Surface Knowledge

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

Honestly...

I feel access to information is very valuable- critical moving forward.

'Everyone' never did their due diligence researching before the internet era. Most people never went to university and even if they did... the books they studied from were in many cases outdated and not as relevant as they needed to be. Given such... most people were not as aware as they are now. It was not very long ago when society used to take everything spewed to them as gospel and never challenged much of anything.

One doesn't have to go to university to be a scholar or expert. I look at a guy around here @Drowned Out . He has stated many times his education has been his experience in life and his natural curiosity leading him to research his interests. He's as smart as anyone around here and far more clever than many of those formally educated with the old method of acquiring knowledge.

With that said... many people fail to establish their understanding of topics through balanced and comprehensive reading and analysis. If one relies strictly on 'a' source... their opinion is the same as 'that' source. As annoying as one might get speaking to someone misinformed... it's better than speaking to someone completely uninformed- especially if that person is willing to listen to alternative perspectives and adapt their way of thinking. People making any kind of effort to improve their levels of understanding is a good thing.

I think this forum is a great place to stay on top of things. It has made me a better person. For example, I love reading BS and Halifax debate on the Trump thread. They go at each other with passion and from informed perspectives. I typically (well... almost always for that matter) side with Halifax, but I respect BS's position and how he presents it. I always feel more 'up to speed' after digesting their exchanges.  

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

brianlux said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

Honestly...

I feel access to information is very valuable- critical moving forward.

'Everyone' never did their due diligence researching before the internet era. Most people never went to university and even if they did... the books they studied from were in many cases outdated and not as relevant as they needed to be. Given such... most people were not as aware as they are now. It was not very long ago when society used to take everything spewed to them as gospel and never challenged much of anything.

One doesn't have to go to university to be a scholar or expert. I look at a guy around here @Drowned Out . He has stated many times his education has been his experience in life and his natural curiosity leading him to research his interests. He's as smart as anyone around here and far more clever than many of those formally educated with the old method of acquiring knowledge.

With that said... many people fail to establish their understanding of topics through balanced and comprehensive reading and analysis. If one relies strictly on 'a' source... their opinion is the same as 'that' source. As annoying as one might get speaking to someone misinformed... it's better than speaking to someone completely uninformed- especially if that person is willing to listen to alternative perspectives and adapt their way of thinking. People making any kind of effort to improve their levels of understanding is a good thing.

I think this forum is a great place to stay on top of things. It has made me a better person. For example, I love reading BS and Halifax debate on the Trump thread. They go at each other with passion and from informed perspectives. I typically (well... almost always for that matter) side with Halifax, but I respect BS's position and how he presents it. I always feel more 'up to speed' after digesting their exchanges.  

Good points here, Thirty.  I've learned a lot here as well.

But it's a mixed bag for me.  As much I as have learned a lot here and as much as I respect all who participate (except from trolls, but that's OK because they either go away eventually or get banned) I also find myself feeling frustrated at time when when it gets ugly.  This thread got really ugly really fast from some nasty comments from people I generally highly regard.  And yes, in case anyone thinks I'm being self-righteous, I know I have been a prick at times here as well.  I'm sorry for those times.

Now,  I'll defend the value of books briefly again by asserting that good books are helpful in developing the ability to think critically and know how to assess life, the universe and everything better than we did before.  Those authors I mentioned never become outdated.  Sew Crates, Home Err, Airy Stotle and the like never went out of date either. 

I like what you said about Drowned Out (one of the coolest guys I ever met and did not even realize who he was!) and how he mentions his education being life experience.  I don't think any internet search or book in the world can top that.  In one of his books, Edward Abbey talks about the same thing.  He encourages the read to get out and look around and learn.  Same with Henry Rollins who goes to the ends of the earth to experience and learn about life, the universe and everything.   And I encourage everyone to do the same while you can.  It gets hard to do later in life.

Don't get me wrong- I love books!

Our home is very literature rich and always has been. I'm drawn to used book stores and very rarely walk out without buying something- even if the collection waiting to be read at home is a little larger than it should be.

I made reference in the Movie Thread... have you read Into Thin Air? An unreal book.