Knowing what you kow
You learn at an early age that you cannot learn everything. Unless, of course, you are delusional in the clinical sense. I take great pleasure in learning new things and I have realized that others have bodies of knowledge that I can sample. A question of asking pointed questions or listening at the right time. This afternoon I sampled an interview with a top level guitarist. Someone who presents songs during the Grammy Awards. Able to do a lot in a number of fields. I have a working vocabulary and his speech pushed me to my limits. He was discussing tools and methods that I barely recognize. But there was a pleasure because it proved to me that I am still capable of learning. Not to do what he does but to appreciate it in a deeper sense. Actually, I have been using this method for a number of years. I now have little bits of knowledge in a number of fields. The way education used to be and should still be. I really wish that I could use a time machine and go back to talk to some of my ancestors. To learn how they did things like taking care of horses or going fishing at sea or felling trees. I have little bits of knowledge but not enough to throw myself into the fields. I wonder how people handle these things a lifetime ago. Did they simply accept that they could not know about a given subject or did they try to get enough working knowledge to be able to stand by and recognize what was going on. Removing the magic from the equation. And back to the guitar player. I get the feeling that he can do just about anything he wants with his instrument but he is also smart enough to recognize that he does not know it all.
