Who are you: just the driver or Max Planck?
Planck
This is not absurd. This question has existential meaning for every thinking man.
Read an impressive short story of Charlie Munger during USC School of Law Commencement.
“ I frequently tell the apocryphal story about how Max Planck, after he won the Nobel Prize, went around Germany giving a same standard lecture on the new quantum mechanics. Over time, his chauffeur memorized the lecture and said, “Would you mind, Professor Planck, because it’s so boring to stay in our routine, if I gave the lecture in Munich and you just sat in front wearing my chauffeur’s hat?” Planck said, “Why not?” And the chauffeur got up and gave this long lecture on quantum mechanics. After which a physics professor stood up and asked a perfectly ghastly question. The speaker said, “Well, I’m surprised that in an advanced city like Munich I get such an elementary question. I’m going to ask my chauffeur to reply.
Well, the reason I tell that story is not to celebrate the quick wittedness of the protagonist. In this world I think we have two kinds of knowledge: One is Planck knowledge, that of the people who really know. They’ve paid the dues, they have the aptitude. Then we’ve got chauffeur knowledge. They have learned to prattle the talk. They may have a big head of hair. They often have fine timbre in their voices. They make a big impression. But in the end what they’ve got is chauffeur knowledge masquerading as real knowledge. I think I’ve just described practically every politician in the United States. You’re going to have the problem in your life of getting as much responsibility as you can into the people with the Planck knowledge and away from the people who have the chauffeur knowledge. “
To be honest, at first glance, this story seemed to me a joke and I really admired the witty chauffeur. But I was immediately sobered by the deeper view on the problem of Charlie Munger. Really, on second thought it would be really a catastrophe, if we up vote chauffeurs pretending to be geniuses!
So, how not to be deceived, and most importantly, how to become not a superficial blabbermouth, but a first-class expert?
Charlie Munger suggests to read, read and read more. Continuous learning is the key. This is confirmed by most prominent personalities of the world.
• Warren Buffett, the most successful investor in the world, as well as the largest benefactor in the history of mankind, spends about five hours a day reading newspapers and reads about 500 pages of financial documents daily.
• The former head of Microsoft, Bill Gates, reads about 50 books a year (about a book a week), almost all of which are non-fiction.
Of course, not only the quantity is important, but also your attitude. Library of the most famous Italian writer, Umberto Eco, has 30,000 books, but actually he did not read all of them. He propagandizes the Anti-Library: it means that unread books are more important than those read. At first glance, it seems to be a paradox. But think, unread books look at us with a threat and encourage us to actively work on ourselves. The only sure way is to grasp your own ignorance and accept it. It fundamentally distinguishes the intelligent Plank from the superficially-minded chauffeur.
Pay attention: people who have true knowledge don’t hesitate to say “I don’t know”.
Socrates
Who does not remember these famous words of Socrates: "I know that I know nothing?" Isn't that a brilliant idea? As a child, I was just overwhelmed by a similar thought in a book of Conan Doyle ‘The Poison Belt’, according to which, our knowledge is like a hot air balloon: larger it becomes, the more it has points of contact with the unknown. Actually, this vivid metaphor belongs to the English philosopher Spencer.
All these thoughts lead me to the conclusion: be modest in assessing your intellect and work on yourself, trying to get out of your head.
What do you think about this? Your opinion is important for me!
Feel free to share your ideas ;)