Knowledge is Power

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Scientia potentia est

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Francis Bacon

The famous phrase scientia potentia est is a Latin maxim "For also knowledge itself is power" stated originally by Sir Francis Bacon inMeditationes Sacrae (1597), which in modern times is often paraphrased as "knowledge is power." The phrase implies that with knowledge oreducation one's potential or abilities in life will certainly increase. It is also used as a justification for a reluctance to share information as some form of advantage can be gained through the use or manipulation of knowledge. It is possible that Bacon was paraphrasing Proverbs 24:5: "A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength." Another possible meaning for this phrase can be found in philosophical idealism - if the world exists solely as the content of consciousness, then knowledge itself can be used to directly manipulate the content of reality.

The phrase in use on the Information Awareness Office seal

Also quoted humorously by Lister in the Red Dwarf books and TV show, "Knowledge is power. Who said that?", to which neither he nor Rimmer knows the answer.

Used by Terry Pratchett in his Discworld novels as the basis of the mathematical explanation for L-Space, the dimensional stretching created by large quantities of books.