---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Knowledge is not always power."
description: "\"“Knowledge is not always power.”\" — Kara Lee Corthron"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38d/kara-lee-corthron-26904_knowledge_knowledge-is-not-always-power-2682688_2682688.jpg"
---

#  Knowledge is not always power.

![“Knowledge is not always power.” quote by Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38d/kara-lee-corthron-26904_knowledge_knowledge-is-not-always-power-2682688_2682688.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38d/kara-lee-corthron-26904_knowledge_knowledge-is-not-always-power-2682688_2682688.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38d/kara-lee-corthron-26904_knowledge_knowledge-is-not-always-power-2682688_2682688.jpg)

> ““Knowledge is not always power.””

[Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Knowledge alone isn’t sufficient; wisdom, intent, and context determine its true power.

**In simple terms:** Knowledge isn’t always power.

Key Takeaway

Seek wisdom with knowledge.

Themes

knowledge power wisdom

Mood

thoughtful cautious

Type

philosophical reflective

When to use this quote

- education
- decision‑making
- leadership

Key Concepts

epistemology ethics

Questions to Reflect On

- When has knowledge failed you?
- How do you add wisdom to facts?

A Different Perspective

Power can be misused without ethics.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/)

## Related quotes

> [Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-boyce/knowledge-is-power-knowledge-shared-is-power-multiplied/)

Robert Boyce

> [Knowledge is power and enthusiasm pulls the switch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-droke/knowledge-is-power-and-enthusiasm-pulls-the-switch/)

Steve Droke

> [Knowledge is power...knowled ge is safety...knowle dge is happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/knowledge-is-power-knowled-ge-is-safety-knowle-dge-is-happiness/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [I ... must continue to strive for more knowledge and more power, though the new knowledge always contradicts the old and the new power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-must-continue-to-strive-for-more-knowledge-and-more-power-though/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Some say knowledge is power, but that is not true. Character is power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/some-say-knowledge-is-power-but-that-is-not-true-character-is-power/)

[Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/)

> [I am convinced that knowledge is power - to overcome the past, to change our own situations, to fight new obstacles, to make better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-convinced-that-knowledge-is-power-to-overcome-the-past-to-change/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Knowledge is Power, Power provides Information; Information leads to Education, Education breeds Wisdom; Wisdom is Liberation. People are not liberated because of lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/knowledge-is-power-power-provides-information-information-leads-to/)

[Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/)

> [It is a common sentence that Knowledge is power; but who hath duly considered or set forth the power of Ignorance? Knowledge slowly builds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-is-a-common-sentence-that-knowledge-is-power-but-who-hath-duly-2/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [“Knowledge is power. Oleh karena itu, perwira harus berpengetahuan luas. Asahlah pengetahuan dan wawasan kalian. Sekarang ini di banyak negara, di militer yang modern,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sbyudhoyono/knowledge-is-power-oleh-karena-itu-perwira-harus-berpengetahuan-luas/)

[SBYudhoyono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sbyudhoyono/)

> [I think in the NFL knowledge is power, and you try to get the knowledge by whatever means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-sabol/i-think-in-the-nfl-knowledge-is-power-and-you-try-to-get-the/)

[Steve Sabol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-sabol/)

> [It is a common sentence that knowledge is power; but who hath duly considered or set forth the power of ignorance? Knowledge slowly builds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-is-a-common-sentence-that-knowledge-is-power-but-who-hath-duly/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [Knowledge was always the power that kept the Universe in its place and the stars turning in their orbits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/knowledge-was-always-the-power-that-kept-the-universe-in-its-place/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [“Knowledge may be power, but half of what I know I wish I could forget.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/knowledge-may-be-power-but-half-of-what-i-know-i-wish-i-could-forget/)

[Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/)

> [A person of knowledge and power never goes out looking for battles. All their battles are within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-person-of-knowledge-and-power-never-goes-out-looking-for-battles/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [Knowledge is power-and power of one sort or another is the secret lust of human souls; and here is, beside the sense of exploration,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sheridan-le-fanu/knowledge-is-power-and-power-of-one-sort-or-another-is-the-secret/)

[Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sheridan-le-fanu/)

## More by Kara Lee Corthron

> [“Oldest toy store in the world and they couldn't pay their rent anymore. New York City real estate. Nothing good can stay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/oldest-toy-store-in-the-world-and-they-couldn-t-pay-their-rent/)

[Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

> [“I'm awful at hiding it when I'm miserable. Sometimes I think if I were better at it maybe I'd be able to fool myself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/i-m-awful-at-hiding-it-when-i-m-miserable-sometimes-i-think-if-i-were/)

[Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

> [“I dug her usage of "Spotify" as a verb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/i-dug-her-usage-of-spotify-as-a-verb/)

[Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

> [“I'm probably the only person in the world that feels physical pain as a reaction to joy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/i-m-probably-the-only-person-in-the-world-that-feels-physical-pain-as/)

[Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

> [“If I know that I can do something that makes me happy, why do I allow myself to get so depressed?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/if-i-know-that-i-can-do-something-that-makes-me-happy-why-do-i-allow/)

[Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

> [“I am angry. It is illegal for me to be angry. Remember: Don't get angry. It is illegal to be a black man and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/i-am-angry-it-is-illegal-for-me-to-be-angry-remember-don-t-get-angry/)

[Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

> [“In a flash, I remember why I don't care for therapists and why I didn't want to do this in the first place. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/in-a-flash-i-remember-why-i-don-t-care-for-therapists-and-why-i-didn/)

[Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

> [“That's the problem with getting your heart wrapped up in things. The dumbest stuff starts to carry way too much significance. You think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/that-s-the-problem-with-getting-your-heart-wrapped-up-in-things-the/)

[Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

> [“Because it's like taking a vacation from real life, and real life is mostly terrible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/because-it-s-like-taking-a-vacation-from-real-life-and-real-life-is/)

[Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

> [“He kisses my tears, and I laugh. This is a moment. I want to remember this moment. Every detail, every sense. It's one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/he-kisses-my-tears-and-i-laugh-this-is-a-moment-i-want-to-remember/)

[Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

> [“Honesty isn't easy. Or comfortable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/honesty-isn-t-easy-or-comfortable/)

[Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

> [“Saturday-morning cartoon sure aren't what they used to be. The animation is lazy. Too clean. He misses being able to detect pencil lines and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/saturday-morning-cartoon-sure-aren-t-what-they-used-to-be-the/)

[Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

> [“You know gentrification is deep when a garage rock band made up of three white boys is called "Harlem".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/you-know-gentrification-is-deep-when-a-garage-rock-band-made-up-of/)

[Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

> [“I have no interest in looking at all of that shit written down. I would rather have a root canal. In 1705.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/i-have-no-interest-in-looking-at-all-of-that-shit-written-down-i/)

[Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

> [“You never know. Somebody can seem cool and then you look in their music library and there's Katy Perry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/you-never-know-somebody-can-seem-cool-and-then-you-look-in-their/)

[Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

[Explore all 21 Kara Lee Corthron quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/)

## 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

> [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 is not always power.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Kara Lee Corthron"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/knowledge-is-not-always-power/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Knowledge"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/knowledge-is-not-always-power/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38d/kara-lee-corthron-26904_knowledge_knowledge-is-not-always-power-2682688_2682688.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38d/kara-lee-corthron-26904_knowledge_knowledge-is-not-always-power-2682688_2682688.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38d/kara-lee-corthron-26904_knowledge_knowledge-is-not-always-power-2682688_2682688.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Knowledge is not always power.” — Kara Lee Corthron",
                "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": "Kara Lee Corthron",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Knowledge is not always power.”",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/knowledge-is-not-always-power/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/knowledge-is-not-always-power/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
