| In school, you can take notes and learn enough to pass pretend problems on next week’s test. In the adult world it ain’t that way. There’s no test next week and knowledge is not applied to pretend problems. Often it is not relevant to any problem and when it is, the relevant knowledge is based on years of experience. Maybe look at it this way, what kind of problem is solved by knowing what the zenith is and how do you wind up in a position where that problem is relevant, meaningful, and important to society except through years of training and work experience? Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with edification. But adult standards for knowing things are often higher. Even one-eyed kings in lands of the blind are kings because they have useful knowledge. Trivia is just trivia. Time is the price of adult knowledge. Synthesis is the value. Aging comes with “how the hell did I do that?” because that’s the nature of up-to-the-ass-in-alligators work. If you leave the swamp you can’t do swamp work. So some advice: if you want to use what works in school, go back to school. If you want a lifetime of learning, pursue intellectual challenges that don’t have one right answer. Fortunately, that’s most things. Unfortunately, doing so won’t feel safe and comfortable. Good luck. |