In most professions and academic fields, imagination is more important than knowledge

I am not fully agree with statement given, though imagination plays important factor in innovation in any field of profession or education, knowledge is must for every action after imagination. So imagination has same importance as knowledge.

Firstly, What exactly imagination is? It's just an idea. But having only idea is just like having blank canvas and colors around, without a hand to fill the surface of canvas with colors to make it beautiful masterpiece of art. So my point here is to, unless and untill we have knowledge or perspective vision of problem of that respective field, we just can't rely on imagination. Again take an example of canvas and color, if I'm right now thinking of a beautiful scenic vision in my mind, is that enough for me to draw it on to canvas? Answer will be "NO". Because, I don't know how to use colors on canvas or how will colors react with surface of canvas to give me same effect what I have imagined. Knowledge is must here to act.

Secondly, sometimes imagination without knowledge becomes agony. Unless you know practical limitation you can't implement it successfully. What will happen if someone thinking of building a home at moon, good imagination by the way. But what is use of that. Very first problem, how you will reach there? Even by reaching there, What will you eat? How can one sustain without human friendly climatic conditions? These all practical probelms will come in to the picture. So tharough knowedge on this is helpful to act on imagination. Sometimes due to practical limitations, we have to change our mind that is eventually imagination.

But, imagination is also acts as catalyst in most of the professions. Take an example of software industry, which is all evolved on the basis of imagination. Think it, imagine it and implement it, this is the basic paradigm for innovation in software field recently. Also imagination requires some technical support to implement, but that is all secondary. So imagination is as equally important as knowledge here in this case.

In the end, I give my support for the given statement partially that imagination is as important as knowledge. So in short imagination requires knowledge to implement.