Things you wish you knew more about

[zabu of nΩd]

Often I am struck by how woefully ignorant I am about a lot of things. I feel a great obligation to aggressively pursue knowledge throughout my life, though my motivation to do so falls far short of my expectations. Several factors in my life have probably contributed to this, including being brought up by parents who are relatively simple-minded, and having my academic curiosity somewhat stifled by a college major that I chose more for its usefulness than for its meaningfulness to me personally.

These days most of my voluntary learning efforts go toward music, which is easier to 'study' than most things; but even still, it's very difficult to reach a point where one feels knowledgeable about a given genre, or even a handful of bands. Just a single band can take hours, days, or weeks of experience to really grasp in a circumspect way.

I could go on about a lot of other stuff, but I'll wait to see if this thread actually goes anywhere before going on any extravagant monologues.

So, the point of this thread is to discuss things you wish you knew more about, and more generally to talk about your own personal struggle for the pursuit of knowledge. Maybe some of us will even be able to give guidance to others on how to go about seeking the knowledge they desire.

 

[Eligos]

I wish I knew anything at all about drawing or visual art of some sort. But I've never been good at drawing and my penmanship sucks.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

*is a visual art (graphic design) major*

*waves*

 

[Eligos]

Are you offering to teach me?

 

[Episteme]

I'd like to learn more about Ancient History, Philosophy and I wish I was alot better at langueages. I'd also love to learn Quantum Mechanics and Nuclear Engineering. Would be great to learn classical music composition as well.

 

[sevag00]

I wish I knew anything at all about drawing or visual art of some sort. But I've never been good at drawing and my penmanship sucks.

Me too. I like drawing. I was actually thinking of majoring in graphic design, but my poor drawing skills made me choose another major.

 

[False Joe]

Can't draw?
Be a post-modern art cunt.
Shit on a wall and stick a fetus to it.
Impale two birds on a pencil and have them constantly rotating over a waxwork of Margaret Thatcher.
Gollywog up a black guy.
You'll make millions in no time.

 

[Zephyrus]

I wish I were fluent in Latin and Greek as I am in English. Very few people can boast that. Literacy and fluency are two very different things. The language department at UMaine has weekly language tables in which people sit around a table and converse in the scheduled language. If feel that if I start a Latin table, that will help people learn the language better as it exercises the neglected conversational use of the language.


My other goal is to be able to identify at least one historical event in each year between say 500 BCE and 1500 CE. This is next to impossible, but I already identify tons of years with certain events.

 

[Orion Crystal Ice]

I wish I knew more involved mathematics, specifically that which is applicable to astrophysics and the like. But I'm pretty much a math cripple even back to 7th grade stuff. And really I wish I understood why certain women do what they do and that trying to figure out why wasn't looked at like a cardinal sin.

 

[Vimana]

I wish I knew more languages. I want to learn Sanskrit and Latin at some point but I'm focusing on languages that are still spoken. But when I'm done I'll start with Sanskrit since it looks more complex.

 

[King Richard]

Great topic. It's hard for me to put my finger on one thing that I wish I knew more about, but the more I think about it the easier it is to figure out. I wish I knew more about the universe and a lot of other sciences in general. I find it fascinating how the universe works.

 

[optionthree]

I wish I was fluent in a non-Roman language. I've been thinking about learning Russian for a while now, so I might have to act on that. I'd like to learn/become moderately fluent in Greek and Turkish, too, for when I travel to that area in a year or so.

 

[The Ozzman]

I'd like to know why draft beer is more potent than bottled beer

 

[AchrisK]

I wish I was more knowledgeable in politics and US and World History.

I often want to discuss politics, and do have my own views (values), but my ignorance about processes and people and policies and whatnot frustrate me. So I tend to stay out of political discussions to some degree, or just troll them a little.

 

[waif]

Simple for me: I wish I knew more about music theory. I know nothing, and said knowledge would doubtless be extremely useful.

I also wish I knew shit about literature. I wish I had more time to read, but it usually comes down to picking between music and reading and music is definitely more important to me.

 

[cookiecutter]

I wish I knew more about literature and economics. I get some knowledge about these things through my study of history, but I never feel very secure in my opinions on these things.

 

[Zephyrus]

I wish I knew more about literature and economics. I get some knowledge about these things through my study of history, but I never feel very secure in my opinions on these things.

When I develop opinions on history I discuss them with my peers, regardless of how confident I am in the original opinion. If I lose the argument, I gain wisdom. If I win, then I become more confident in it.

 

[cookiecutter]

I think you misunderstood me. I am very confident in my historical opinions, but not in my opinions on literature and economics. This because my only knowledge of these things comes from history which is only part of the picture, especially when looking at current literature/economies.

 

[False Joe]

I think he's just saying what he does for opinions, not just necessarily historical ones.

 

[Belligerent]

I'd like to know why draft beer is more potent than bottled beer

Draft beer gives me the shits

I'd like to learn more languages. I'm going to Greece and Italy in October so my goal is to learn the basics.