Information, Knowledge, Skill & Presence Of Mind!

What’s most important? Frankly, I don’t know the answer!

I do tend to think it really depends on what you are up to. I remember a story read as a child.

The story writer started the story with a question “what is the best weapon?” Of course there are multiple answers, but he had a point to make. The story read something like this.

Somewhere in a small town in south India, people were celebrating a festival. During a procession, as the crowd started getting loud an elephant in the close proximity went wild. The elephant couldn’t be controlled by the “mahout”, the rider. The elephant started towards the crowd and it was a disaster in making.

Now the question is, how do you control such a beast when the best weapon (or tool) to control is the harpoon that the mahout has failed to control it?

As the story goes, as the wild elephant charges towards the crowd, a by stander watching & realizing the problem ahead, looks around and sees a dog. He quickly gets an idea. He picks up the dog and throws towards the elephant. The dog hits the elephant on his eye and the elephant is startled for a moment. The mahout seizes the moment and uses his harpoon to divert the elephant away from crowd. The disaster is averted.

The story writer provided the moral of story as “presence of mind” is the best weapon or tool.

I was impressed with the moral. As I grew up this story used to make me think if there needs to be more to it.

As I gained more & more perspective on the knowledge, information & skill topic, I pondered on the outcome. One of the thing that comes to mind related to story above is, how do you control such a beast with any amount of knowledge?

It didn’t occur to me until I was in a dire situation of life & death (or may be similar). I was learning to fly a plane and had practiced several hours with my instructor in a Single Engine Land plane. A neat little Cessna 172. I also passed the written test with 100% score. A perfect score that the guy at the exam center told me was a rare occasion. So I thought, I am one of the best students. Hang on… I was to learn a lesson of life time. One day my instructor told me I was good at the things and can fly solo and practice more. So he signed me off for a solo flight.

I was excited, nervous a little bit but surely confident. This was my 1st solo flight. Every thing went okay as planned, nice take off and good pattern, however on my approach I realized there was a little more crosswind but I was fine. I came down nicely & steadily and not sure what exactly happened (well I know now) but the plane porpoised. It touched & bounced back and touched again and bounced again. As a reflex action I just increased the speed got the plane slightly up and let it come down on its own.

Now looking back, I realized two things. I had the information but had not practiced for this situation. So didn’t have knowledge. Or did I? I surely showed a presence of mind. But where did it come from?

I don’t know if I have a correct answer till date but I certainly have a theory. The presence of mind is not something that you have as a skill, it’s the knowledge you have developed by using the information you had collected and used in situations to develop a deeper understanding. In my situation, while practicing with my instructor, somehow this deeper understanding was being developed without my awareness. This deeper understanding created the actions which one could call presence of mind.

So for me, I have answered the question. Develop a deeper understanding by collecting information, using it to turn it in to knowledge and develop a skill by practicing at it.

What do you think?

Picture Credit: https://newvitruvian.com