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From Mensagenda - September 2003
Survival: Student
by Ray Voet
Survival: Student
My message to the students who are
beginning a new term in education: ”Everything
you know must be continually
reassessed, critically reviewed, and abandoned
when necessary.”
— Andrew Tighe.
”The first problem for all of us, men
and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn.”
— Gloria Steinem.
We need to learn information, be it true
or false, not to agree or disagree, but to
understand the concepts presented by others.
Much of the information we receive is
predicated or proclaimed to entice others
to accept a point of view. Often there is a
choreography or dance of words or actions
that expresses the deep convictions and
certainty of the individual. Information may
reflect the wonder, the awe of discovery of
a ”truth” applicable only to that individual
or his/her community. The truth may be
simple arithmetic or the complexity of mathematics
and chaos theory, the social mores
and etiquette of peers to the tact and diplomacy
required in extensive relationships,
the dogma of a religion to the experience of
spirituality — which may be valid or may
be the biochemical or other reactions experienced
in the brain.
Perhaps it is not to believe, that is a
choice decided upon by the individual. It is
to understand the basis, the perceptions,
the instructions of the teacher — or the
sage, if one is so blessed.
The student needs to realize that much
of what is learned is illusion, persuasion,
or propaganda that may be valid and
factual only in context. Illusion is the
valid perception accepted and described
by the vocabulary of the individual. In
eleventh century Normandy, France, the
peasant needed only about 1,100
words to describe or explain everything.
Today, one needs a very
large vocabulary and communication
skills to describe one’s perceptions.
Sometimes they are wrong
or not valid. It has been written that one
needs a detector for crap or other useless
information, so it can be recognized.
One needs to know a vocation, a profession,
to be useful to society, family, and self.
Since many consider that everything is connected
in some way, one needs to know or
be aware of history, politics, cultures, business,
agriculture, the sciences, and the vagaries
of the creature called Homo sapiens.
In these studies, be aware that much is
presented according to the bias of the writer.
The instructor, if honest, will provide opposing
ideas, and give the student choice,
after explaining why the instructor believes
as he or she does.
Learn everything you can, now, so it
does not have to be relearned tomorrow.
A nap, a siesta, REM (rapid eye movement)
dreams, or meditation for some 20
minutes will assist in putting short-term
memory into long-term memory. Too
many people cram, pass the test the next
day, and later have forgotten all they
tried to cram into the “head bone” before
the exam. It is not what you dream, but
that you do dream. Acetyl choline is involved
in the dreaming brain.
Oh yes, take time to enjoy life, find your
dreams, and experience them now.
I always planned to go or do things
with my wife, Rosemary, but it was to be
tomorrow. Or the next year. She died in
1982, and that hinders the enjoyment of
some of my dreams.
Again, please try to understand the
concepts of others, disagree or agree, but
perhaps know why they hold their views.
“In order to be a great writer a person
must have a built-in, shockproof crap detector.”
— Ernest Hemingway
E-mail Ray Voet at:
ravoet@earthlink.net
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