Comprehending Cronkite 's essay means understanding it. It isn't sufficient to know what information is there, but in order to get the point of the essay, to understand it, one must comprehend it, one must know what it means. If a reader lacks the necessary background information to comprehend the meaning of the essay, then she must conduct either formal or informal research to gain that necessary information. For the sake of argument, let's assume that the ideal reader already knows about Walter Cronkite , knows that he is a veteran reporter, and possesses all of the other kinds of background knowledge necessary to fully comprehend the essay. What goes into comprehending anything is such a complex topic that knowing, comprehending, and knowledge is studied by linguists, cognitive psychologists, philosophers, neurologists, and information theorists.
Epistemology is one term applied to the study of human knowledge and comprehension.
The complexities of understanding what it means to understand something are enormous, yet readers understand what they read without knowing how they understand. Comprehending information is of little use unless you can apply it. You can write to Newsweek or to Cronkite to voice your opinion. You can convince others of why Cronkite 's position is good for or bad for our military, freedom of press, and the future of democracy. And you can apply it to many other facets of study, life, and learning.