Guest
Guest
 | | Subject: Ignorance Sat Aug 15, 2009 10:06 am | |
| Proportion.
In the grand scheme of things it is apparent to me that relative to the amount of stuff there is that is potentially knowable, the level of my ignorance is so large as to be virtually indistinguishable from infintity. I manage to consider this idea as simutaneously both overwhelming and really exciting. It's overwhelming if I am in the mood to feel it necessary to feel particularly competent. It's exciting when I reflect upon the limitless frontier of really cool things that are available for me to ponder on and to learn.
- NonE |
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Conrad
Number of posts: 5647
Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Registration date: 2007-07-21
| | Subject: Re: Ignorance Sun Aug 16, 2009 8:01 am | |
| [quote="NonEntity"]Proportion.
In the grand scheme of things it is apparent to me that relative to the amount of stuff there is that is potentially knowable, the level of my ignorance is so large as to be virtually indistinguishable from infintity. I manage to consider this idea as simutaneously both overwhelming and really exciting. It's overwhelming if I am in the mood to feel it necessary to feel particularly competent. It's exciting when I reflect upon the limitless frontier of really cool things that are available for me to ponder on and to learn.
opportunity costs though. it would be way easier if you'd already know them. Same as Americans telling me how cool it is that I know a second language. But if i had been a native English speaker I could have spent all that time learning English (by watching TV mostly) on other things. |
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Guest
Guest
| | Subject: Re: Ignorance Sun Aug 16, 2009 8:12 am | |
| If I already knew an infinitely large amount of stuff????? Me thinks you miss the point.  - NonE |
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eye2i2
Number of posts: 753
Age: 59
Location: southeastern north america ;)
Registration date: 2008-09-02
| | Subject: Re: Ignorance Sun Aug 16, 2009 8:56 am | |
| | Conrad wrote: | | Same as Americans telling me how cool it is that I know a second language. But if i had been a native English speaker I could have spent all that time learning English (by watching TV mostly) on other things. |
But wouldn't the compliment be still warranted, when/if you'd spent the time learning say Dutch along with that English? I know that's what I mean when I compliment someone on knowing, conversationally especially, more than one language. Perhaps from a USian's (rhymes with America's Canadian's) perspective it's because the overwhelming majority of folks I know, spend time on the likes of English-only tv and know zero other languages period, much less conversationally (perhaps other than recalling enough Spanish/French/Latin from high school to say "Hello, friend" in them --as is the case with me, amigo)
But perhaps you're saying you had a more, or purely, business reason (ie external motivation) for having invested said time?  |
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