Quotable Quotes: Learning
by Miki Saxon
As someone once said, “Learning how to learn is life’s most important skill.”
Daniel J. Boorstin’s comment enlarges on that with his definition of education, “Education is learning what you didn’t even know you didn’t know,” and C.S. Lewis believes in learning the hard way,
“Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.”
Douglas Adams tempers that idea, “Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.” Sadly true, otherwise history wouldn’t keep repeating itself.
There are as many way to learn as things to learn. Most people think of learning as finding answers, but Lloyd Alexander says, “We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.”
Book learning can never take the place of actually doing; an old Chinese proverb says it best, “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.”
Mortimer Adler reminds us, “The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as long as we live.”
Very true, and Sarah Caldwell tells us how, “Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can – there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.”
I hope you’ll take today’s quotes to heart and remember that learning is impossible if you start with preconceived notions or a closed mind.
Finally, listen to Mahatma Gandhi; hold his advice close, share it with those you care about and with those you don’t and follow it for the rest of your days. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
Image credit: srbichara on sxc.hu
