Wilson’s law, is it accurate in 2026?

If you cannot read this one, or you have any suggestions, may be mail me at: neemowrites@gmail.com. I would be happy to connect over a coffee and a call.

I saw a reel today, stating 5 most powerful laws of the world, they are :

1. Murphy’s Law: “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” It’s a reminder to anticipate potential failures and build resilience, not a prophecy.

2. Kidlin’s Law: “If you write a problem down clearly, you have solved half of it.” Highlights the power of clear articulation in problem-solving.

3. Wilson’s Law: Prioritizing knowledge and intelligence leads to financial success.

4. Parkinson’s Law: Work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion, encouraging efficiency.

5. Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule): Roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of causes, guiding focus to high-impact activities.
   

I have been trying alot to get a decent job from past 2 years, that rewards my success. I am at that stage of my life where money is secondary, respect is a primary goal for me, and may be for everyone in my age group. So, ignoring the rest, I focused on Wilson’s Law.

This seems similar to what I saw in the movie 3 idiots : Success ke peeche mat bhaago, excellence ka peecha karo, success jhak maarke tumhare peeche ayegi,” meaning “Don’t run after success; chase excellence, and success will come running after you.”

Movies right, they deceive you in believing that there’s a happy ending. Knowledge gets rewarded. Intelligence gets rewarded. My real life experience is totally different from what I saw in movies. A person can be a mouth breathing idiot and still becomes a CTO of a company. God Knows How…

Intelligent employees rarely gets rewarded. They are just used as machines. Machines are never loved, encouraged, rewarded. And don’t get me wrong, I am not talking only about myself. I have seen many people who are sailing in the same boat. Many successful people who taught me, inspired me, pushed me in becoming better version of myself, rarely got the success they deserved.

I guess these are the unwritten rules of society, where you become threat to people as soon as you get knowledge. They distant themselves. So that makes me question:

Does Knowing More Make You Less Successful?

There is a strange idea going around in today’s world:

The more knowledge you have, the less successful you become.

At first, it sounds wrong.

We grew up believing that learning is power. That smart people win. That knowledge leads to growth, money, and stability.

But when you look around, the doubt feels real.

• More than a handful of people with very little knowledge move very fast.

• Some very intelligent people feel stuck and leave the world without even changing their own lives, let alone the world.

• Many professionals keep learning but don’t feel successful, and the more they learn, the deep they go.

So what is really happening?

This is where Wilson’s Law, knowledge fatigue, and analysis paralysis quietly overlap.

Wilson’s Law: why learning still matters

Wilson’s Law, in simple terms, says this:

Prioritizing the acquisition of knowledge and intelligence leads to long-term success.

This idea is not outdated. In fact, it is more relevant today than ever.

Knowledge helps you:

• See patterns instead of reacting blindly

• Make fewer obvious mistakes

• Build long-term judgment

• Reduce dependence on luck

Without knowledge, success is random.With knowledge, success becomes directional.

This may not be the whole story, but this is the starting point.

Then why do knowledgeable people struggle?

Because Wilson’s Law has a hidden assumption. It assumes that knowledge will be used.

In today’s world, learning has become endless.Information is cheap, infinite, and always available. And this is where the problem begins.

Knowledge fatigue: when learning stops helping

Knowledge fatigue is not about intelligence. It is about over-consumption without application.

It looks like this:

• Reading more but acting less

• Knowing many options but choosing none

• Learning to feel productive, not to move forward

Your brain becomes full.Your direction becomes unclear.

The more you know, the more options you get. The more options you have, the harder it is to choose.

Knowledge that was supposed to create clarity starts creating mental noise.

Why more knowledge can slow you down

1. Knowledge shows you every risk

When you know more, you see:

• What can go wrong — you become more careful.

• Why this might fail — Murphy’s law takes over.

• Edge cases and second-order effects

Someone who knows less does not see these risks. So they act faster.

Not because they are better. Because they are less aware. They don’t know but act.

2. Knowledge raises your standards

With experience comes taste.

“Good enough” stops feeling acceptable.

You want clean work. Correct work. Thoughtful work.

But the world rewards finished work, not perfect thinking.

So you wait.Others ship.

3. Infinite input creates confusion

Blogs. Podcasts. Courses. Threads. Videos.

Your brain was never designed for infinite learning.

When input never stops:

• Decisions feel heavier

• Motivation drops

• Everything feels complex

Knowledge becomes weight instead of power.

Analysis paralysis: when thinking replaces action

If knowledge fatigue continues, it often turns into analysis paralysis.

At this stage:

• You want more certainty before acting

• Every decision feels expensive

• Learning feels safer than doing

Thinking becomes a shield.Action feels risky.

This is not intelligence working at its best.This is fear wearing the mask of preparation.

How these three ideas connect

These are not separate problems.They are different stages of the same loop.

Here is the pattern:

Learning (Wilson’s Law) → Over-learning (Knowledge Fatigue) → Over-thinking (Analysis Paralysis)

The same knowledge that was meant to move you forward, slowly starts preventing movement.

Nothing changed except balance.

Why smart people fall into this trap more often

Highly knowledgeable people:

• Feel responsible for making the right choice

• See more failure paths

• Hate wasting effort

So they prepare more.They refine more.They wait longer.

Meanwhile, others act with less certainty and gain momentum.

Not because they are smarter.Because they stopped thinking sooner.

Is ignorance actually an advantage?

In the short term: yes.

Ignorance provides:

• Speed

• Confidence

• Momentum

But it has a limit.Reality eventually catches up.

Long-term success still requires:

• Understanding

• Judgment

• Experience

Ignorance runs fast.Knowledge runs far.

The correct way to use knowledge today

Wilson’s Law is still true.But it needs boundaries.

A healthier model looks like this:

• Learn until clarity increases

• Stop when learning starts reducing speed

• Act before confidence feels complete

Knowledge should shorten the path to action.Not extend it forever.

How successful people avoid knowledge fatigue

1. They limit what they learn

Not every book or course deserved to be finished, as I read in The Almanack of Naval Ravikant. Successful people don’t try to know everything. They learn only what serves the current goal.

One problem. One focus. One learning stream.

2. They separate learning and execution

They don’t mix the two.

• Learning mode: curiosity allowed

• Execution mode: action only

During execution, imperfect thinking is acceptable.

3. They turn knowledge into rules

Instead of rethinking everything, they create defaults:

• Ship before perfect

• Act with 70% clarity

• Decide fast, fix later

Knowledge becomes a system.Not a burden.

Final thought

There is a rule which is far more accurate than Wilson's Law, and that is :

Consistency is choosing progress over perfection, every single day.

May be the idiots I was talking about became successful by being consistent, and shameless, and by the time they’ll reach threshold, they would have already gained that much knowledge.

Guess what, Wilson’s Law tells us to learn. Knowledge fatigue warns us to stop. Analysis paralysis reminds us to act.

All three exist to keep us balanced.

Knowledge is fuel → Action is movement.

If you keep adding fuel but never drive,you don’t become powerful. You just carry more weight.

So learn deeply.But act early.

Because unused intelligence is not wisdom.

It is just potential, waiting to expire.

Once agin, If you have any suggestions, may be mail me at: neemowrites@gmail.com.