--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Consciousness of a fact is not knowing…" description: "\"Consciousness of a fact is not knowing it: if it were, the fish would know more of the sea than the geographers and the naturalists.\" — George Bernard ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/george-bernard-shaw-68_boat_consciousness-of-a-fact-is-not-knowing-i_2457106.png" --- # Consciousness of a fact is not knowing it: if it were, the… ![“Consciousness of a fact is not knowing it: if it were, the fish would know more of the sea than the geographers and the naturalists.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/george-bernard-shaw-68_boat_consciousness-of-a-fact-is-not-knowing-i_2457106.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/george-bernard-shaw-68_boat_consciousness-of-a-fact-is-not-knowing-i_2457106.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/george-bernard-shaw-68_boat_consciousness-of-a-fact-is-not-knowing-i_2457106.png) > “Consciousness of a fact is not knowing it: if it were, the fish would know more of the sea than the geographers and the naturalists.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowing a fact without understanding it limits insight; true knowledge requires deeper comprehension. **In simple terms:** Knowing isn’t enough; understanding matters. Key Takeaway Seek deeper understanding beyond surface facts. Themes knowledge awareness philosophy perception learning Mood reflective inquisitive thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - education - research - personal reflection - decision making - teaching Key Concepts epistemology critical thinking metacognition Questions to Reflect On - What facts do you accept without deeper thought? - How can you move from knowing to understanding? A Different Perspective Facts alone can mislead without context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish/) [Fishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fishing/) [Geographers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geographers/) [Lakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lakes/) [Naturalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naturalist/) [Naturalists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naturalists/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) ## Related quotes > [Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/many-men-go-fishing-all-of-their-lives-without-knowing-it-is-not-fish/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.” ~ Henry David Thoreau”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-leopold/many-men-go-fishing-all-of-their-lives-without-knowing-that-it-is-not/) Scott Leopold > [Henry David Thoreau ?Many men go fsiihng all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.??If today were a fish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix/henry-david-thoreau-many-men-go-fsiihng-all-of-their-lives-without/) Felix > [Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/many-men-go-fishing-all-of-their-lives-without-knowing-that-it-is-not-2/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Cooking a piece of fish and cooking it right. Knowing the fish, knowing the properties of the fish. That's a hard thing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-zakarian/cooking-a-piece-of-fish-and-cooking-it-right-knowing-the-fish-knowing/) [Geoffrey Zakarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-zakarian/) > [Of what significance is one's existence, one is basically unaware. What does a fish know about the water in which he swims all his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/of-what-significance-is-one-s-existence-one-is-basically-unaware-what/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [We don't know yet if it was the raw fish. We may never know the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-wright/we-don-t-know-yet-if-it-was-the-raw-fish-we-may-never-know-the-cause/) Ann Wright > [I would love to slip into the skin of a fish and know what it's like to be one. 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What does a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/of-what-is-significant-in-one-s-own-existence-one-is-hardly-aware-and/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [That is a pathetic inquiry among travelers and geographers after the site of ancient Troy. It is not near where they think it is.When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/that-is-a-pathetic-inquiry-among-travelers-and-geographers-after-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“So Geographers in Afric-maps With Savage-Pictures fill their Gaps; And o'er uninhabitable Downs Place Elephants for want of Towns”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/so-geographers-in-afric-maps-with-savage-pictures-fill-their-gaps-and/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. 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Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. 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Waterman Browse all 1,788 Boat quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Consciousness of a fact is not knowing it: if it were, the fish would know more of the sea than the geographers and the naturalists.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/consciousness-of-a-fact-is-not-knowing-it-if-it-were-the-fish-would/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boat" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/consciousness-of-a-fact-is-not-knowing-it-if-it-were-the-fish-would/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/george-bernard-shaw-68_boat_consciousness-of-a-fact-is-not-knowing-i_2457106.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/george-bernard-shaw-68_boat_consciousness-of-a-fact-is-not-knowing-i_2457106.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/george-bernard-shaw-68_boat_consciousness-of-a-fact-is-not-knowing-i_2457106.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Consciousness of a fact is not knowing it: if it were, the fish would know more of the sea than the…” — George Bernard Shaw", "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": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Consciousness of a fact is not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/consciousness-of-a-fact-is-not-knowing-it-if-it-were-the-fish-would/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/consciousness-of-a-fact-is-not-knowing-it-if-it-were-the-fish-would/#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 } } ] } ```