. Knowledge is POTENTIAL power.

There needs to be an effort included to actually go do something. To use that potential power to go do something effective. An effort to Get Started. This potential is only power if you go use it!

How Does Physics Come In To Play?

If you’ve ever ridden a roller coaster, you know the feeling. Moving your way up for the first big drop. Maybe your heart is pounding with excitement (or fear), your hands are getting clammy, you’re feeling all these emotions build up the higher you go. You know the higher you go, the bigger the drop and the faster the ride.

In Physics, this is called building up potential energy.

I like the wikipedia definition of potential energy, so I’m going to steal that for this post.

In physics, potential energy is the energy held by an object because of its position relative to other objects, stresses within itself, its electric charge, or other factors.

Potential Energy can take a few different forms. For the sake of this topic, we’re going to talk about gravitational potential energy due to it’s simplicity and the ability to see this in every day life.

Let’s Get Nerdy!

If we’re going to really do this justice, we should look at the equation for potential energy (again relative to gravity).

U = mgh

U - potential energy

m - mass

g - gravity constant (we’re going to consider constant for this)

h - height or altitude of an object

In words, what this equation says is the bigger something is or the higher up it goes, the more potential energy something has.

Potential Needs To Become More

Think back to the roller coaster example. When you’re being pulled up to the top of the first drop, you are building potential energy, but that’s all it is, just POTENTIAL.

Imagine if you built all that energy up. You’re at the very top of this ride and then it stops. Why it stops doesn’t matter, but it does. You all just sit there. Not a very fun ride anymore is it? You’re probably booing and screaming “I want my money back!” You’d be pissed! Rightfully so! You spend all this money to get on this ride and not enjoy the thrill?!

This is what potential energy is, though. It’s only POTENTIAL.

It’s a build up that needs to be channeled and released.

For a roller coaster, the real ride begins when you finally teeter over the edge and convert that energy in to something so much more fun.

That’s the thing about potential energy though. For it to become useful, Potential Needs To Become More.

Knowledge Is POTENTIAL Power

Maybe you’re starting to pick up what I’m putting down and you see the connection.

Knowledge Is POTENTIAL Power

Building up knowledge is analogous to getting pulled up the front end of the roller coaster. Every book, every lesson, every skill we learn increases our knowledge altitude. It gives us the POTENTIAL to do something great.

But…

If we don’t push ourselves to go take action and convert potential power to become more, what happens?

Imagine if Elon Musk had never used his knowledge and talents to build and sell PayPal, we’d never have companies like Tesla or SpaceX. If Bill Gates just sat on his couch all day watching TV, we would never have Microsoft, or most of the computer systems we have today.

Turn Potential In To Something REAL

We live in a world where we pride ourselves on our education. Namely, 4 years of college that culminates in a sheet of paper which most people probably have sitting in their closet, or maybe they have even lost. We look at this paper as a badge of honor.

“Wow, look at me, I did a thing!”

Who cares. All of that is nothing but potential.

The real success comes by turning that potential power in to something real. Get up off your ass and go apply it. Show the world that you can and WILL utilize that potential power to do something great for yourself, your family, and the world.

The Mindset of Real Power

I’m going to say it again, because it bears repeating. On top of that, I’m getting a little fired up as I write this, so we’re going to turn things up a bit.

What you know doesn’t matter unless you put it to work. Sometimes you need to stop thinking and start doing.

Your knowledge alone doesn’t entitle you to anything

Your diploma means nothing

The POTENTIAL you have means nothing

You need to have the mindset of “what am I doing today to convert potential in to real power.” You need to show the world that you WILL turn that potential in to something of real power.

Stop Thinking, Start Doing

I don’t want you to think that this means if you’re not off creating the next lightbulb you suck. Not at all.

Listen, I’m just a guy writing a blog about my thoughts and experiences. At this point in my life, I’d have no right to say something like that.

What I can say is: Start small.

While taking massive action is an important step to success, it doesn’t need to be the first thing you do. We have a tendency to overwhelm ourselves and miss the fact that we just need to do something and Get Started.

What Can You Do TODAY?

Think about something you have learned over the years, or go learn about something new. As you do this, take some notes. Just a few quick bullets on what you learned, but more importantly what actionable steps can you take TODAY. Go Implement them TODAY.

Want a stupid yet simple place to start? Read Life Hack #1: The Laundry Basket Method. It may not change your life, but it gives you a way to turn small potential in to something real with actionable steps to take.

Use your knowledge potential and go turn it in to something real!