Double Edged Sword of Knowledge

One of the most insightful things I read about knowledge is this:

Information is infinitely reproduceable. Once you teach someone what you know, there are two copies of the knowledge. One copy in you, another copy in the person you taught.

As an information worker - this is key: everytime you learn OR teach, you’re increasing knowledge.

When information is so easy to “replicate” - by having another person teach it, then the question becomes:

How to profit from knowledge?

More precisely, how to profit on your knowledge??

This is something I’ve been pondering, especially as I explore new ventures with me and with my wife’s venture.

Where this knowledge reproduction is beneficial is marketing - like word of mouth.

Where it is a demerit is your knowledge becomes “common sense” - or you have worked the knowledge to a point where it’s so simple that anyone can replicate your knowledge with ease.

Knowledge replication is a double edged sword.

When I think back about MAYA - there needs to be general understanding of your knowledge and at the same time, advanced enough that others cannot derive easily.

In a way, knowledge workers are at a disadvantage compared to others in profiting from their knowledge compared to trades or skills - where there’s direct application to something physical (i.e. plumber, mechanic, etc.)

This is the double edge sword of knowledge how to make knowledge easy to sell and hard to get?

🤔