All views shared in the Opinions section of The Chatterbox belong to their respective authors, and may not represent the views of the publication as a whole.

I’m sure nearly every reader has heard of the clichéd quote “Knowledge is power.” It is imbued within us at a young age and stays for a lifetime, but is it really true?

The answer is, and always will be, yes. There is a reason this expression is permanently printed in humanity’s mind, generation after generation.

Knowledge leads to power, which in turn leads to success— a fairly simple conjecture that has proven time and time again to be true.

The bigger question is: what yields more power— knowledge or creativity?

Unfortunately, this issue can’t be solved by a simple proof.

There are numerous confounding variables involved that make it nearly impossible to tell the answer. However, in the end, the clear choice is knowledge.

Knowledge is the basis of our world. It is how we arrived at our current position; we learn from our past and applied what we learned to our present.We need knowledge to survive. At the genesis of civilization, cavemen learned how to hunt for their food, and over time, humans began to evolve and use their knowledge to farm and branch into specialization.

Only after humans evolved to have all this knowledge did creativity come into play.

In many ways, knowledge and creativity are connected. Both can be used simultaneously in real-world scenarios, but it seems apparent that knowledge and creativity aren’t held on the same pedestal.

Most employers and teachers are looking for what you know and how you know it, not if you can paint mountain scenery or bake a wicked cheesecake.

Now, this article is not meant to discount the importance of creativity. Creativity is a valuable pursuit that serves as an escape from the monotony of daily life.

However, knowledge is needed to turn a creative activity into a career; in fact, you need knowledge to know how to pursue a creative hobby.

For this reason, knowledge is the overarching category that creativity falls under, often forcing them to become intertwined.

Knowing leads to success, but having knowledge and creativity leads to happiness.

Even though learning doesn’t happen in the same ways or on the same timeline, everyone can learn.

However, not everyone can tap into their imagination and produce something purely of their own design.

Creativity also allows people to use different parts of their brain and utilize their passions and hobbies that they would otherwise be left unused in a typical nine-to-five job.

To revisit the original question: if you had to choose between creativity and knowledge, I think the obvious choice is knowledge; if you don’t have knowledge, it is impossible to be creative.

Knowledge is a must. It always comes first, and should remain a priority. You must learn as much as possible now, because you never know when it may be useful in the future, but don’t stop there. Use your knowledge to be creative and find your niche among the hustle and bustle of daily life.

All views shared in the Opinions section of The Chatterbox belong to their respective authors, and may not represent the views of the publication as a whole.

Albert Einstein once said, “Creativity is intelligence having fun,” and, honestly, I couldn’t agree more.

Creativity is often treated as just a quality for people who can’t excel at more “serious” subjects. Oftentimes, veering towards a path of artistry and expression is labeled as the fun, easy or even lazy option. However, this could not be further from the truth.

Highlighting your creativity doesn’t make you any less intelligent — in fact, it means your intelligence is in a unique form, one more original and visionary.

Knowledge is important, absolutely. It allows you to understand the world around you so you don’t make a complete fool of yourself. But honestly, knowledge doesn’t impress me nearly as much as creativity does.

I know plenty of people who can list every U.S. president, label the parts of a plant cell or recite important dates in history.

If that’s you, that’s amazing. Seriously, that takes effort, but if you asked me how many creative geniuses I personally knew, it would be a much shorter list.

I believe that every person has a pure spark inside of them, full of wonder and passion that often gets buried under pressure. Pressure to be practical and play it safe with a stable job. People are encouraged to choose stability over self-expression, penalizing freedom of expression.

I would much rather listen to someone talk about their interests. Give me your films, give me your art, give me your ideas and I will soak it all up.

Creativity reveals your mind, perspective and story more than how well you did on that chemistry quiz.

In school, there is a quiet competition. One where students silently judge each other over grades.

No one talks about it out loud, but it’s easy to feel the silent shame when you get a C while someone else brags about their A.

Contrary to popular belief, success in school doesn’t show who the person truly is, because creativity doesn’t show up on tests. It thrives in brainstorming sessions, late-night discoveries in art rooms and in group projects.

The best part of creative minds is that they don’t work alone. They build off of others, collaborate and adapt.

Creativity is what moves our world forward. It sharpens our minds in a way memorization never can.

It’s not a step below knowledge, but a step above it. Creativity opens the door to new possibilities, and it requires deeper problem-solving that truly pushes your brain to not just recall, but to create.

Knowledge can be taught, memorized and measured. Creativity is different. Everyone can have the same facts, but no one can express their own personal creativity in the same way.

So yes: be smart. It’s an important base, but never feel like creativity is any less valuable than knowledge.

I am a lover of school learning, but one of the only reasons I feel that way is because I’ve been asking more and more questions.

I make sure to have fun with it; I go to help at night, I challenge my ability to think even more about the subject, even if it’s not on the test — that to me is creativity.

You don’t have to be a good painter to be creative; it’s so much more unique than that, and that’s the beauty of it.

If you have a passion that is begging to be released, don’t ever let anyone tell you that you aren’t successful.

Creativity drives change in our world. It inspires progress and urges us to not just see what is, but what it could be.