...(or at least a know-a-lot)
Every time I learn something (is it redundant to say "learn something new"?), I have two main reactions: 1) happiness that i now know something i previously had not known and 2) worry (worry is a sort of a strong word, i just can't think of what comes right below it in the emotion hierarchy) about how much more i still don't know! Nix (read in an article and) told me just the other day that young people today are exposed to more information in a day than our grandparents were in a whole year....uhm, is that mind-boggling to anyone else??!
While I consider myself generally well-informed and knowledgeable about a good many things, I still can't help but feeling overwhelmed by the vast amount of information that exists. I realize this may sound crazy, but oh well. How did this come up?
I'm sitting here at work, reading through some documents on Social Security Reform for an upcoming paper we are supposed to write. (By the way, nothing is happening with SS reform, in case you are wondering...soooo basically I am doing lots of reading and "monitoring" and who knows whether anything will come of it. Oh well, I'm learning!) Most people our age have no reason to know or be especially concerned about this, but every year the Social Security Administration adjusts SS benefits to account for changes in the cost of living (related to inflation). In 2009, there was no Cost-of-Living-Adjustment...not because the SSA was being stingy, but because prices had dropped during the recession, effectively increasing the real purchasing power of SS benefits by around $700. In fact, during the recession, seniors actually saw their incomes "rise" as those for working-age households fell...I know what you're thinking....tell that to the old people who can't afford to pay their bills :-/ President Obama was thinking that too (lol), so he had proposed a $250 payments to all retirees...politically a good idea, not so much from an economicists' POV...but if Larry Summers were to be like "eh, I don't know Barack, that's not economically sound"...how do you think that would have been received by the general public?
Anyway, all of this is to say that when I read things like this, it reaffirms my resolve to be fully informed about something before taking a strong stance on it. I'm pretty indecisive (btw, research suggests that indecisive individuals utilize more information when trying to make a decision compared to decisive individuals LOL), and I tend not to see black/white, right/wrong on most issues....this is frustrating to some people (I'm thinking of one person in particular, and we don't get along at all lol) but it is really hard for me to be absolute about issues - especially hot-button issues like creation/evolution, religion, war, abortion, affirmative action, etc.(basically most things that involved "taking sides").
I actually used to be even more evasive about getting into "issue discussions." When I really think about it, I realize that my fear of ignorance/being wrong has a ton to do with this....this, in turn, fed into my shyness years ago (I wouldn't say I'm shy anymore). I grew up in a family with 3 super-smart, super-opinionated older brothers. Honestly, I was intimidated by this and I avoided (I sort of still do lol) getting involved in their heated conversations. The older and more educated/informed I've gotten, the more confident (in general, not just about conversations) and less shy I've gotten. I realized the two are correlated for me. Now, I love talking to people about a range of topics, because for the most part I believe that I am able to add something meaningful to the conversations. It's a great feeling.
When I was at GTown, I remember a professor talking about how being an "expert" simply means that you know more than the average person about a certain topic. I used to think of being an expert as some sort of unattainable title, fit only for geniuses. This isn't really the case. One of my goals in life is to become an expert in something(s). This is why I follow so many blogs and make such an effort to be informed. I enjoy knowing things and being able to share them with others. When people comment on my "knowing things" and "informedness" (yes, i'm aware that's not a real word), it makes my day :-)
I hope one day I'll be an expert in some specific area of Psychology, but I'd also like to be an expert in something fun, like Positivity, or Autobiographical Literature, or baking...or needle point (lol).
What about yall? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by how much there is to know...and daunted by a sense of how much you don't know? (Or is it just me?) Do you strive to be an expert in something? Maybe you already are? Other thoughts?
Today's *big chune* is the song that initially made me fall in love with Chrisette Michele: Like a Dream. I LOVE this song!! She's on my mind because yesterday I got tickets to see her when she comes to DC (at the 9:30 club) next Tuesday...with Laura Izibor, who was yesterday's big chune...YAY! Anyone else going?
:-D
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
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Thanks for the compliment!
ReplyDeleteI think this an interesting issue and there is a lot of good literature on the ides of the "rationally ignorant" voter. That is, most voters don't know much about the issues, but this is okay because the effect one individual can have on policy is so small that it is not worth the time to be educated on every issue. It's a controversial idea, but something to think about. It makes me wonder - perhaps the best approach is to be rationally selfish (not in the sense of greediness, but more in the sense of self interested). That is, if everyone only acted/voted/etc in their own self interests, then the outcome would benefit a majority of the people. This approach breaks down quickly because some people either will not or can not effectively act in their own self interests (mentally ill, children, politically powerless, etc.), but I'm not sure if it demonstrably worse than trying to act in someone else's self interests when it is much more difficult to even ascertain what that is.