--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Today knowledge is free. It's like air…" description: "\"Today knowledge is free. It's like air, it's like water... There's no competitive advantage to knowing more than the person next to you. The world do..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tony-wagner-58139_advantage_today-knowledge-is-free-it-s-like-air-it_962829.jpg" --- # Today knowledge is free. It's like air, it's like water… ![“Today knowledge is free. It's like air, it's like water... There's no competitive advantage to knowing more than the person next to you. The world doesn't care what you know. What the world cares about is what you can do with what you know.” quote by Tony Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tony-wagner-58139_advantage_today-knowledge-is-free-it-s-like-air-it_962829.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tony-wagner-58139_advantage_today-knowledge-is-free-it-s-like-air-it_962829.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tony-wagner-58139_advantage_today-knowledge-is-free-it-s-like-air-it_962829.jpg) > “Today knowledge is free. It's like air, it's like water... There's no competitive advantage to knowing more than the person next to you. The world doesn't care what you know. What the world cares about is what you can do with what you know.” [Tony Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-wagner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowledge is abundant; value lies in applying it effectively. **In simple terms:** Application matters more than knowing. Key Takeaway Focus on practical skills. Themes education skill application competition Mood practical forward‑looking Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - job interviews - entrepreneurship - project work - teaching Key Concepts knowledge economy innovation learning by doing Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn knowledge into action? - What skills are most marketable now? A Different Perspective Access to knowledge can be uneven. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advantage/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Competitive advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competitive-advantage/) [Knowing more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing-more/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Much that we hug today as knowledge is ignorance pure and simple. It makes the mind wander and even reduces it to a vacuity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/much-that-we-hug-today-as-knowledge-is-ignorance-pure-and-simple-it/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Billions of people are living on the earth today with the knowledge of mathematics, physics, and biology. They have the knowledge of stocks market,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-ogedegbe/billions-of-people-are-living-on-the-earth-today-with-the-knowledge/) [CLEMENT OGEDEGBE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-ogedegbe/) > [Today knowledge has power. It controls access to opportunity and advancement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/today-knowledge-has-power-it-controls-access-to-opportunity-and-2/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Today's knowledge is not more important than tomorrow's wisdom. For if we are wise we apply common sense to yesterdays knowledge as we learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-krause/today-s-knowledge-is-not-more-important-than-tomorrow-s-wisdom-for-if/) [Tom Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-krause/) > [“Today knowledge has power. It controls access to opportunity and advancement. Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/today-knowledge-has-power-it-controls-access-to-opportunity-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The world doesn’t care what you know. What the world cares about is what you do with what you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-wagner/the-world-doesn-t-care-what-you-know-what-the-world-cares-about-is/) [Tony Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-wagner/) > [“If we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must be free to follow wherever that search may lead us. The free mind is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-we-value-the-pursuit-of-knowledge-we-must-be-free-to-follow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free …](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/where-the-mind-is-without-fear-and-the-head-is-held-high-where-3/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Knowledge-full, unfettered knowledge of its own heritage, of freedom's enemies, of the whole world of men and ideas-this knowledge is a free people's surest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/knowledge-full-unfettered-knowledge-of-its-own-heritage-of-freedom-s/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [The more knowledge you have, the more you're free to rely on your instincts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/the-more-knowledge-you-have-the-more-you-re-free-to-rely-on-your/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) > [“Knowledge is free" he'd said more than once, "and should always be available even if I'm not”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reaves-michael-reaves-mallory-gaiman-neil/knowledge-is-free-he-d-said-more-than-once-and-should-always-be/) Reaves Michael reaves mallory gaiman neil > [I feel that all knowledge should be in the free-trade zone. Your knowledge, my knowledge, everybody's knowledge should be made use of. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/i-feel-that-all-knowledge-should-be-in-the-free-trade-zone-your/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [Knowledge is a free good. The biggest cost in its transmission is not in the production or distribution of knowledge, but in its assimilation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-arrow/knowledge-is-a-free-good-the-biggest-cost-in-its-transmission-is-not/) [Kenneth Arrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-arrow/) > [The act of seeing any film generally is you knowing more than the characters, even if it's the classic Hitchcock shot of two people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ayoade/the-act-of-seeing-any-film-generally-is-you-knowing-more-than-the/) [Richard Ayoade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ayoade/) > [Not only did secular scientists rout the Christian fundamentalists, they placed themselves in the posture of knowing more, on the basis of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vine-deloria-jr/not-only-did-secular-scientists-rout-the-christian-fundamentalists/) [Vine Deloria Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vine-deloria-jr/) ## More by Tony Wagner > [Excellent instruction is less about what a teacher does and more about what students can do and know as a result of the lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-wagner/excellent-instruction-is-less-about-what-a-teacher-does-and-more/) [Tony Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-wagner/) > [The capacity to innovate - the ability to solve problems creatively or bring new possibilities to life - and skills like critical thinking, communication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-wagner/the-capacity-to-innovate-the-ability-to-solve-problems-creatively-or/) [Tony Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-wagner/) > [“The world doesn’t care what you know. What the world cares about is what you do with what you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-wagner/the-world-doesn-t-care-what-you-know-what-the-world-cares-about-is/) [Tony Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-wagner/) > [“another obstacle to educating innovators in universities is the lack of respect for interdisciplinary inquiry, practical knowledge, and applied learning. Discipline-based, in-depth knowledge is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-wagner/another-obstacle-to-educating-innovators-in-universities-is-the-lack/) [Tony Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-wagner/) > [“We asked him, if he could give advice to his younger self, what his formula for success would look like. He said that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-wagner/we-asked-him-if-he-could-give-advice-to-his-younger-self-what-his/) [Tony Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-wagner/) [Explore all 6 Tony Wagner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-wagner/) ## More Advantage quotes > [Dogmatists have one advantage: they are poor listeners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/dogmatists-have-one-advantage-they-are-poor-listeners/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [All I ever wanted was an unfair advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-wynn/all-i-ever-wanted-was-an-unfair-advantage/) [Garrison Wynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-wynn/) > [Part of the advantage, and part of the result of trying to be a producer and director, are the practical things, you find. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/campbell-scott/part-of-the-advantage-and-part-of-the-result-of-trying-to-be-a/) [Campbell Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/campbell-scott/) > [I was born with a silver microphone in my mouth, and that was an advantage. 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I think it's just ingrained in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-blatz/for-some-reason-when-i-decide-to-pursue-something-i-never-have-any/) [Kelly Blatz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-blatz/) > [I think I have good hands, so I try to use them to my advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-andreescu/i-think-i-have-good-hands-so-i-try-to-use-them-to-my-advantage/) [Bianca Andreescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-andreescu/) > [My influences are jazz, blues, European classical music; they are rock music and pop music. So many kinds of music. World music from different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rokia-traore/my-influences-are-jazz-blues-european-classical-music-they-are-rock/) [Rokia Traore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rokia-traore/) > [Baseball needs to put the steroids era behind it by having and enforcing tough rules against all kinds of artificial advantages, so that spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-olasky/baseball-needs-to-put-the-steroids-era-behind-it-by-having-and/) [Marvin Olasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-olasky/) > [Daily contact with some teachers is itself all-sided ethical education for the child without a spoken precept. Here, too, the real advantage of male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/daily-contact-with-some-teachers-is-itself-all-sided-ethical/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [ If \[Donald\] Trump throws 20 million off of health care, that's going to be - if he handles this badly - and it's very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/if-donald-trump-throws-20-million-off-of-health-care-that-s-going-to/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Live in the world you inhabit. Look upon things as they are. Take them as you find them. Make the best of them. Turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/live-in-the-world-you-inhabit-look-upon-things-as-they-are-take-them/) [Robert E. 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