--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Knowledge is simply a kind of fuel; it…" description: "\"Knowledge is simply a kind of fuel; it needs the motor of understanding to convert it into power.\" — John Wyndham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/john-wyndham-8340_fuel_knowledge-is-simply-a-kind-of-fuel-it-ne_1210893.jpg" --- # Knowledge is simply a kind of fuel; it needs the motor of… ![“Knowledge is simply a kind of fuel; it needs the motor of understanding to convert it into power.” quote by John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/john-wyndham-8340_fuel_knowledge-is-simply-a-kind-of-fuel-it-ne_1210893.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/john-wyndham-8340_fuel_knowledge-is-simply-a-kind-of-fuel-it-ne_1210893.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/john-wyndham-8340_fuel_knowledge-is-simply-a-kind-of-fuel-it-ne_1210893.jpg) > “Knowledge is simply a kind of fuel; it needs the motor of understanding to convert it into power.” [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowledge fuels power only when understood and applied. **In simple terms:** Understanding turns knowledge into power. Key Takeaway Seek comprehension before using knowledge. Themes knowledge power understanding Mood curious inquisitive Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - science - technology - policy making Key Concepts cognitive processing application Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure understanding? - What checks prevent misuse of knowledge? A Different Perspective Misunderstanding can cause misuse. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fuel/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knowledge Simply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-simply-1480073/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Motor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motor/) [Motor Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motor-understanding-3668871/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Needs Motor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs-motor-3668872/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [“Knowledge is simply the accumulation of past events or memorized facts. The wise must go beyond simple facts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/knowledge-is-simply-the-accumulation-of-past-events-or-memorized/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [After all, all knowledge simply means self-knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/after-all-all-knowledge-simply-means-self-knowledge/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Knowledge is not simply another commodity. On the contrary. Knowledge is never used up. It increases by diffusion and grows by dispersion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/knowledge-is-not-simply-another-commodity-on-the-contrary-knowledge/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [“Knowledge unqualified is knowledge simply of something learned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-unqualified-is-knowledge-simply-of-something-learned/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I came literally to the table with a wealth of knowledge by simply understanding how food should taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rocco-dispirito/i-came-literally-to-the-table-with-a-wealth-of-knowledge-by-simply/) [Rocco DiSpirito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rocco-dispirito/) > [Emotions are inherent in your nature, but their content is dictated by your mind. 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The industry hurts itself, by making so many lousy movies - as if General Motors deliberately put out a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphrey-bogart/i-don-t-hurt-the-industry-the-industry-hurts-itself-by-making-so-many/) [Humphrey Bogart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphrey-bogart/) > [Motor racing is like one big family, ultimately, and when you come back to it, that's really what it feels like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/motor-racing-is-like-one-big-family-ultimately-and-when-you-come-back/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [Well, as you know, General Motors does not make hybrids. Ford only made 4,000 hybrids last year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-markey/well-as-you-know-general-motors-does-not-make-hybrids-ford-only-made/) [Ed Markey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-markey/) > [I would rather sit still in a state of peace on a stone than ride in the motor-car of a multi-millionaire and feel the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-would-rather-sit-still-in-a-state-of-peace-on-a-stone-than-ride-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Motor racing's less of a sport these days than a commercial break doing 150 mph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dunne/motor-racing-s-less-of-a-sport-these-days-than-a-commercial-break/) [Peter Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dunne/) > [The doctor who diagnosed me with ALS, or motor neuron disease, told me that it would kill me in two or three years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-doctor-who-diagnosed-me-with-als-or-motor-neuron-disease-told-me/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The tires are called wets, because they're used in the wet. And these tires are called slicks, because they're very slick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-walker/the-tires-are-called-wets-because-they-re-used-in-the-wet-and-these/) [Murray Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-walker/) ## More by John Wyndham > [I shall pray God to send charity into this hideous world, and sympathy for the weak, and love for the unhappy and unfortunate. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/i-shall-pray-god-to-send-charity-into-this-hideous-world-and-sympathy/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“But he survived, that radio announcer. His ship and five others out of the flotilla of ten came through, a bit radioactive, but otherwise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/but-he-survived-that-radio-announcer-his-ship-and-five-others-out-of/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“You will have experienced, perhaps, that feeling of being relieved of a weight that you had not properly realized was there?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/you-will-have-experienced-perhaps-that-feeling-of-being-relieved-of-a/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“We have both been given the same wish to survive, We are all, you see, toys of the life-force. It made you numerically stronger,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/we-have-both-been-given-the-same-wish-to-survive-we-are-all-you-see/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [But, as I understand it, your God is a universal God; He is God on all suns and all planets. 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"Ostensibly yours, my sweet" "I see -- rather like my life since I met you?" "Yes darling”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/darling-whose-book-is-this-to-be-ostensibly-yours-my-sweet-i-see/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“Sophie dear,' I said. 'Are you in love with him - with this spider-man?' 'Oh, don't call him that - please - we can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/sophie-dear-i-said-are-you-in-love-with-him-with-this-spider-man-oh/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“It was all conveyed by the nicest, almost indetectably refined blend of sympathy and bitchiness...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/it-was-all-conveyed-by-the-nicest-almost-indetectably-refined-blend/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [Find a nice, self sufficient hilltop, and fortify it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/find-a-nice-self-sufficient-hilltop-and-fortify-it/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“... the more complex they made their world, the less capable they were of dealing with it. They had no means of consensus. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/the-more-complex-they-made-their-world-the-less-capable-they-were-of/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“I'm not romancing. I'm talking about the inevitable time when, unless we do something to stop it, men will be hunting men through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/i-m-not-romancing-i-m-talking-about-the-inevitable-time-when-unless/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) [Explore all 81 John Wyndham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) ## More Fuel quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. 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If he stopped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/the-improved-american-highway-system-isolated-the-american-in-transit/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [I get my fuel and inspiration from children, they are our future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-batstone/i-get-my-fuel-and-inspiration-from-children-they-are-our-future/) [David Batstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-batstone/) > [I never wanted to do away with my intensity because I felt it was a gift that helped put fuel in my engine, giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-j-meyer/i-never-wanted-to-do-away-with-my-intensity-because-i-felt-it-was-a/) [Paul J. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-j-meyer/) > [Gasahol is socialism's fuel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/gasahol-is-socialism-s-fuel/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [So many people are on the front lines of this fossil fuel frenzy. It is infused with a sense of urgency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-lewis/so-many-people-are-on-the-front-lines-of-this-fossil-fuel-frenzy-it/) [Avi Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-lewis/) > [The language of gardening fuels the senses: talk with your hands, observe with your ears and listen with your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/costa-georgiadis/the-language-of-gardening-fuels-the-senses-talk-with-your-hands/) [Costa Georgiadis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/costa-georgiadis/) > [Simply raising fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks to 33 miles per gallon would eliminate our oil imports from the Persian Gulf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-schakowsky/simply-raising-fuel-economy-standards-for-passenger-cars-and-light/) [Jan Schakowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-schakowsky/) > [I try not to be either optimistic or pessimistic. I try not to think about outcomes on that scale. 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