For many people, knowledge is just someone’s opinion that seems right to a particular person. That is, for many people, knowledge is blind faith. What is astonishing is that such belief is often based on the simplest sympathy to the source, to the authority. Thus, it usually comes to abuse: authority, knowing its status, knowing that its opinion will be accepted on faith, can rub any game, and it will be tolerated.

“Don’t make an idol for yourself” is a commandment about the same thing. Think with your head.

The meaning of knowledge

The more knowledge there is, the more likely it is that the human being will become a person. Simply put, it turns out that the meaning of knowledge is in achieving self-sufficiency. By its very nature, self-sufficiency conflicts with any external authority, and therefore, the rejection of authority is inevitable on the way to becoming a personality. But, of course, everything has its own time, and if your “book of knowledge” is empty, the refusal of authorities will not only not fill it up, but will also play a cruel joke.

Here is a near-religious version of the need to look for new knowledge. God (if there is one) possesses absolutely all the accumulated knowledge of human civilization, and he is hardly surprised – only a few can make him. These are the only ones who will find eternal “something” – happiness, rebirth, paradise (choose for yourself). A man is given life, and during this life, he must gather some new knowledge for God, otherwise, he will be sent back to keep looking for what he missed. And he will keep doing so until he finds some new knowledge or at least becomes a person.

Take what’s clear

Despite the conflict between the nature of self-sufficiency and the authorities during the first 30-40 years of life, it is not easy or even harmful to get rid of the latter. There is no point in inventing a bicycle – it already exists, there is a manual for it, there are tools for repair. Going this way from scratch on your own is a waste of time, just read, understand, and apply if necessary. Once you have learned one thing, you can move on to the next. It is important that you make a conscious choice of knowledge, as well as an authoritative source, yourself.

It is important to exclude the factor of faith from your knowledge system, i.e., nothing can be accepted solely based on faith, no matter how respected the authority. Even if it is a world-renowned scientist, there are only two scenarios left. The first one is a simple acquaintance with his opinion, recording in memory, and storing it there. Taking note, in other words. The second scenario is more complicated. It is necessary to thoroughly study the opinion of such an authority, its full understanding, understanding of each comma, each symbol, up to the last letter. After that, the obtained information is evaluated without regard to the authority itself. If the opinion still looks logical and convincing, it can be incorporated into your own system. Gradually, a body of knowledge of many authorities will be formed. One is right about one thing, and the other is right about something else. Your goal is to mix this volume of knowledge and choose only the right ones.

After the accumulation of faithful knowledge of many authorities, it is time to challenge them and defeat them. A holistic picture of the world must be built – it will not coincide completely with any of the previously chosen authorities, because you have taken only a part of their knowledge, only the information you have verified and understood personally. You completely excluded the factor of faith or trust, your logic, as if a jeweler, built the missing pieces of the mosaic into the overall picture, slightly polished and painted “used parts.” Thus, you have accumulated a large amount of clear and correct knowledge – perhaps even more than these authorities: they could be obsessed with themselves, could be engaged in the invention of a bicycle.

Do not be afraid to go against the authorities, and especially against the crowd, if you feel that you are ready for it. Do not be afraid to suffer a defeat – it is inevitable. In any case, until you, yourself become the authority for the crowd.

“Always remember that the crowd that applauds your coronation is the same crowd that will applaud your beheading. People like the show.”

Terry Pratchett

Simply put, the crowd chooses the authorities, and the crowd is throwing them off the Olympus. The crowd is usually conservative, and it does not like change and therefore protects the once elected leaders. But if you win, if you become a new authority, you will instantly see how the crowd, who wanted your blood yesterday, is ready to pour its own blood in the name of your authority.

Sometimes you need authority

There are areas of interest or activity in which external authority is simply necessary for a person. For example, sports. It is normal to imitate the style of a professional basketball player you like, as it will be an incentive for increased training because such a level is unlikely to be achieved. But you can dream, and try. Your style will keep changing, movements and other elements will be adjusted to the physiology and capabilities of the body – so don’t expect to become an exact copy of your idol. It is better to mix several favorites here too – in this case, something really interesting can turn out.

The same is true of culture, be it music, painting, theatre or cinema. Initially, one should take an example from someone, especially if this “Someone” is good at what he does; otherwise, you can trample on the spot for years, inventing the same bike. Triple-wheeled.