A very wise teacher once heard a cacophony of student complaints, along the lines of:
- "Who wants to read about this?"
- "What are we learning this for?"
- "When are we ever going to use this stuff?
- "Where will it make a difference?"
- "Why are we learning it now?"
This was before the internet, smart phones, and calculators, when people needed to be self-reliant. The teacher told the class about timing, and won them over. While a quick surface knowledge of some things may be learned on-the-spot today through search engines and social media, the premise of timing still holds true.
Timing. All of you will have different lives. Everyone will have a different knowledge base.
It is rare in life that you learn something AT THE VERY MOMENT you think you need it, or wish you knew more about that particular subject. Very rare. You can't suspend time or freeze action while you learn on-the-spot. Events unfold, time marches on, and waits for no one.
There are many times in life that a person must face a situation unprepared and unarmed with the knowledge they need. People often learn something AFTER it may have made a significant difference. It may be common to hear people acknowledge, even years later, wistfully or with regret, "I wish I knew then, what I know now."
Wonderful are opportunities to learn something BEFORE you have a direct need to apply the information, and before you feel the pinch of sorrow that the information is coming too late. Please appreciate the opportunity to learn all you can, build a strong knowledge base, make connections with other concepts you've learned, and file away the information so you can retrieve it later should a need arise.
Given that it is rare to learn something in the moment you need to know it...
would you rather learn something BEFORE you may need it,
or AFTER you needed it?
