When did we stop good-old-fashioned learning? Yes, we pick up business skills and lessons from life experiences, but when was the last time you picked up a text book or academic journal?
I’m always late to the party when it comes to tv shows. That is how I discovered Bones this week. I have always known Bones was around, and I LOVE the Deschanel sisters (plus, sharing the name Emily), but because “Angel” was on, I thought that it might be a short-lived life-after-Buffy flop.
So yes, I’m late to the party. And I’ve missed a lot.
The amount of nerdy goodness in this show is insane. Most of the people I know through the blog communities are self-proclaimed nerds, geeks, dorks, and well, any other word that might describe intellectual awkwardness. Now enter the character Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan, my new female socially awkward hero. I’ve only gotten to see a little from season one, but her tag line in most episodes is, “I don’t know what that means.” Pretty much all pop references are lost on her.
In watching this show, I get the impression that it’s ok to be an expert in a specific field and not maintain complete knowledge of the rest of the world. You are limited by not what you know, but whether or not you are willing to learn. And the squints (aka scientists) are all about the learning.
If you aren’t tied to the academic world, when is the next time you’re going to need to study something? Will it be grad school? A new job in a different industry? When your kids need help on homework?
I feel like we’re not learning the same way we used to anymore. We often say, “I don’t know what that means,” and then that’s the end. If you’re really interested, you could take the next step and check out Wikipedia, but that’s only rough summary.
And are we learning only what applies to our jobs? What about outside interests? I admit that I’m not likely to learn how to do repairs around the house; I’m not a do-it-yourself kind of girl. I probably won’t pick up a chemistry book for fun, and I don’t know the last time I really delved into historical references.
Are we still learning? Is there something we can do to keep our brains from turning to mush? Are there ways we can connect to our geeky selves?
Photo credit.
I think this is the result of over specialization personally. To be a functioning member of society 110 years ago you NEEDED to know around the house basic repairs if you were a man, plus a job, plus how to help raise the neighbors barn and so on, you NEEDED to have an in depth knowledge of cooking, cleaning, birthing, childcare so on and so forth if you were a woman.
The more I go on in life I see that I don’t need to know how to hitch up the wagon as it were, there are repairmen for that. I don’t need to understand my financial situation, there are accountants for that. I have personally become 1 dimensional object out of need, my time goes to improving my overall assets in my field. Of course there are other things I do and enjoy but, not other subjects of learned interest frankly because there is no time, and no need for the most part.
Nice post. I am going to need some coaching from you when I get my own blog started potentially later this month. Time to study up blogging.
I find that there are some day-to-day things I wish there had been a class on: how to buy a house, credit card debt, basic auto repair (or how not to get swindled as a woman). There may have been some information at a community college for me to go get, but it’s odd, why don’t people at a university need the same skills?
And awesome with the blog! There’s a strong network through Brazen and Twitter for you to tap into. Looking forward to it!
I try to be well rounded in what knowledge I have, and for the most part I feel that I am. There are certain things that I just know will be beyond me no matter how much time I study them, (mathematics for one), so it’s a matter of accepting limitations. But when something catches my interest, or when I feel I can better myself by gaining at least a rudimentary knowledge of a subject, I try to learn it. (Though I try to shy away from wikipedia personally.)
I wish hiring managers found more value in that sort of willingness to learn, and the well-roundedness that results from it. Many a job have I been denied, despite my overall aptitude because I had not yet had to use some obscure Windows application. God forbid you should embrace my other knowledge and TRAIN me on the application.
.-= Ty Unglebower´s last blog ..Passion, Not Obsession. =-.
Ty, you tapped into talent. I feel the same way about managers not really understanding that willingness and passion to learn are so important. I know that I have a decent learning curve, so I’ll teach myself what I need on the job. I’ve been fortunate that my roles have been with the same company, and so far, they get that I’ll learn (and learn quickly). I’m very nervous about the future, and will I not have that as an advantage on my side?
While I don’t read textbooks any longer, I do read mostly non-fiction books to learn new things. I hear all the time that I’m boring for reading non-fiction, but I refuse to apologize for reading books on society, religion, politics, psychology, the environment, or people’s life experiences because I learn something new each and every time I open the book. And by the way, they aren’t boring at all! I think reading is the best way to keep yourself continually learning no matter your age or education level! Great post!
.-= Ashley Nicole´s last blog ..New Life Plan… =-.
You know Ashley, I really should read more like that. I went through a Civil War phase a couple years ago, read some non-fiction, and then books like Gone with the Wind and The March. I have a major problem of doing a lot of “should” stuff, like I should read about generations and should read about technology. I actually love those topics, but it’s not the same want that was there when the interest got started. You have now inspired me to find another topic to start reading on that’s outside of my usual library. Thanks!!
And I think one of the greatest things about Bones has been how much she’s learned (and how much more willing to learn she is now) since the beginning of the show. Emily Deschanel has done a good job of allowing that change to happen, which is one of the reasons I also LOVE that show.
(I was a late comer too, but caught up on the seasons over the last view months via Netflix. Totally worth it, btw.)
Personally, I think that show and that character have given me permission to flat-out say I don;t know what that means without feeling like I don’t know anything. Bones is smart but recognizes that she doesn’t know everything.
That’s why I agree with Ty that a willingness to learn is probably one of the most undervalued attributes of Gen Y today. And I would suggest that is it this attribute that will continue to define us as we age. Most Gen Yers I know work hard to do as Ashley suggested and absorb information outside of the bubble they operate in every day. For example: I know virtually nothing about biology and astronomy, but updates in those topics from Discovery News and National Geographic in my RSS reader are always high on my to-read list.
Maybe I should dig deeper and find some RSS feeds on forensic anthropology too!
Meg, I’m actually thinking of now learning about forensic anthropology myself! Willingness to learn is something that seems counterintuitive to the generation’s stereotype of being “entitled.” We must already know it all! I just don’t think that’s the case. I see tweets and posts all the time about people trying to learn or get info on a topic they don’t know about. If anything, we question a lot. I’ll be interested to see how our generation continues to get older and how learning fits in there.
I do, seriously, have problems reading or learning about something that isn’t directly related to work, possible career interests, or an article I’m writing. I have recently delved into alternative schools/education because I’ve been meeting a lot of parents who homeschool their kids, are involved in the administration of alternative schools, and then decided to write about it for The Next Great Generation’s Education week — but it took the fact that I was going to write an article for the site before I really started reading more in-depth. It’s hard to put learning something new just for the sake of knowing it (not applying it anything immediately) at the top of my priorities when I have so many other things fighting for my attention. Oh, and I have a novel that I got from the library sitting next to me that I meant to sit down and read today, but it just never took priority over everything else I did today…
So I would say it’s all about priorities.
.-= Carlee Mallard´s last blog ..Work Isn’t Supposed To Be Fun (Except Fun Jobs) =-.
Carlee, priorities are huge! I actually know what it’s like to have to balance everything, then throw it away for some kind of personal time. I myself actually spent a lot of this weekend relaxing watching Bones. I had a few other things to do, and I actually scheduled time to do them. Then with my non-scheduled time, I watched crime-fighting geeks! It was very refreshing. Why? Because when I start work today (that has nothing to do with forensic anthropology), I won’t already be burned out on marketing or talent, or anything other topics that usually reside in my reader. I like the break from the everyday. But it takes a lot, and sometimes you just don’t have that. I hope you do get to your novel! And I hope it’s good (cause we all know it’s frustrating when it’s a flop).