Wednesday, August 20, 2003
The more I know, the more I know how much I don't know. What a great thing, knowledge.
There are a few types of people in this world, so much as I can see. While we all can be seen in different shapes, colors and sizes, with seemingly different personalities, we can (and much to the chagrin of many of my young, university-educated brethren in this country) be pretty much narrowed down to a few select categories. People like to see things in black and white, with cut-and-dry answers to everything; or, for the others, there really is never a right answer - everything is different for every situation. That is not to say either is right or wrong, or that every single person can be categorized to a tee in that manner, but generally speaking, most people fall in either one of those categories. (Which, in and of itself, that statement certainly displays my personal leanings.) People are either introverted or extroverted. Seriously, when you consider that human beings and apes share 99.7% of their DNA, is it really that shocking that humans are all so alike, and be labeled into a relatively few categories?
The pursuit of knowledge is just one of those topics. From my experience, there are three types of people when it comes down to the pursuit of knowledge. In the first (and most populous) category are the people who really don't care to gain more knowledge. They are content to move about their life in the path of least resistance. For many, it makes their life easy. On a day to day basis, the only new knowledge they accrue is that which they stumble across in their daily activities. They don't actively pursue knowledge, and don't see the reason to read more. Their activities consist of work - and whatever education they need for work, they will either have gained from *sic* school, or from on-the-job training provided from their employers. Their non-work activities are always truly recreational. Playing softball on Friday nights. Watching Must-See-TV and Survivor. Keeping an eye on the latest celebrity gossip. Chatting with their friends, playing poker with their buddies. In this category, you won't find people reading books. Newspapers, even if they are actually delivered to their home, go unread beyond the front page headlines.
The people who make up this category were the kids in school constantly that gaped in wonder at the kid reading a classic in study hall. They're the same kids that made fun of the bookworms. The kids in college who couldn't stand the students who asked questions in class. In essence, although not all, most of the proles among us fill up this category. And, making no presumption as to the fulfillment provided by it, these people tend to lead the most laid-back lives.
The second group falls in the middle. This person is the efficient guy around. The kid who, in grade school, fought adamantly with the teacher over the value of learning algebra. "I'm going to be a ditch digger. What's the point of me learning algebra?" or "I'm going to be a mechanic. Why should I know European history?" This latter kid, unlike his cousin above, did see the point of learning the basics of science and physics. He did see the purpose of reading countless care magazines, just to learn more. It would make him a better mechanic in the long run. These people are the efficient and productive people of the world. If they can see no point in philosophizing as to why we're on this green earth, they won't do it. If the person can't see the goings-on in France affecting his life, he won't read about it. It has no bearing on the day-to-day, and for the more advanced members of this group, these topics have no readily identifiable use to them in the future. Their time should be spent in activities that can make their daily lives better. Doctors in this category spend all of their time reading medical journals and in seminars, expanding their medical database. They don't waste their time watching a show on oil painting, or in trying to determine the intrinsic values of Rand's philosophy. A carpenter probably won't spend much time reading at all; he will be trying to perfect a new lightweight table or honing an edge on a cabinet, making him a better. In short, these guys will only learn something if it directly leads to their betterment.
And then there's the last group. Many people in this segment would read the description of the type-2 people and say, "Hey, that's me." And they'd be right, to an extent. Many people in this category may be efficient as well, and tend to focus their knowledge-gaining activities in the same manner as those above. The critical difference, however, is temptation. If the mechanic above were walking down the street, just enjoying the day, with nowhere to go and nothing to do, were to walk by a free seminar on underwater basket weaving, he wouldn't pause. He may read the sign, but quickly dismiss that as another ridiculous skill that he didn't need to waste his time doing. However, people that fall into this segment, would be tempted by it. They may not necessarily go on and learn, but these people pause to think, hey, this might be neat. I'm kinda curious about this. These are the same kids who, if they were extroverted, annoyed the hell out of their parents and teachers with their incessant questions. Or, if they were introverted, could always be found in a book or studying statistics in a sports page or testing to see if they really could construct wings and fly off the roof - constantly reading or experimenting. However, as adults, they don’t have the free time they had as a child. Consequently, they may decide it’s not really worth their time and effort. Some people in this group will consciously consider the usefulness of that knowledge in deciding whether or not to enter. Yet, even though they may not enter, and may give cognitive thought as to why they wouldn't enter, those reasons being the same as the mechanic's, they were initially tempted. These people are always eager to learn more. These are the people who suffer from a strong dilemma - the more they learn, the more knowledge they gain, the more they are aware just how little they know, and just how tiny their island of an intellect in contrast to the massive mountain of knowledge the world has to offer.
Me, well shit, if you don't know what type of person I am, well, we know what type of person you are, don't we?
There are a few types of people in this world, so much as I can see. While we all can be seen in different shapes, colors and sizes, with seemingly different personalities, we can (and much to the chagrin of many of my young, university-educated brethren in this country) be pretty much narrowed down to a few select categories. People like to see things in black and white, with cut-and-dry answers to everything; or, for the others, there really is never a right answer - everything is different for every situation. That is not to say either is right or wrong, or that every single person can be categorized to a tee in that manner, but generally speaking, most people fall in either one of those categories. (Which, in and of itself, that statement certainly displays my personal leanings.) People are either introverted or extroverted. Seriously, when you consider that human beings and apes share 99.7% of their DNA, is it really that shocking that humans are all so alike, and be labeled into a relatively few categories?
The pursuit of knowledge is just one of those topics. From my experience, there are three types of people when it comes down to the pursuit of knowledge. In the first (and most populous) category are the people who really don't care to gain more knowledge. They are content to move about their life in the path of least resistance. For many, it makes their life easy. On a day to day basis, the only new knowledge they accrue is that which they stumble across in their daily activities. They don't actively pursue knowledge, and don't see the reason to read more. Their activities consist of work - and whatever education they need for work, they will either have gained from *sic* school, or from on-the-job training provided from their employers. Their non-work activities are always truly recreational. Playing softball on Friday nights. Watching Must-See-TV and Survivor. Keeping an eye on the latest celebrity gossip. Chatting with their friends, playing poker with their buddies. In this category, you won't find people reading books. Newspapers, even if they are actually delivered to their home, go unread beyond the front page headlines.
The people who make up this category were the kids in school constantly that gaped in wonder at the kid reading a classic in study hall. They're the same kids that made fun of the bookworms. The kids in college who couldn't stand the students who asked questions in class. In essence, although not all, most of the proles among us fill up this category. And, making no presumption as to the fulfillment provided by it, these people tend to lead the most laid-back lives.
The second group falls in the middle. This person is the efficient guy around. The kid who, in grade school, fought adamantly with the teacher over the value of learning algebra. "I'm going to be a ditch digger. What's the point of me learning algebra?" or "I'm going to be a mechanic. Why should I know European history?" This latter kid, unlike his cousin above, did see the point of learning the basics of science and physics. He did see the purpose of reading countless care magazines, just to learn more. It would make him a better mechanic in the long run. These people are the efficient and productive people of the world. If they can see no point in philosophizing as to why we're on this green earth, they won't do it. If the person can't see the goings-on in France affecting his life, he won't read about it. It has no bearing on the day-to-day, and for the more advanced members of this group, these topics have no readily identifiable use to them in the future. Their time should be spent in activities that can make their daily lives better. Doctors in this category spend all of their time reading medical journals and in seminars, expanding their medical database. They don't waste their time watching a show on oil painting, or in trying to determine the intrinsic values of Rand's philosophy. A carpenter probably won't spend much time reading at all; he will be trying to perfect a new lightweight table or honing an edge on a cabinet, making him a better. In short, these guys will only learn something if it directly leads to their betterment.
And then there's the last group. Many people in this segment would read the description of the type-2 people and say, "Hey, that's me." And they'd be right, to an extent. Many people in this category may be efficient as well, and tend to focus their knowledge-gaining activities in the same manner as those above. The critical difference, however, is temptation. If the mechanic above were walking down the street, just enjoying the day, with nowhere to go and nothing to do, were to walk by a free seminar on underwater basket weaving, he wouldn't pause. He may read the sign, but quickly dismiss that as another ridiculous skill that he didn't need to waste his time doing. However, people that fall into this segment, would be tempted by it. They may not necessarily go on and learn, but these people pause to think, hey, this might be neat. I'm kinda curious about this. These are the same kids who, if they were extroverted, annoyed the hell out of their parents and teachers with their incessant questions. Or, if they were introverted, could always be found in a book or studying statistics in a sports page or testing to see if they really could construct wings and fly off the roof - constantly reading or experimenting. However, as adults, they don’t have the free time they had as a child. Consequently, they may decide it’s not really worth their time and effort. Some people in this group will consciously consider the usefulness of that knowledge in deciding whether or not to enter. Yet, even though they may not enter, and may give cognitive thought as to why they wouldn't enter, those reasons being the same as the mechanic's, they were initially tempted. These people are always eager to learn more. These are the people who suffer from a strong dilemma - the more they learn, the more knowledge they gain, the more they are aware just how little they know, and just how tiny their island of an intellect in contrast to the massive mountain of knowledge the world has to offer.
Me, well shit, if you don't know what type of person I am, well, we know what type of person you are, don't we?
