Aristotle was one of ancient Greece’s most brilliant minds, but the philosopher didn’t deal only in the theoretical. A student of Plato and teacher to Alexander the Great, Aristotle wrote widely on everything from politics to biology, and he believed true knowledge comes through action. This line, from his work “Nicomachean Ethics,” reflects his view that no amount of studying can replace hands-on experience. Mastering a skill or — perhaps more importantly — a way of life can’t be done by simply reading or thinking about it: A person becomes a carpenter by building, a musician by playing music. In our everyday lives, we become the people we want to be by actually doing the things we hope to learn.