An Education

I miss school. Perhaps not so much the deadlines, the seemingly pointless essays and assignments, or the self-important lectures of arrogant professors (of whom, thankfully, I had very few), but I miss the free discussion of ideas, that in all honesty have little practical application but were still fascinating.

Most of the conversations I have at work are about Microsoft Excel, our perpetually challenged digital asset management system, or our beleaguered website. To be honest, conversation may be a generous term. Long strings of obscenities exchanged back and forth may be a more accurate assessment. It leaves a lot to be desired.

So it is with great wistfulness that I look back on discussions about abstract theories and ideas. Does the language we use really shape the way in which we perceive the world? By using 'phallocentric' language, do we really reinforce the already dominant patriarchal bias in our culture? Could one invention, the printing press, really spark a revolution of thought or were there other factors involved? Why has Western civilization played such a dominant role in the world to this point? How do we reconcile the different understandings of God without denigrating our own? 

To ask some of these questions in normal conversations seems absurd. Outside a traditional academic setting, most anyone I know would stare at me a moment after I asked and return to talking about the latest episode of "Dancing With the Stars." (Which then sparks the question "what is it about today's society that supports/encourages us to indulge in this kind of voyeurism; to elevate people from a certain field as being worthy of celebration and support?") And really, outside of satisfying my random curiosity, I admit these questions have no real practical application. Within the microcosm of academia, though, it makes sense.

Granted, I am idealizing the experience of education. I talk here in its truest form...where discourse is encouraged to test, to challenge previously held understandings in order to gain a better understanding of the world around us. With that understanding would hopefully come a desire to extend what we know to those around us. For knowledge gained and not shared is a waste, and as some might say, an immoral act. (My knowledge of philosophy is tenuous...as is much of the 'knowledge' I possess, so please forgive any overgeneralizations.) I just wish that I gave myself more opportunity to learn because as it stands, my mind feels stagnant, my ability to learn stifled.