Knowledge

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing!
I have a little knowledge about all sorts of things and quite often that has got me into trouble, none more so than in the wonderful world of DIY. All too often i will take on a job that seems ok at the outset and then, because i know less than I ought to have done, a small job grows into a bigger one or even sets off a chain reaction of DIY. Recently, someone that I know well, installed a new light fitting in their front room. It is an attractive, but very heavy unit that had to be firmly screwed to the ceiling.
Now ceilings are varied in their construction, but all have certain features in common. One of them is the supporting beams that we call joists. It is essential that anything heavy should be attached to one or more of these.

To cut a long story short, last time i went there, there were deep cracks in the ceiling around the fitting, and only a week later, the ceiling came down along with the heavy and expensive fitting. Fortunately there was no-one underneath it. The fitting had been screwed into the plaster only and it is a wonder that it had stayed up that long.

Basically what i am saying is that you can never have enough knowledge. Knowledge is empowering and gived us increased autonomy and freedom. Without it we are no different to other animals that inhabit the earth.

Yesterday I was reading about the Pope's latest announcement, made at a Mass in Paris. Allegedly, he condemned "pagan Ideals of materialism, money, power and knowledge." Now i find this a bit hard to take as the Vatican is a hugely wealthy organisation, with vast powers and probably one of the most extensive libraries in the world. What is he condemning? Is it everyone outside of the church?

I suppose as far as religious leaders of all persuasions are concerned, a little knowledge is ok, what they cannot handle is people who know too much , as people in those positions have minds of their own and are less easily manipulated.

As time goes by, the knowledge base increases exponentially. If only more people would make more use of it!