Appendix D: Quotations Concerning Knowledge

A definition of Knowledge

"Knowledge is a physical, mental or electronic record of relationships believed to exist between real or imaginary entities, forces and phenomena." Worthington, 2005.

In the context of chess, the "entities" are the chess pieces and the "forces" are the potential moves of these pieces.

I have speculated that a computer program can play a positional game of chess by building and maintaining a database of the potential mobility of each chess piece 3 moves into the future. Pieces are then rewarded not by the squares they are sitting on, but what they can potentially do - their ability to create pressure in the position in question. Examples of positional pressure include attacking pieces, defending pieces, attacking the opponent's King, defending our own King. This will focus the search function on likely or 'interesting' moves. Even if the potential moves are not possible (the enemy is preventing us from doing this) the search function will be incentivized look for ways to remove obstacles so the moves can be performed.

Technically, it can be called a "knowledge focused search", and at minimum, it is a new way of looking at the "evaluation function" which lies at the heart of a computer chess program.

Let's look at some quotations which address knowledge.

Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification. - Martin Fischer

Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.
    Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834 - 1892)

All the problems of the world could be settled if people were only willing to think. The trouble is that people very often resort to all sorts of devices in order not to think, because thinking is such hard work.
    Thomas J. Watson

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge.
    Daniel J. Boorstin (1914 - )

Knowledge is power.
Sir Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626), Religious Meditations, Of Heresies, 1597

Knowledge is only potential power. Napoleon Hill

Knowledge must come through action; you can have no test which is not fanciful, save by trial. Sophocles (496 BC - 406 BC), Trachiniae

Mankind have a great aversion to intellectual labor; but even supposing knowledge to be easily attainable, more people would be content to be ignorant than would take even a little trouble to acquire it. Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784), quoted in Boswell's Life of Johnson

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. Albert Einstein

The only source of knowledge is experience. Albert Einstein

You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird... So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing -- that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something. Richard Feynman (1918 - 1988)

Knowledge + Application = Success   Leslie T. Giblin

I never came upon any of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking.
    Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)