Page 63 - SST Class 05

Unit IV : The World on March

10 Growing

Knowledge

Knowledge and I

‘Knowledge is power,’ said Francis Bacon. Knowledge is not static, it keeps growing based on the previous
facts. Man first invented the wheel, and then thought more to discover knowledge that can be applied in
more ways. You get knowledge in the family, school and neighbourhood which you can develop further.
Without knowledge, you cannot imagine about development and progress.

Man is fortunate as he possesses some unique gifts of nature. He can use his brain and
hands. These two abilities together with his abilities to speak and remember things
have made him the strongest creature on the earth. These abilities have differentiated
man from other living beings. He accumulates previous knowledge, and builds upon
it. This is how development has taken place in the world.

Cave art Hieroglyphic script Harappan seals Brahmi script

The Story of Writing

A piece of writing is like a record. When different people write, a storehouse of
knowledge is created. Thus, this art has proved an excellent tool of accumulating

knowledge. In olden times, when man was trying to learn how to speak, he possessed
few things, like a few earthen pots and cattle. His needs were limited, so he did not
need to communicate much. Initially, he needed some signs or symbols to keep a
record of his belongings. He drew some kind of pictures to denote different things, like
a circle for a sheep and a line for a horse. Sometimes, he drew a picture. These signs

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