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Michael K. Senior Member United States Joined 5729 days ago 568 posts - 886 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Esperanto
| Message 65 of 70 19 May 2011 at 10:53pm | IP Logged |
I can certainly relate to the OP. I felt frustrated about vapid classmates and easy classes when I was 14, too. That was about 11 years ago. Perhaps it's a phase all reasonably intelligent people go through to some extent.
My advice is if it interests you even slightly and it's legal (LOL) try to learn about it and do it. Some people are interested in carpentry, welding, and auto mechanics and don't care about academic subjects while others are interested in languages, physics, and math and don't care about trades. It takes all types to make a world and all those areas are worthwhile. You'll change and your interests will change with you. When I was 14 I thought I was a visual learner and wanted to have an office job but now I realize I learn by doing and like to move around a little while I work. I found that out when I was learning to play the violin during the last year of my university education.
Anyway, try to develop a sense of intellectual curiosity about a wide variety of subjects in different areas, although you certainly seem to have that strength already.
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| Declan1991 Tetraglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6439 days ago 233 posts - 359 votes Speaks: English*, German, Irish, French
| Message 66 of 70 20 May 2011 at 2:19am | IP Logged |
Michael K. wrote:
Anyway, try to develop a sense of intellectual curiosity about a wide variety of subjects in different areas, although you certainly seem to have that strength already. |
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That is particularly poignant for me today, as Garret Fitzgerald, perhaps the greatest Taoiseach (Prime Minister), journalist, economist and may other things ever in Ireland died today. He, until the very end of his life at 85, was passionately interested in everything, in the words of one obituary, "he remained interested and interesting". I bring him up because, not only was he an incredible person, but he has a few lessons for everyone, particularly this thread. Firstly, he was a brilliant statistician and great for building bridges between Ireland and himself, and everywhere and everyone else, but that wasn't his training at all. His education was nothing compared to his intellect, to honour him with a sort of cliché.
Secondly, he epitimised an ideal one of my lecturers would aspire to, "to know a little about everything and a lot about a little". In other words (and I understand that the OP came across badly in this regard, I've since come to think that this doesn't charactise you, this is in general), he was interested in knowledge, using knowledge and discussing knowledge, views and opinions, regardless of the source of them. Formal education and qualifications can seem to be the epitimy of knowledge, intelligence and education, but they aren't. He finished off his PhD in his forties, but it was utterly irrevelant. He was writing his column in the Irish Times (the longest running column for that paper ever at 57ish years) before and after it, and his contributions before and after were equally impressive.
What I'm getting at, and trying to use this fascinating and amazing man to illustrate, is that getting a PhD at 20 might be a great achievement, but that's not necessarily what you should be dedicating your time to. As I've said I think, I could easily have finished education two years earlier than I did, maybe even three, but while I might have known 95% then, I knew 100%, even 105% as I could focus on slightly harder stuff too, afterwards. Not only that, but I had time to develop my interests, and realise that although I'm an engineer at heart, I also have a deep interest in history and linguistics, not to mention music. If I had been pushed at every twist and turn, I wouldn't have had that time to broaden my horizons, and see beyond simply a BEng to true interest.
And to finish off that incoherent rambling, just let me pay tribute to Garret Fitzgerald, possibly my favourite politician of all time, a man whom I respected greatly, and am glad that I had hear him speak personally just months before his death. I can just hope that when I'm 85 (I feel optimistic enough!) I have the same interest and thirst for knowledge that I have now and he had until yesterday.
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| Akao aka FailArtist Senior Member United States Joined 5336 days ago 315 posts - 347 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Toki Pona
| Message 67 of 70 20 May 2011 at 2:39am | IP Logged |
I want to do it purely for fun. Learning is the most fun I can have. Assuming I'm
learning something I like.
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| Sulpicius Diglot Groupie United States Joined 6027 days ago 89 posts - 91 votes Speaks: English*, Latin Studies: French, Arabic (Written)
| Message 68 of 70 20 May 2011 at 4:43pm | IP Logged |
Deleted.
Edited by Sulpicius on 22 May 2011 at 5:24pm
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| leosmith Senior Member United States Joined 6550 days ago 2365 posts - 3804 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Tagalog
| Message 69 of 70 21 May 2011 at 3:30am | IP Logged |
I liked school, and learned a lot from it. Granted, it wasn't always easy or efficient, but over all it was a positive
experience for me. Don't be discouraged by posts, like the previous one, full of sweeping generalities and ridiculous
exaggerations. Have an open mind towards school.
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