Analects 2:15

Analects 2:15

The Master said: “To study and not think is waste. To think and not study is dangerous.”

I will interpret these two thoughts in my own understanding. “To study and not to think is waste”, it means that if you are studying but not thinking would result into a waste of time because studying alone is no useful, if you just study alone and not think about what you are studying, it will be no use, because you did not comprehend or fully understand what you have studied because of not thinking well. “To think and not to study is dangerous”, I would like to give war or fighting as an example. When in war, your own understanding or your own opinion on what to do without anticipating or studying the opponents might not lead to victory because your understanding might not be right tactic to ward off or defeat the enemy, while when you study and think well of your opponent in war, it might lead to victory because you study on how your enemy reacts and anticipated their actions.