The Journey to Understanding (or, "The time of waiting is over!")

To perceive is to observe or to be aware of a person, object, or idea. The word connotes a basic level of understanding, but essentially it is the recognition of information. On the other hand, to know something is to truly understand it -- to process and assimilate the concept. While both of these words pertain to gaining information and understanding, knowing is deeper and fuller than perception. For example, I can perceive the text of a book at first glance, but at first reading I don't know it -- to know it I must devote more time and effort to analyze the meaning of a text; only then will I gain the knowledge of its true meaning. It is easy to perceive something -- it's much harder to know it.

Because knowledge represents a deeper level of awareness than does perception, to know something you must perceive it, but in order to perceive something you don't have to know it. Perception is necessary for knowledge, so it must always come before the latter, but knowledge does not always follow perception because of the further information processing it requires.

Deep knowledge is superior to less thorough types because it represents the fullest possible understanding of a concept. This kind of knowledge is more fulfilling and more valuable than cursory knowledge because it represents the almost complete mastery of a subject. Knowledge such as this is the hardest to gain, but the it is also the most rewarding and the most useful. The more knowledge you have, the better off you are, and the deeper that knowledge, the greater your understanding of your world will be.