“Knowledge that is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.”
– Plato
The more I think about this sentence, the more it becomes clear to me. Real learning (the kind that sticks in our minds) cannot be forced into our minds. It has to be something you want to know.
Right now, I and probably you don’t remember 90 percent of what we learned in school. Forced knowledge never works.
Real knowledge is valuable when it enters our brains, when we acquire it with curiosity. When you are curious and decide to learn something, it feels alive. The mind naturally wants meaning and wonder, not just raw facts.
A child who is fascinated by a butterfly flying or a cat did not become fascinated by these things because of their parents. It is the act itself, the real self of the thing that fascinates them. This is real learning. Playful, free, and unforgettable.
The system kills our curiosity. They tell us what we know and what we don’t know and when to stop asking questions.
We are now faced with an information bomb. Plenty of opportunities to learn anything we want. Knowledge should feel like freedom, not a prison.
Don’t learn because you have to. Learn because you want to.