As I finished my duolingo lesson for the day feeling proud of myself looking at "2 day streak" ( Hey, a streak is a streak!) the familiar voice of self-doubt showed up. "Whats so great about learning Spanish? " Of course, finding words that are similar to Tamil and English is intriguing and leads to some thought on the history of languages. But is there any basic benefit to learning another language that you are not likely to use?
As I contemplated this idly, the bigger question of what knowledge itself is loomed large. Is mere information considered knowledge? Some people can rattle off statistics about say a sport and be admired for being knowledgeable while others are called a "frigging bore" because they cant stop talking about that one thing. Is knowledge a factor of the person, or like beauty, is it in the eyes of the beholder? One of my friends who is obsessed with aircrashes , impresses me with her knowledge and passion for it , but would I say the same if she was interested in military equipment or say, the construction industry?
While sitcoms should not be confused with reality- we cant deny that a real life Ross would be considered quite a bore too. And whats more, Ross himself called Geologists and botanists boring in the course of the show. While that was done for comic effect, you cant help wonder if that is how we all view each other. You are knowledgeable if it is in a topic i am interested in, else shut up. Certain topics are universal- you arent considered wise if your area of expertise is make-up. Knowledge about sports always signifies a certain macho quality, just as a deep interest in astrophysics or neurobiology firmly places you in the "interesting+ geek" category.
According to me, if a person's area of interest is in something that has no direct relevance to them or their work, it is admirable. A marketing executives knowledge about ads isnt going to impress me , or anyone else. They are simply good at their job. But if they had a special interest in say, cars, or mountaineering- something that has no direct relevance to the mainstream bit of their life- they move one step up in my respect ladder. Interest in things like sports and politics, do not count- although there may be exceptions.
Even in this post-google world of everything available at your fingertips, being knowledgeable has its advantages. A multilingual without a phone is a better than one who has google translate installed on his smartphone. And so I conclude that, while I ( or this blogpost) may not be able to explain why, a two day streak is definitely mucho buen.
As I contemplated this idly, the bigger question of what knowledge itself is loomed large. Is mere information considered knowledge? Some people can rattle off statistics about say a sport and be admired for being knowledgeable while others are called a "frigging bore" because they cant stop talking about that one thing. Is knowledge a factor of the person, or like beauty, is it in the eyes of the beholder? One of my friends who is obsessed with aircrashes , impresses me with her knowledge and passion for it , but would I say the same if she was interested in military equipment or say, the construction industry?
While sitcoms should not be confused with reality- we cant deny that a real life Ross would be considered quite a bore too. And whats more, Ross himself called Geologists and botanists boring in the course of the show. While that was done for comic effect, you cant help wonder if that is how we all view each other. You are knowledgeable if it is in a topic i am interested in, else shut up. Certain topics are universal- you arent considered wise if your area of expertise is make-up. Knowledge about sports always signifies a certain macho quality, just as a deep interest in astrophysics or neurobiology firmly places you in the "interesting+ geek" category.
According to me, if a person's area of interest is in something that has no direct relevance to them or their work, it is admirable. A marketing executives knowledge about ads isnt going to impress me , or anyone else. They are simply good at their job. But if they had a special interest in say, cars, or mountaineering- something that has no direct relevance to the mainstream bit of their life- they move one step up in my respect ladder. Interest in things like sports and politics, do not count- although there may be exceptions.
Even in this post-google world of everything available at your fingertips, being knowledgeable has its advantages. A multilingual without a phone is a better than one who has google translate installed on his smartphone. And so I conclude that, while I ( or this blogpost) may not be able to explain why, a two day streak is definitely mucho buen.
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