Knowledge is… what exactly?
June 26, 2012 at 7:05 pm (Education, In So Many Words) (books, education, knowledge, lists, research)
Despite that old saying that knowledge is power, lately I have found that the more knowledge I obtain, the less I feel I know about anything at all. Sit down and read a book, immediately you are bombarded with at least ten other books you now need to read. Les Miserables part one and two led me on a month-long adventure studying Napoleon. While reading Napoleon, I felt like I didn’t understand much about any of the French wars. I started buying up all sorts of French history despite the fact that I don’t really care much for French history, I just feel the need to know.
Well, that was last month. This month something sparked an old interest, an idea I had about ten years ago that I never pursued. I want to discover where the fine line between historical and relevant Astrology and the horoscope divination stuff actually lies. I think the planets influence the world at large in a ‘the universe is one well oiled machine that works somewhat as one’ kind of way. But divination and prophecies kind of give me the willy-nillies. So I found myself reading The Case for Astrology by John Anthony West. Of course, he is incredibly detailed and I realized I didn’t have a clue about half of what he was talking about. So I started with the basics and picked up Dava Sobel’s The Planets, a couple of Stargazer books that I will hold onto for the kiddo (all great stuff for about age ten), and a number of other things. So here I am now, reading anything and everything I can get my hands on from Astronomy to the mythology and literature that are the star’s namesakes.
Frankly, as exciting as it is to learn something new – it’s also a bit exhausting. Each new little piece of the puzzle reveals 1000 pieces you never knew existed. It’s the same in any subject. When I was studying Egyptology I buried myself in Ancient Egypt everything for nearly a year. 12 months of research later, all I managed to uncover was how much more there was to research. Even now in my Astrology/Astronomy stint, I’m uncovering how interconnected much of it is to Egyptian history, myth, and mystery, that it’s just added another 20 books to my TBR pile.
It is endless.
And when it all ends, when I die, where does all this knowledge go? Unless I become a world renown writer (doubtful) or some kind of famous historian (highly doubtful), it will all be lost.
That could be a really depressing thought. Except for one tiny little detail: It’s not so much about the knowledge, but the journey.
It’s about the diligence it takes to sift through information and catalogue not just the facts but thoughts about those facts. It’s about using your mind and thinking through reality and your world view of that reality. It’s about understanding human nature and God’s nature well enough to be the best possible human you can be. It’s about knowing that when you die, you spent your time wisely, keeping your eyes open to the nuances and the tiny details of everything.
It doesn’t matter what I die not knowing when it comes to factoids and dates and the names of things. It matters that I lived a life of pursuit.
Anakalian Whims 
John Anthony West. Magical Egypt.-The Invisible Science at said,
July 4, 2012 at 5:15 pm
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