Book 111 - A Year of Magical Learning

Reflection Title: “I Was So Much Smarter When I Was Younger!”

Book – The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant

Book Description: A concise survey of the culture and civilization of mankind, The Lessons of History is the result of a lifetime of research from Pulitzer Prize–winning historians Will and Ariel Durant. The book presents an overview of the themes and lessons observed from 5,000 years of world history, examined from 12 perspectives: geography, biology, race, character, morals, religion, economics, socialism, government, war, growth and decay, and progress. With their accessible compendium of philosophy and social progress, the Durants take us on a journey through history, exploring the possibilities and limitations of humanity over time. Juxtaposing the great lives, ideas, and accomplishments with cycles of war and conquest, the Durant’s reveal the towering themes of history and give meaning to our own.

Reflection:

I listened to the audio book version of The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant. In the audio version, the narrator takes short interludes in between chapters to interview the author’s, Will and Ariel Durant, to get their remarks on some of the content and their life’s work. You can tell from the audio clips that this was toward the tail end of their lives as their voices sounded very old, meek, and distant.

In one of the interview interludes, I remember Will Durant saying something that I will never forget and it will forever be etched in my mind. He was being questioned about some of his past philosophies and comments he made when he was younger, and the interviewer asked him why and how his views had changed? Will Durant jokingly responded (paraphrasing), “I was a lot smarter and knew so much more when I was younger. That is the funny thing about old age, I know less and less the older I get.”

These candid comments hit me like a ton of bricks when I heard them. It immediately made me think of my own life and this journey that I’ve been on the past few years. Before I met Emilia, I was 35 years old and I thought I had a pretty damn good grasp on who I was, how this world worked, and how to find happiness in this this life. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Fast forward 2 years later, and I’ll gladly tell anyone that will listen that I don’t know anything…I truly mean it. I mean it so much that I’ve made it a part of my core values, so I never forget it.

The more I learn, the less I know. This world is so infinitely complex and interconnected. In the tiny blip of time that is our lives on this Earth, we probably only understand .000000001% of all knowledge we would need to acquire to have any idea about what is really going on. We are playing a finite game and the universe is playing an infinite one.

Sometimes I wonder if it is better to be that brash, confident, arrogant, and all-knowing person we all are in our youth and early adult years? There really is bliss in ignorance sometimes. It feels really good thinking you have some control of your life, even if it isn’t true.

However, I know that at the end of day this is never possible. The longer we stick around in this amazing world, the more we will slowly be humbled over time by its mysteries. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing. On the contrary, it is actually the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.

Being confident is boring! If you already have everything figured out, what’s the point of life? Always remembering that you don’t know anything opens up the door to infinite possibilities and a world full of wonder. Stay Stupid!

Question: In what ways do you get dumber the older you get?

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Links:

What is The Year of Magical Learning? An Introduction

YOML Podcast Discussion - The Lessons of History

YOML Bookstore - The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant