by Ian Loft

Created on: January 13, 2008

The statement knowledge is power' can be demonstrated as true in many ways both in practice and certainly in history. Consider two armies approaching each other where one is numerically and vastly superior in many ways ahead of the other. The obvious assumption is total annihilation of the weaker however consider the advantage if the weaker army had the advantage of knowing the direction, composition and tactics of the superior force. This has been proven in battles throughout history and armies rely on their intelligence gathering for vital information that could expose some vulnerability in the opposing force.

In almost every conceivable situation the possession of knowledge is true power however it does not follow that use of this knowledge is for the greater good. Unfortunately it seems that the unscrupulous among us exploit their knowledge of others to their own advantage both in the work environment and in relationships. Knowing something highly damaging about another person puts you in a position where they are vulnerable to your whims and many an extortionist have exploited this vulnerability for sex, money, privilege or some other personal favour.

In a perfect negotiation both parties enter into discussions non the wiser about what each are prepared to cede to the other. This negotiation becomes one-sided the moment one side becomes aware of exactly how far they can push the other and again an unfortunate fact of life is that interested parties will do everything they can to try and achieve this advantage.

Consider a court of law and the aggressive kinds of cross-examination that occurs during a criminal trial. The purpose of these cross-examinations is to seek out inconsistencies, explore alternative explanations and ultimately to expose the truth. The advantage of a defending lawyer knowing what the prosecution is going to ask will sometimes be sufficient to gain acquittal for the most guilty of offenders and once again in this ugly world of ours we find this occurring far too often.

Too much knowledge of personal details enables a third party to assume your identity and take considerable advantage of your good name by wracking up thousands in debt. Each time somebody asks for your name, address, and date of birth or whatever you are providing one piece of a jigsaw with which a complete profile describes who you are to others. For this reason you should always be careful what you write in these harmless looking shopping centre surveys because once you had your details to another person you have effectively lost control of that information. What they do with it is what you need to be aware.

Doubtless it is our politicians who are the worse of those holding too much information so that power remains in their exclusive little clubs and cliques. Irrespective of what kind of information the fact remains the more you know of someone or a given situation the more you are on the high ground' from which you can anticipate and protect yourself against what may follow. Knowledge is indeed power!

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