Discoveries were made by individuals who use the successes and failures of other individuals to shape their own knowledge and improve treatment methods. Differences between individuals with different religious backgrounds can also shape personal knowledge. Conflicts that lean toward a certain belief can cloud that belief if people are not willing to fully understand the situation and the actual belief system. In order for shared knowledge to impact personal knowledge, there must first be shared knowledge. People must be willing to share personal knowledge that they have gained from their personal experience alone. Once knowledge is shared, people must be willing to accept it, so that it can subsequently shape their personal knowledge, which will then help the world continue to progress and develop.