I want to broadly define what I think knowledge/understanding is vs where I think people trip up or don’t see clearly.

When you teach a dog to sit, it has no understanding of what the word means, it hears a sound and a contextual cue then responds in hopes it will be rewarded - This is the same thing I do on a lot of topics, I don’t understanding them I just recite a combination of words based on context cues in the hopes of a positive outcome.

Understanding is much more valuable and offers a broader application, you can know which cues are needed, what context is needed but with contextual recitation you are responding to the cues and context but with understanding you are applying/using cues and context for your own purpose and benefit

This difference is crucial when it comes to real learning. Don’t mistake memorisation or surface-level recall for genuine comprehension. In the same way a dog doesn’t truly grasp the meaning of “sit” but reacts to a pattern of sounds and gestures, we engage with complex ideas without fully processing them. We might read an article or attend a lecture and feel like we’ve “gotten it,” but if pressed to explain it in our own terms or apply it in a new context, we can’t.

This distinction becomes clear when we consider problem-solving. Someone relying on contextual recitation can repeat formulas, definitions, or steps they’ve been taught but struggle when the situation changes or when the problem requires creative application. On the other hand, someone with understanding can adapt their knowledge to novel situations. They aren’t bound to the previous context—they know how and when to use what they know in varied, sometimes unpredictable, environments.

Think of it like navigating a city. A person who memorises a single route can only get from point A to point B if the streets are exactly as they expect. But if there’s a detour or a roadblock, they’re lost. Someone with an understanding of the city, however, knows the layout, the purpose of certain roads, and how various neighbourhoods connect. They can create their own route when needed because they grasp the underlying system, not just a fixed path.