Learning: Never ending, always beginning
“We learnt the Pythagoras theorem today,”, “We learnt how to cook pasta,”, “We learnt how to talk confidently in public,”…. See how the same word has been used for completely different things?
There’s no one way about it, learning is the only way we can grow. Think about it, we learnt something at every micro and mini step in life: from learning to walk, to learning how to code. Learning, or knowledge, is like a huge jungle that you can never completely traverse. It would be a cliché statement to say that no one ever stops learning, but it’s very true!
Ever since life materialized on this planet, life forms have been learning to adapt to different and changing scenarios. We’ve all learnt how a giraffe was probably initially small-necked but how it learnt to adapt itself to the changing environment: In this case, to the growth of taller trees. Over many generations, our long-necked friend was finally perfectly formed.
Dabbling in anything new or fine tuning anything previously learnt is what keeps us going as a race. Information is all around us. Stats say that the average human brain is loaded with 34 GB of information every day! That’s more than many of the data packages we put into our phones! It does not matter whether you are taking a special course or not, learning happens every day. We learn what’s going on in the world through newspapers, we learn how to do something like, washing dishes in a more efficient way than before.
See, learning isn’t something you can force yourself to do. It almost always starts when you’re curious about something. You may have heard the phrase, ‘Curiosity killed the cat’, but curiosity in the right direction almost always leads to innovations and discoveries. And it can happen anytime! You don’t need to chart out a specific time to ‘learn something new’. Just consider something you’re interested in, look it up, and do it. It shouldn’t be done because it’s trending, or all your friends know about it.
Knowledge is what brings people together, opens their eyes to the rights and wrongs of the world around them, and enlightens people to problems that need to be solved. Think about it: The only reason illiterate people in India sometimes still practice infanticide or child marriage is because they don’t know any better.
That’s why sending kids to schools is so important. You don’t just learn the parts of a plant, or Newton’s laws of motion, you are empowered to make the right choice, and stand up for what’s just.
Learning extends way beyond the school syllabus though. For students, at least, learning is like a spectrum, where only one part consists of the interesting (and sometimes boring!) stuff our schools teach us. The rest is what we get from reading books on diverse topics, attending talks and webinars, interacting with people, from newspapers, etc. Extracurricular activities form a part too. Sports, music or any meaningful hobby like painting teach us hard work, dedication and all the qualities that cramming for a test might not give us. Not bothering to update previously learnt information ‘rusts’ our brains, making us sloppy and cumbersome.
It’s not just nonfiction books or shows that teach us stuff. I talked in my previous articles about the importance of fiction and imagination. They too teach us to react to situations in a certain way, or show us the problems of society in a very subtle but impactful way. Never forget to add the spice of fiction in your daily life to make it so much more fun to experience.
I’ll share my experience in learning something new recently. Last month, I attended a weekend camp for school students organized by IIT Gandhinagar. Renowned scholars and educators from across the country and the world were there to share their valuable insights on various topics. There was a session on the evolution of the brain, where I learnt how the different parts of the brain were altered as species evolved. The session on Argumentation taught me how to express my thoughts clearly, and pointed out the mistakes one makes in daily communication. The Creative You session taught how there’s creativity in everything, even if you don’t see it. There were sessions on protecting the planet, prosperity and poverty and many more that resonated with me hugely. I felt privileged to have been a part of that camp.
And so never be afraid to learn something different! Everything, from guitar classes, to an informative webinar, to learning how to cook, helps you somehow. They mold you into being the person you want to be, a better human being. Stay positive and do what you love without thinking about what others think. Remember, you can be a student as well as a teacher, to yourself and others. Share knowledge whenever you want to, as exchange of information is a part of learning itself! Believe in yourself and never stop! The results might surprise you.