--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Knowledge may be power, but half of what…" description: "\"“Knowledge may be power, but half of what I know I wish I could forget.”\" — Carroll Bryant" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/carroll-bryant-8928_knowledge_knowledge-may-be-power-but-half-of-what_116765.jpg" --- # Knowledge may be power, but half of what I know I wish I… ![“Knowledge may be power, but half of what I know I wish I could forget.” quote by Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/carroll-bryant-8928_knowledge_knowledge-may-be-power-but-half-of-what_116765.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/carroll-bryant-8928_knowledge_knowledge-may-be-power-but-half-of-what_116765.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/carroll-bryant-8928_knowledge_knowledge-may-be-power-but-half-of-what_116765.jpg) > ““Knowledge may be power, but half of what I know I wish I could forget.”” [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker acknowledges that knowledge empowers, yet some memories are burdensome and wish to be forgotten. **In simple terms:** Powerful knowledge can be a painful burden. Key Takeaway Not all knowledge is desirable. Themes knowledge memory psychology burden Mood melancholic thoughtful Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - traumatic experiences - overwhelming information overload Key Concepts cognitive load selective forgetting Practical Applications - practice mindfulness to release unwanted memories - curate learning sources Questions to Reflect On - What criteria determine which knowledge to retain? - Can we ethically erase painful memories? A Different Perspective Forgetting may also erase useful lessons and context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Half Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-know-1372158/) [Know Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-wish-626185/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knowledge Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-power/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Wish Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish-forget/) ## Related quotes > [You go to a Springsteen show, and half of the people are there to party and forget about their cares, and they're being drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mat-kearney/you-go-to-a-springsteen-show-and-half-of-the-people-are-there-to/) [Mat Kearney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mat-kearney/) > [Better know nothing than half-know many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/better-know-nothing-than-half-know-many-things/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We hear and apprehend only what we already half know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-hear-and-apprehend-only-what-we-already-half-know/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [We women talk too much, but even then we don't tell half what we know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-women-talk-too-much-but-even-then-we-don-t-tell-half-what-we-know/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We women talk too much, nevertheless we only say half of what we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-women-talk-too-much-nevertheless-we-only-say-half-of-what-we-know/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Better to be ignorant of a matter than half know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/better-to-be-ignorant-of-a-matter-than-half-know-it/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [It's annoying to be disapproved of by people who know only half the story, especially when you're not sure which half they know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/it-s-annoying-to-be-disapproved-of-by-people-who-know-only-half-the/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [You only see the half you know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slowly-fading/you-only-see-the-half-you-know/) [Slowly\_fading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slowly-fading/) > [Half of what we know is wrong, the purpose of science is to determine which half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-kornberg/half-of-what-we-know-is-wrong-the-purpose-of-science-is-to-determine/) [Arthur Kornberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-kornberg/) > [I wish I can forget you forever,the more I tried to not think about you it makes me near to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-amy-gangte/i-wish-i-can-forget-you-forever-the-more-i-tried-to-not-think-about/) [Jane Amy Gangte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-amy-gangte/) > [“Miki-san... do you truly want that person's dream to come true? Or is it that you want to be that person's savior for making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magica-quartet/miki-san-do-you-truly-want-that-person-s-dream-to-come-true-or-is-it/) [Magica Quartet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magica-quartet/) > [So many people know me. I wish I did. I wish someone would tell me about me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-l-mankiewicz/so-many-people-know-me-i-wish-i-did-i-wish-someone-would-tell-me/) [Joseph L. Mankiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-l-mankiewicz/) > [“Men are quite unobservant, you know. They see only what they wish to see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/men-are-quite-unobservant-you-know-they-see-only-what-they-wish-to-see/) [Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/) > [I do not know how much I love you, but I do know how much more I wish to](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-not-know-how-much-i-love-you-but-i-do-know-how-much-more-i-wish/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People that don't know me think I'm shy. People that do know me wish I were.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/people-that-don-t-know-me-think-i-m-shy-people-that-do-know-me-wish-i/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) ## More by Carroll Bryant > [“Intelligence is being intelligent enough to know you're not so intelligent as you intelligently once thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/intelligence-is-being-intelligent-enough-to-know-you-re-not-so/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) > [“The last word of love is ... goodbye.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/the-last-word-of-love-is-goodbye/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) > [“Some people make things happen. Some people watch things happen. And then there are those who wonder, 'What the hell just happened?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/some-people-make-things-happen-some-people-watch-things-happen-and/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) > [“Mary approaches her before she is able to reach her station. "Hello Lily. Get anything special for Christmas?" "Just the usual." She answers. "Shattered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/mary-approaches-her-before-she-is-able-to-reach-her-station-hello/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) > [“Know who you are, and be it. Know what you want, and go out and get it!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/know-who-you-are-and-be-it-know-what-you-want-and-go-out-and-get-it/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) > [“Girls are always complaining that they can never meet a nice guy. Nice guys are everywhere. The problem isn’t that there aren't any nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/girls-are-always-complaining-that-they-can-never-meet-a-nice-guy-nice/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) > [“I never fail. It's just that the people around me succeed more than I.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/i-never-fail-it-s-just-that-the-people-around-me-succeed-more-than-i/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) > [“Often times, "shame" is the word that best describes reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/often-times-shame-is-the-word-that-best-describes-reality/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) > [This isn't your world. It's your parents. Your world is still out there, waiting to be discovered. Always remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/this-isn-t-your-world-it-s-your-parents-your-world-is-still-out-there/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) > [“Be careful about vengeance against God, he will smite you with the curse of El ángel negro.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/be-careful-about-vengeance-against-god-he-will-smite-you-with-the/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) > [“I'm not a type-O ... Don't delete me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/i-m-not-a-type-o-don-t-delete-me/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) > [“Hope is believing in something that eludes you. It's a desperate feeling in a desperate situation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/hope-is-believing-in-something-that-eludes-you-it-s-a-desperate/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) > [“What goes up must come down. Which is why we invented Viagra, to make it stay up a little longer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/what-goes-up-must-come-down-which-is-why-we-invented-viagra-to-make/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) > [“I saw America's economy last night, people raiding dumpsters at a higher rate than normal in my home town. Digging through garbage shouldn't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/i-saw-america-s-economy-last-night-people-raiding-dumpsters-at-a/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) > [“I'd rather have a pedophile in office rather than a democrat any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Pedophiles only screw kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/i-d-rather-have-a-pedophile-in-office-rather-than-a-democrat-any-day/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) [Explore all 76 Carroll Bryant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) ## More Knowledge quotes > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) [Rabelaise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabelaise/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/) [Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I never knew any man who had once tasted the sweetness of experimental knowledge, that ever afterward fasted after ye Vapour garlick and onions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/i-never-knew-any-man-who-had-once-tasted-the-sweetness-of/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [I would rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent than in the extent of my powers and dominion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/i-would-rather-excel-others-in-the-knowledge-of-what-is-excellent/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I've always been a believer in research. It's great to have an instinctual human reaction to a character, too, of course, but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/i-ve-always-been-a-believer-in-research-it-s-great-to-have-an/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [I am an aware citizen, so I want my characters to be aware, too. They should be aware of what's happening in the society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-tripathi/i-am-an-aware-citizen-so-i-want-my-characters-to-be-aware-too-they/) [Pankaj Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-tripathi/) > [Technology means the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/technology-means-the-systematic-application-of-scientific-or-other/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Love is a vision,love carry our vision,and love by-step our vision. we carry our love to our by-step. once love is vision love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-a-vision-love-carry-our-vision-and-love-by-step-our-vision-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Man is an ignoramus athirst for knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wagner/man-is-an-ignoramus-athirst-for-knowledge/) [Charles Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wagner/) [Browse all 13,227 Knowledge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Knowledge may be power, but half of what I know I wish I could forget.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carroll Bryant" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/knowledge-may-be-power-but-half-of-what-i-know-i-wish-i-could-forget/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Knowledge" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/knowledge-may-be-power-but-half-of-what-i-know-i-wish-i-could-forget/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/carroll-bryant-8928_knowledge_knowledge-may-be-power-but-half-of-what_116765.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/carroll-bryant-8928_knowledge_knowledge-may-be-power-but-half-of-what_116765.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/carroll-bryant-8928_knowledge_knowledge-may-be-power-but-half-of-what_116765.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Knowledge may be power, but half of what I know I wish I could forget.” — Carroll Bryant", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Carroll Bryant", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Knowledge may be power, but half...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/knowledge-may-be-power-but-half-of-what-i-know-i-wish-i-could-forget/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/knowledge-may-be-power-but-half-of-what-i-know-i-wish-i-could-forget/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```