Technology
The Age of Knowledge
By Jim Stovall
Aug 12, 2006 - 8:01:00 AM

There are a number of periods in history that are considered to have been times of great knowledge and enlightenment. There are a handful of historical figures that we would consider to be the greatest minds of their time or even all times. We think of Einstein, DaVinci, and Thomas Edison among the greatest thinkers and innovators of the times in which they lived.

With regard to sheer knowledge, information, and potential expertise, these amazing people and hundreds of others collectively would be envious of you. Any high school student of average intelligence in the 21st Century with a computer, Internet access, and a search engine, would be considered beyond a mega-genius at any time in recorded history.

If you are over 40 years old, you remember a time when, if you wanted to know something, you had to go to a library, call someone, or consult your family�s Encyclopedia to even obtain a small amount of information. Now if you want to know who pitched the third game of the World Series in 1937 or how many long horn cattle there are in Arkansas or how much tea there actually is in China, all you need do is go to the nearest computer, type in a few brief commands, and there it is.

Knowledge is the beginning of all good things we can have in life. Ignorance is the curse that keeps people from these good things. There is no excuse in the 21st Century for being ignorant. I have heard people say, �I don�t know how to use a computer� or �I don�t have access to the Internet.� You are currently reading a column written by a guy who cannot physically read a computer screen and does not know how to type on a computer keyboard. Nevertheless, I regularly tap into endless knowledge through the Internet with a little help from my colleagues.

Curiosity for most thinking people who have ever lived on earth was a natural, on-going state. It was normal for people to think and even say, �I�ve always wondered�� In the past, people heard their parents and grandparents curiously remark, �I wonder�� Generations of people heard the question but simply did not have access to the answer. We live in a world today where the rules have changed. People who will prosper play by the new rules. If you believe that the winners are the people who get the most, you must understand that the people who get the most know the most.

As you go through your day today, commit to no longer idly wondering about things. Find the answers, realize that these answers will lead you to more questions, and know that those questions will lead you to your destiny.

Today�s the day!


Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network, as well as a published author of many books including The Ultimate Gift. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. He may be reached at 5840 South Memorial Drive, Suite 312, Tulsa, OK 74145-9082, or by e-mail at [email protected]

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