Imagination Is More Important than Knowledge - Essay Example

Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand." (Albert Einstein) Do you agree?  One of Albert Einstein most famous quote is “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand" (Einstein). This is a very controversial quote as many people have been debating over it for centuries. Knowledge is power and without knowledge we cannot progress as a human. Knowledge is what distinguished an ignorant person from a man of intelligence. The power of knowledge cannot be ignored in any society. On the other hand, imagination is the mother of all knowledge. Imagination is what enables us to form a mental of something that cannot be comprehended through the senses. It is what enables men to stumble upon great inventions and the ability to build a mental sense for great achievements. Imagination is more important than knowledge because without imagination, men cannot achieve new things. Imagination is what empowers us to dream of things that can be achieved which eventually lead to knowledge. “Knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution" (Einstein). Therefore, I completely agree with Einstein’s quote that imagination is more important than knowledge as imagination goes beyond limit whereas, knowledge has its limitations. According to the Cambridge dictionary, knowledge is defined as “understanding of or information about a subject which a person gets by experience or study, and which is either in a persons mind or known by people generally” (Knowledge n.d.). Knowledge is gained through experiences, skills and personal abilities. The main sources of knowledge can be traced to instinct, reason and intuitions. In order to compete in a highly competitive world, knowledge is essential. Knowledge is what makes a man powerful and it also enables him to compete with others. Knowledge is man’s ability to develop concepts and materialize them into reality through manipulations and calculations. It also enables a person to make the right judgments which are pivotal for every human being. “Knowledge concerns itself with what is present to the senses, but is also a stored and shared repository of publicly acceptable thoughts, many frozen into physical symbols (written or spoken), transmitted through time and space” (Taylor 2002, p. 2). The importance of knowledge cannot be ignored in today’s world. However, imagination is more important than knowledge as it is the tool for knowledge. Without imagination man cannot develop knowledge. It would be like having a pool without water. Imagination is what distinguishes a brilliant man from a knowledgeable man. “Einstein favored imagination: colorful, creative, antiauthoritarian. Artists, geniuses and other rebellious spirits have often claimed it as their territory. Knowledge, that dull conviction resulting from a brush with reality, is black-and-white, logical, stable, conservative – the domain of ordinary scientists, museums and accountant” (Taylor 2002, p. 1). The importance of imagination cannot be over stressed. Imagination is what leads to great inventions of our time. Imagination is a powerful thing and it sets human apart from the rest of living creatures on the Earth. It gives us the ability to make a creative choice which enables us to progress in life. Steve Jobs would not have been able to develop his entire state of the art gadget without his powerful imaginations. It is his powerful imagination that allows him to dream just beyond the ordinary. It is what distinguishes him from his contemporaries. Steve Jobs imagination enables him to envision new technologies which are in turn copied by many other inventors. Without imagination, Steve Jobs would not be able to dream of new technologies. Surely, we have men with great knowledge, but many of these men cannot achieve what Steve Jobs has achieved today because they lack imaginations. Imagination is what compels us to achieve our dreams and without dream, men cannot progress in their life. It is rightly said that what a man can imagine he can achieve. It is this imagination that drives men to achieve great things in life. The Wright brothers, who invented airplanes, imagined a flight before they even knew it was possible for men to fly. They imagined that they could build an airplane which would enable men to fly. This imagination compelled them to build an airplane through many trials and errors. Therefore, we can rightly say that an imagination is more important than knowledge. In the field of any inventions, we can rightly say that imagination is the prerequisite of knowledge. Imagination evokes the desire for knowledge which is pivotal to make an idea into reality. Without imagination, knowledge cannot become a reality. Men need to imagine the possibility of anything to turn it into reality. It allows men to peek into the future. Imagination can rightly be called the root of all inventions. It is not only important in the work of art, but also crucial in most of the scientific inquiry. The capacity to acquire abstract thoughts requires imagination. It is the basis of all intellectual thoughts and it is the ultimate link between intelligence and knowledge. A creative process in any fields requires imagination which is in turn crucial to have knowledgeable conclusions. Imagination is the fundamental basis for achieving knowledge. No conclusions can be made in the world without imaginative thoughts. It is the only path to get into the next step in the progression of knowledge. Knowledge is the recombination of stored experience but, “imagination, however, is not just the recombination of stored experience” (Taylor 2002, p. 2). The power of imagination is unlimited whereas the power of knowledge is limit. Imagination is what allows man to think out of the box, which is crucial to be successful in any field. Imagination puts the brain into work and it helps to break mental barrier. “Knowledge strengthens group bonding, but the emergence of new knowledge in, for example, the sciences can threaten a groups very existence. Imagination can challenge rules and traditions by putting information together in novel ways; yet shared acts of imagination can also help to strengthen intra-group bond” (Taylor 2002, p. 3). Knowledge limits man’s ability but imagination breaks him out of this limit and enables him to progress further. It makes it possible for man to experience the world outside the box and gives him the ability to view the world in a different point of view. Imagination also enables man to explore the past as well as the future. It is imagination which sets men apart from other animals. The ability to think and imagine beyond something makes us thrive for more and this is what makes us progress as a human. Imagination is the tool of creative power and it is pivotal for inventing things for men’s progress. Without imagination, our civilization would cease to develop as it is not possible to progress further without imagination. Imagination is not only useful for progress, but it also allows us to escape and deal with reality in another form. With imagination, one has the power to sustain reality and can also assist us in development in all stages of life.  However, strong imagination should not be perceived as daydreaming. Imagination allows us to strengthen our creative abilities which in turn could be used to remodel our world as well as our life. On the other hand, knowledge cannot give us an escape from the harsh realities of life. It is limited to our thinking and our abilities. Knowledge gives us the ability to compute and understand things around us, but it is limited to the realities in life. Imagination sets us free and gives us freedom to dream. It also enables us to achieve something in life. Imagination has a great role and value in everyone’s life. Imagination is more important than knowledge as imagination is limitless and timeless. Einstein rightly said that “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand" (Einstein 2009). Imagination goes beyond limit whereas, knowledge has its limitations. Imagination appears through every great work of art as well as every innovation inventions. It is what enables man to think beyond the realties. Imagination allows man to dream and achieve things that others cannot imagine. In every field imagination is what drives man to achieve something bigger, better and stronger.  Imagination gives man the ability to create ideas, and these ideas in time sometimes turn into knowledge. In other words, imagination leads to knowledge. In this sense, imagination is superior as it is the base for knowledge. Imagination is where everything started. From the small ideas to the greatest inventions of all time, they all stem from the simple world of imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge as imagination is where everything starts. Reference List Einstein, A 2009. The Writers Circle Comes to Morristown!. The Writers Circle. [Online] Available at [Accessed on 01 March 2012]. Knowledge. n.d. Cambridge University Press. [Online] Available at [Accessed on 01 March 2012]. Taylor, K 2002. Is Imagination More Important Than Knowledge?. TSL Education Limited. Available at [Accessed on 02 March 2012]. Read More