Often wondered about the saying “It’s not what you know but who you know”. I stopped to think just who I knew. Does “know” mean met once in your life for a few short moments or know in the sense you have their number on speed dial? Perhaps it is somewhere in between.
The saying does raise relevant questions.
(1) Where does it leave people with few friends?
(2) Does it make tertiary education and PhDs irrelevant?
(3) Am I on anyone’s “know” list?
(4) Can I use the six degrees of separation theory to "know" someone?
My research is still underway on the origin of the saying. Heaps of websites including , The Phrase Finder, are proving useful.
For the record I am more than happy with my group of friends (speed dial or otherwise) who I cherish because of who they are not what they could do for me.
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5 comments:
I'm a bit fascinated by the whole six degrees of separation concept. In idle moments, I often play it in my head! All you need is for someone you *know* to *know* lots of really famous and/or *important* people and it shortens the number of degrees dramatically.
And yes, I do ponder the definition of *know* too! Is it enough to have once shaken hands with someone? In which case, I can do Prince Charles in one degree (and thus, you can do him in two)! I suspect that meeting had greater impact on my (11 year old) life, than it did on his...
Does getting nearly run over by Posh and Becks in their dark windowed black Mercedes near Old Trafford after a Manchester United game back in 2001 count as "knowing" them?
I'm related to S, so I consider myself pretty lucky (sometimes!). I wouldn't mind if she actually owned up to writing on the leaf.
Well if you don't have many on your speed dial then, yes, it implies you are stuffed. Kind of flies in the face of "The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth" doesn't it!
I think the test of "know" is whether they at least remember who you are when asked about you by a third party.
But then if you read Infidel you will see that the Somali version of "know" (or perhaps "trust") is whether you can trace your ancestry back to a common ancestor (even 800 years back).
Well M, Just recently a former Australian Labour Prime Minister asked Ahubby how I was! He's not on my speed dial but at least he "knows" me.
And therefore applying Fairlie's formula I "know' the Queen of England, Bill Clinton, etc
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