知る
shi-ru
知る is one new dot landing in your head
The picture A piece of news from outside flies in and sticks in your head as a dot. 知る is a dot newly landing; 分かる is the dots already there joining into a clear shape.
Where the picture shows up in 知る
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News flies in and sticks
そのニュースはテレビで知りました。
sono nyūsu wa terebi de shiri-mashita
I heard that news on TV.
A scrap of news leaves the screen and lodges in the head as a single dot.
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The dot is still there
この薬の名前を知っていますか。
kono kusuri no namae o shitte i-masu ka
Do you know the name of this medicine?
A slip with the drug's name still sits pinned in one slot inside the head.
For 'I know it' use 知っている. Bare 知ります sounds like you will find out later.
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The slot is still blank
新しい店長はまだ知りません。
atarashii tenchō wa mada shiri-masen
I don't know the new manager yet.
The slot where a person's name would go is still blank and white.
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The dot lands late
値段は後で知りました。
nedan wa ato de shiri-mashita
I only found out the price afterwards.
After the bill is paid, a scrap with the number flies in and sticks belatedly.
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Pointing at a missing dot
知らない番号から電話が来ました。
shiranai bangō kara denwa ga ki-mashita
A call came from a number I don't know.
You search your head for the number on the screen and find no dot at all.
All of it in one picture
知る is one picture: a dot sticking. News flies off the screen and sticks, and you found out; the dot is still there, and you know it; the slot is still blank, and you don't; a dot lands late, and you found out afterwards; a number with no dot behind it is a number you don't know. So 知る asks when the dot landed, and 知っている says a dot is there right now.