(September 12, 2016 at 10:55 pm)Kernel Sohcahtoa Wrote:(September 11, 2016 at 5:56 am)Alasdair Ham Wrote: How strong is your desire to understand? Do you struggle to agree with what you do not understand? Do you feel like you need to understand everything? Do you hate condescension?
Wondering how many peeps can relate to this.
If I was ignorant of a topic or did not understand it, I would first own up to it and try to gain a basic understanding of the subject matter before agreeing with any of it (this is assuming I'm interested in it). For example, if an instructor expected me to just accept the validity of a mathematical idea without demonstrating why it works (he would demonstrate the proof later on in the semester), then I would feel awkward: I don't want to blindly accept things. I enjoy the challenge of understanding unfamiliar ideas and being able to explain them in simple and concise language if possible. However, I do not have a need to understand everything: I've made peace with the fact that an individual can only know and accumulate a limited amount of knowledge in their lifetime. As a man much smarter and wiser than myself said: "the smarter you are, then the more you know you don't know."
I have no problem with condescension. If someone is talking down to me, because I lack an adequate understanding of the subject matter, then I'll chalk it up for what it is: I'm ignorant of the subject matter and I can either let it go or educate myself. If I choose to let it go, then I cannot in good conscience express any agreement or disagreement with it.
Emphasis added
That man is Aristotle.
