Books as information, not knowledge
Knowledge is the inter-relation among experiences, structured logically and consistently in the memory. It can only be acquired through direct experience and logic. Books, by their nature, provide only information — somebody else's account of their experiences, encoded in symbols and language. This information must be interpreted, verified, and turned into experience before it can become knowledge.In the ancient times, books and scriptures were given the status of a valid means of knowledge because only a handful of people could read and write, and they were mostly very wise. There was not much corruption in what was written. But now anybody can write anything and publish it. Complete garbage can be packaged as ancient wisdom. The books have lost their status as reliable means of knowledge.
Limitations of books
Dependence on interpretation
Information in books is dependent on symbols and understanding of symbols. If the language is lost, the symbols are lost, the meanings are lost — and then people misinterpret the text to mean what they want it to mean, perhaps with ulterior motives. Even if the language is translated, it will not provide the required meaning most of the time; only those who have direct experience in those fields can translate the book effectively.Mixing truth with falsehood
Some books contain a few true statements mixed with many false ones. If a few sentences in a book are true, it does not mean that the rest of the book is true. Cunning authors put two or three truths first to gain your trust, then mix in whatever they want to propagate — like poison mixed into milk.No substitute for experience
Books can give ideas, concepts, and abstract understanding, but ultimately the reader must go and experience in order to make it into knowledge. A description of the ocean is not the ocean. A metaphor of the lake is not the ocean. You know the ocean only when you see the ocean.The proper use of books
Books have their place when the teacher is not present — you can use a book written by a trusted teacher as a substitute. Books and magazines and journals and encyclopedias are not means of knowledge, but they can serve as pointers, as provocations to inquiry, as starting points for contemplation.The raw data for this wiki comes from teachings on the path of knowledge tradition. However, the teachings in books must be verified through direct experience and logic. Simply because something is written in a book, no matter how old or how revered, does not make it knowledge.
See also: information, knowledge, scripture, teacher, means of knowledge, direct experience, refutation of evidence.