We live in a time of greatness. A time where information is a Google search away. We also live in a time where taking the time to learn doesn’t seem to be hip or groovy. With so much potential and opportunity, one would think that, as a society, we would be collectively more intelligent. That does not seem to be the case and it’s concerning.
I am not going to go on about, “These kids today”, but there is something to be said about how the younger generation views the opportunities for learning in the internet age. I am sometimes awestruck by the lack of common knowledge young people have about the world they live in. Practical knowledge about basic physics, chemistry, and even computers seems to be lacking in this amazing world of instant data.
So why are young people not interested in learning these basic concepts? Am I just weird? Maybe I am… I just see so much opportunity in learning and I don’t think I will ever stop. The funny thing is that the reason I want to learn isn’t for concrete personal gain. I just want to know. Is curiosity not a thing now? Is wanting to know how and why something works the way it does not important? To me, it’s the most important.
I will leave you with this real life story from my life about fifteen years ago.
My wife needed to have her gal bladder removed. She was in horrible pain and we were in the ER. We didn’t have very good health insurance at the time and we were both worried about how much this was all going to cost. Of course, it didn’t matter, we both wanted her to feel better. Her probably more so than me.
I pulled up youtube.com and searched for gal bladder surgery. What do you know, there it was. A doctor walking through the operation step by step, describing the anatomy, performing the necessary cuts, stopping the bleeding when needed, pulling back this gal bladder and removing it in less than ten minutes. I had a solution! Obviously, it can’t be that hard, I SHOULD be able to do this myself. I had a friend that was a surgeon, I could borrow some, “tools”, and have this puppy pulled out and have her home in no time, with way less cost. I carefully pitched this idea to my wife who was in agony. Even the thought of having it pulled out as soon as possible did not outweigh her hate for me at that moment. I knew, at that very minute, my dreams of DIY surgery were never going to happen.