The More I Learn, The More I Realize I Know Nothing...

Absolutely Nothing

from JoeUser Forums
The more I learn, the more I feel as though I know absolutely nothing. I kid you not, I feel like I have the brain of a 4 year old. It's not so much lack of intelligence as it is lack of knowledge and experience. I don't memorize well, which doesn't help me out a bit here. There's so much in this world to see. I've done nothing with my life so far, or so it feels like. If I could know 1/100 of everything there is to know, I would be the smartest person in the world, dare I say. I don't know how many bones are in my body, I don't know how many different chords there are in music. I don't know what Genisis 6:36 says. I have no idea exactly what Socrates thought about. I don't even know all the capitals of the states. I have no idea all the movies Sandra Bullock plays in. I'm not sure how far Venus and Pluto are apart. Goodness sakes, I don't even understand why I feel the way I feel most of the time. I want to learn, I want to know, I want to be a walking, talking dictionary... but it's useless. I want to be more than a blonde who has fun; there must be more than that. No matter how much I try none of it sticks, and even if it did I would still know nothing compared to all there is to know. I know my worth is not dependent on my wits or knowledge or even intelligence for that matter, but still I can't stop thinking about how my life would be different if only I knew... if only I knew so much more than I do know. How much can the brain handle, how much could I take if I could take it all? I just want to be bright, to be intelligent, to be knowledgeable. Maybe the first step in becoming these things is realizing that I'm not any of them.
philosophy
6,518 views 19 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
start reading... start out with easy stuff and then work your way up... sure you're not going to memorize everything, but you'll retain more than you might think... there are suggested readings all over this website by various people.

if you want to know more about Socrates, read... wanna know more about anatomy? surf the web. don't think you'll remember the number of bones? add the page to your list of favorites and refer back to it until you think you've got it...

play trivia games to test your knowledge and to encourage you to learn more. once you get to where you know a little more, it'll give you more confidence...

once you build the base, you'll find adding on to be easier...

and blah blah blah..

Read
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
'You don't have to go out the door
to know what goes on in the world.
You don't have to look out the window
to see the way of heaven.
The farther you go,
the less you know'.

Lao Tzu, 'Tao Te Ching'
(pronounced "dow de jing" in case you were wondering)
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Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
I agree with imajinit--If you want to learn you need to read. Read lots of stuff. Magazines, books, newspaper, whatever you can get your hands on. I am a HUGE reader. Besides, how will you know what you like to read until you've read it all, and how will you know how much you know until you know it all?

Lol that made no sense. But seriously. Read.

And maybe get your hands on Trivial Pursuit. Read all the cards, or at least a good number of them. You will remember some. I'm 19 years old, and for the past four or five years, every time I play trivial pursuit with my family, no matter who is on my team, I win. It's good to know things.

I suggest, if you want to know a little bit about everything, get magazines from as many genres as you can stand. I mean, if you REALLY don't like bugs, don't get a bug magazine. But maybe Popular Science, and Time, and whatever else you see that you want to know more about. Of course, you could get books abou these things, too, but that seems dry. Watch Jeopardy, and whatever things interest you on there, write it down and look it up on the internet.

You can never stop learning. Even if the world stopped moving, and nothing changed, there would still an unlimited source of learning. :D
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
The Smartest People are the ones that are always learning... some people have an insatiable appetite for knowledge, and that is very, bery healthy.

Its actually quite prophetic of you to realise this at a young age!!!!

BAM!!!
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
I changed my mind. I do like your writing. If you didn't see where I said I didn't ignore this. But I do. I really do. Smile

Dharmagirl, that wuz awesome.

Trinitie
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
Seriously, Dharma girls right. Read my Geek thread. I think I am trying to hard to be a geek. I used to isolate myself and just think, and i gained more knowledge, wisdom, and self esteem to learn and become better. Try it, its fun to be isolated.
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
I have more where that came from......


and thank you!
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
..and isolation is good as far as thinking and learning goes.

I'm proud of my geek rating......I'm a Major Geek! You can take the test at www.innergeek.us.....
Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top
Thanks guys for all the advice...

Trinitie~where did you say you didn't like my writing? I won't take offense, I'm just curious. Another thing I'm curious about is if Trinitie is your real name. I'm guessing it is and that's pretty cool, if so.

TARSIER and dharmagrl~trust me, I am isolated, and I'm still not smart, DANG!

Tangled Wishes~ great idea with the trivial pursuit... I think we have it somewhere. I used to babysit for this 10 year old and she'd always beat me at that game and I always felt like such an ass... now I'm going to memorize all the cards and call her parents up and see if they want a night out! ;-) jk
Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
I have two reactions to your post. One is that you must be brilliant to realize that you don't know very much. None of us do. Even the brightest, most read people don't know very much. There is too much to know.

Second, I understand the ability not to retain what you read. Some people can learn facts very easily and retain them. Others learn general concepts, but don't remember the facts that back them up. I'm that kind of learner. I've read a lot, but I can't tell you specific facts very often. There are books and a series of books that give you a lot of facts that every "educated person" should know. If you'd study those books--you would not feel like an idiot. Another way to learn is by reading novels. I don't know or care anything about motorcycles but I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance and learned something about motorcycles. Most of my knowledge of China comes from reading novels. Detective novels cover a lot of areas.

Here is a list of the books. I haven't read them, so I don't know how good they are.
Don't Know Much About Geography : Everything You Need to Know About the World but Never Learned
by Kenneth C. Davis (Author)
Don't Know Much About History : Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned
by Kenneth C. Davis (Author)
Don't Know Much About the Bible: Everything You Need to Know About the Good Book but Never Learned
by Kenneth C. Davis (Author)
Cultural Literacy : What Every American Needs to Know
by E.D. Hirsch Jr. (Author)
Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top

There has always been a saying that has stuck with me: "The more you know, the more you know you don't know".

The more you learn, the more you realize that there is so much more out there to learn.  So, no matter how much you learn, you will always feel like you really need to learn more.

A good place to start learning is with a hobby that you like to do.  Read about it, work on it, really master it.  That process will help you with mastering other things in life, too.

Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top
Sherye Hanson~ thanks so much for the list of books, they look great! Next time I go to the library I'll be sure to check a couple out!

Thanks everyone... hope you all had a great day!

~Sarah
Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top
Hey there, wow lotta great stuff here.

Sarah, Im with you. A lot of things were flying thru my mind reading your blog.

I crack up because I used to watch "G.I. Joes" and they used to always have these little scenes at the end of the show. An example: Some kids are playing in the street when a power line breaks and is there buzzing on the ground. One kid curiously walks up to get a closer look, then somebody comes into the scene in a hurry, guiding the kids a safe distance away and he explains the danger of the situation. And the person would say this line everytime, "And now you know. And knowing is half the battle."
And that is so true, as you said you have realized.

The one thing that I want to share that can benefit you until the day you stop learning is this: "Check the fruit on the tree." Become a fruit inspector of people. Im not saying be critical of people or just because you think you know more than someone does don't listen at all. We are all ignorant--just on different subjects, right?

What I am saying by checking the fruit is, if I am getting marriage counseling (which Im not ), how is my counselors marriage going? Does he have the kind of marriage I want? Or maybe it's at work, of course my goal is to excel to the top, but if I look at the CEO or Presidents position, and I don't like the "fruit" in his life--why strive for that position?
What are these "fruit"? First it is the fruit of the spirit that Paul talks about. What is prosperity?
So before you dive eagerly into a book recammended by a good friend--find out about the author, what foundations does he or she have in their life? It's a simple concept, but it can be applied in so many areas of life...
Reply #14 from JoeUser Forums Top
What I am saying by checking the fruit is, if I am getting marriage counseling (which Im not ), how is my counselors marriage going? Does he have the kind of marriage I want?

you're not taking the counseler's ability to be objective into consideration... even if he/she doesn't have a good marriage, that doesn't mean that he/she can't help you...

think on that one a bit
Reply #15 from JoeUser Forums Top
Your point is well taken imajinit, and I have a question for you:

If you wanted to learn to play football, would you talk to your grandma, or a pro football player?
Reply #16 from JoeUser Forums Top
you've got a good point too, although my grandmother is one helluva football player... in true mind-twisting fashion, i have a question for you...

who can help someone become the best football player he/she can be? a pro football player? or the overweight coach who knows all the ins and outs of the game? the coach designs the plays, motivates his players to work hard, teaches 'em how to win, how to run, how to give it everything they've got, and yet sometimes they can't even run the length of the field without passing out...

"those who can, do. those who can't, teach..."

not always true, but it happens...
Reply #17 from JoeUser Forums Top
I voted you most likely to fail in the Joeuser awards, but I changed my mind. You'll definately succeed...and who am I to say so anyway?

My name is Trinitie Tiearra Garrison. Thanks for the compliment.

Trinitie
Reply #18 from JoeUser Forums Top
"And now you know. And knowing is half the battle."

You're great One Man... I just wanted to say that. :) smile guyz! This is the day the Lord has made....

Trinitie
Reply #19 from JoeUser Forums Top
First an apology to everybody that this is getting a little off topic--but really it's not.

imajinit-- I say the pro football player... who eventually retired and got fat and went back to coach because #1 he has the experience and wisdom to now teach others, and #2 because of his passion for the game.

If I know everything of the game, read every book and guide (even "the Idiots guide to Football" Im sure they have that by now!) I've studied films, I've gone to hundreds of games, I would be a pretty good coach right? Exactly, I would be 'pretty good'. All great coaches have once battled on the field and they know by experience.

When you get dumped by your girlfriend (b/f whichever) and you go to a friend for help, and they say "I know how you feel--do they? Have they been there?