Friday, June 06, 2008
Knowledge
Have you ever finished a book, thoroughly enjoyed it, and then gotten the urge to scan the entire thing into your computer so that you can use a search engine for instant recall of the contents of the book?
I have. I’ve never actually done it, but I’ve been tempted.
Knowledge is a strange thing. There are many facets of it - facts, algorithms, and even just grounding knowledge or lenses through which we view the world.
Not too long ago, I decided to “reeducate” myself in the classical manner, focusing on history, literature, and language - all of those things that are given lip service but otherwise neglected in a modern education. I’m finding my reaction to and assimilation of various types of knowledge to be interesting.
I’m starting to think that my memory is shot, because facts and details don’t seem to stick with me very long. Facts are important - facts are the building blocks upon which logical deductions and persuasive arguments are based. Without facts and the ability to recall them, one can be convinced of something, but one will have a very difficult time conveying information to others. The internet has been a huge boon in this respect, with tremendous amounts of information available and searchable in seconds. I think to some extent having the internet around will allow some people to me more intellectually lazy than they otherwise would be. For me, it seems to fill a recall gap that I can’t fill on my own.
More importantly, I’m noticing that they way I look at the world has changed. Somewhere in one of Nock’s books, I couldn’t find the passage if my life depended on it, he talks about how the goal of education is not to impart a knowledge of trivia, but to change the way one thinks. I think the most important thing I have learned is the inherent value of western civilization, and the characteristics of western culture that are necessary to bring about that value. Having such a grounding makes moral equivalence, cultural “tolerance”, and multicultural education arguments simultaneously easier to understand and easier to dismiss as so much hot air. I have always been a history junkie. However, where once my picture of history was a pencil sketch, now it is a three-dimension full color sculpture, alive, vibrant, and rich. Connections have become apparent, understanding has resulted, and a certain amount of peace has resulted due to an acceptance of how the world works and what things are a result of unchangeable human nature.
But there are still gaps. Plenty of them.
Another thing I’ve noticed in my studies is a tendency to form intuitive links between items of information that have not been explicitly tied together. In essence, I jump to conclusions, pulling together disparate pieces of information into a coherent concept. The problem is, sometimes those conclusions are wrong, and sometimes it is difficult to even retrace one’s steps to determine how one came to that wrong conclusion. I’ve noticed this tendency in the past, and I’ve wondered exactly how much of what I “know” is actually based on this rather fallible intuitive knowledge. I don’t think it’s something I can determine. The only thing I can do is keep studying and continue to fill in more gaps.
Nock was once asked if he would take a position as an English professor at a university. He said that he was flattered but not really interested, as he saw English as a rather pointless subject. He said that everything anyone ever needs to know about literature is right there in the library, and that all he could really to do is point people to it. If students were unwilling to seek out and absorb knowledge on their own, what point is there in him lecturing at them? And if they were willing to study on their own, the world is there at their fingertips and they didn’t need his guidance beyond pointing out the source of the knowledge they desired.
I feel that way about the entire body of cultural knowledge that I’ve begun to expose myself to. These days, one cannot acquire such knowledge in a classroom setting, because no educational institution actually values our cultural knowledge in that way any longer. It is sad that we turn student and student out into the world with no appreciation of country or culture, just a thin layer of politically-correct drivel overlaid onto a base of theoretically useful skills for the job market. We are left to learn pride of our forefathers from our families and friends, as well as from our cultural heritage of history and literature, because our leadership no longer believes in any of that in any meaningful way. That foundation is what makes this a great country, that desire to know and do what is right, and we must be steadfast in doing so even as popular culture and the dominant political climate move on to more progressive things.
The internet has given us the opportunity to form virtual communities to augment or replace the social structures for dissemination of values and knowledge that have largely disappeared in our society. We learn from each other, set each other straight when we go wrong, and buck each other up in the face of adversity.
Most importantly, I think, we are able to share knowledge of all kinds with one another - facts, logic, and a deeper appreciation for our country and culture. Those that seek out that knowledge are the ones that will preserve the the legacy of our nation into the future. It’s going to be a rough ride, but someone has to do it.
Comments
-
To teach yourself how to think is perhaps the hardest and least done tasks necessary to reach full maturity. Unfortunately it isn’t possible for anyone else to teach you how to do it.
You can be taught facts, have logic explained, be shown connections between ideas, but it is up to you to actually figure out how it was done and do it.
The mind is perhaps the most malexercised muscle of all. Unfortunately, it is also the most important.In this day and age there are billions of dollars spent on fitness of the body, but we can’t afford the gas to go to the library.
For this reason, among many others, the internet is perhaps the most important invention mankind has ever been inspired to make (leaving aside that it would be utterly useless and never would have happened anyway without many others). Among the discoveries of mankind perhaps only liberty and capitalism have more of an effect on us.
We are given such an immensity of knowledge just sitting there waiting for us. It dwarfs every collection of knowledge that has ever come before it. And it isn’t just knowledge, it is also the greatest forum for discussion in existence.
It is a pity how much we waste the opportunity for self-improvement (of the real kind) we are offered and reject because actual thinking is hard work, especially if we aren’t used to it.
Christopher | 6/7/2008 04:41 PM CDT -
Have you ever finished a book, thoroughly enjoyed it, and then gotten the urge to scan the entire thing into your computer so that you can use a search engine for instant recall of the contents of the book?
All the time. In fact, I use google and the gutenberg project as a fundemental part of my memory. I can’t decide if it’s cheating or not, but I figure I know the bit of information or quote is there, and I’m just going to find it as if I had a large library.
The problem is, sometimes those conclusions are wrong, and sometimes it is difficult to even retrace one’s steps to determine how one came to that wrong conclusion. I’ve noticed this tendency in the past, and I’ve wondered exactly how much of what I “know” is actually based on this rather fallible intuitive knowledge. I don’t think it’s something I can determine.
Thus begins AF’s epistemological journey.
I’ve meant to do some more serious reading for quite some time, but life seems to get in the way. We have “family story” time where we read books aloud for the whole family’s enjoyment several times a week. I’ve asked to have one of the slots. I’m going to read Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations to the family for our edification and discussion. We started the other day. It went well, though not quickly. The sentence structure and word choices seem a bit hard for the kids to get used to.
Weetabix | 6/9/2008 09:21 AM CDT
