How to Read “If you completely trust books, it is better to have no books at all”
Kotogotoku sho wo shinzureba sunawachi sho naki ni shikazu
Meaning of “If you completely trust books, it is better to have no books at all”
This proverb means that if you believe everything written in books without question, you would be better off not reading books at all.
Books are certainly treasures of knowledge. However, not everything written in them is necessarily correct.
They may contain the author’s biases or misunderstandings. They may reflect the limitations of their time. Sometimes they include intentional exaggerations.
This proverb is used when someone treats the contents of books as absolute truth and abandons their own judgment. It warns against the attitude of blindly believing “it must be correct because the book says so.”
In our modern era overflowing with information, this teaching has become even more important.
Not just books, but also information on the internet requires us to maintain critical thinking at all times.
When receiving information, we must verify its sources and evidence. We need to judge it against our own experience and reason.
Origin and Etymology
This proverb is believed to originate from a passage in the ancient Chinese classic “Mencius.” The original phrase is “尽信書、則不如無書” (If you completely believe books, then it is not as good as having no books).
Mencius was an important Confucian thinker. He left deep insights about human nature and morality.
The background of this saying relates to attitudes toward books in ancient China. At that time, books were extremely precious and held absolute authority as sources of knowledge.
However, Mencius pointed out the danger of swallowing everything written in books.
Particularly interesting is the context in which Mencius spoke these words. In his text, there is a scene discussing records of when King Wu, an ancient sage king, defeated a tyrant.
The books contained an exaggerated expression saying “blood flowed until pestles floated in it.” But Mencius said, “If you believe all of that, it would be better to have no books.”
This was based on his judgment that the virtuous King Wu could not have fought such a brutal battle.
In other words, this proverb is not simple skepticism. It teaches the importance of examining the contents of books with your own reason and moral sense.
It contains a profound teaching that gaining knowledge and thinking critically about it should coexist.
Usage Examples
- Expert opinions are important, but “if you completely trust books, it is better to have no books at all”—in the end, you have to think for yourself
- I failed because I took internet information at face value. It’s exactly “if you completely trust books, it is better to have no books at all”
Universal Wisdom
This proverb has been passed down for thousands of years because it recognizes a fundamental human desire to rely on authority.
When we face anxiety or confusion, we want to escape the responsibility of making our own judgments.
Phrases like “it was written in a book” or “an expert said so” act like magic spells that free us from the weight of our own decisions.
However, human dignity lies precisely in this “power to think for ourselves.” Blindly trusting books or authority may seem humble and wise at first glance.
But it is actually an act of abandoning your own reason. It is an easy path, but also one that stops your growth as a human being.
What’s interesting is that this proverb doesn’t say “don’t read books.” Books are important.
But what’s even more important is digesting what you read through the filter of your own experience and reason.
The difference between knowledge and wisdom lies exactly here. Knowledge can be obtained from outside, but wisdom must be cultivated within yourself.
All humans make mistakes. Therefore, book authors are not perfect either.
Acknowledging that imperfection while continuing to learn and think—that is true intelligence.
This proverb is a crystallization of ancestral wisdom that deeply understands both human weakness and strength.
When AI Hears This
In information theory, the value of a message is measured by “how much it reduces uncertainty.”
For example, if a weather forecast says “tomorrow will be sunny or rainy,” it teaches you nothing. The information content is zero.
Blindly believing books causes a similar phenomenon.
In Shannon entropy, truly valuable information is new knowledge you couldn’t predict. However, if you assume all book contents are correct, you accept contradictory descriptions as “both are correct.”
Then redundant data accumulates in your brain saying “both A and B are correct.” You lose the opportunity to compress information by judging “if A is correct, then B is wrong.”
The principle of data compression finds patterns and removes duplicates to keep only essential information.
Reading critically means comparing multiple sources, detecting contradictions, and extracting only highly probable knowledge. This is exactly lossless compression.
Conversely, blind faith is like storing raw data mixed with noise. The information volume may look large, but the density of usable knowledge is extremely low.
The more you swallow book information uncritically, the less your knowledge gets compressed. The truth becomes harder to see.
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches you today is how to hold a compass so you don’t drown in the sea of information.
In our era, we’re surrounded by countless information sources—not just books, but social media, news, and videos.
Having the courage to pause and ask “is this really true?” has become more important than ever.
Specifically, when learning something, first ask yourself: “Who is sharing this information, and why?”
Then compare that content with your own experience and common sense. If something feels off, that’s an important signal.
Compare multiple information sources. Look for different perspectives.
What matters is the balance between doubting and learning. If you doubt everything, you learn nothing. If you believe everything, you get deceived.
Books and information are tools to help your thinking. They are not substitutes for thinking itself.
Think with your own head. Feel with your own heart. Speak in your own words.
That accumulation becomes true wisdom—a treasure no one can take from you.
Don’t be controlled by information. Become someone who masters information.
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