Dear Jeff,
To separate knowledge into "useful" vs. "un-useful" appears to fall into
the habit of dichotomizing things, which arises from a spirit of duality,
which you apparently objected to in a previous posting. Of course,
there's nothing wrong with dichotomization per se ... it is a
categorizational skill which helps us to organize our thoughts. It only
becomes dangerous when we start to place values upon one category vs. the
other, that is, when we start to judge.
Many "useful" things have been serendipitously gained from the study of
what many would consider "un-useful" fields of knowledge. I can name
dozens of examples, not the least of which are the origins of the laser,
Velcro, penicillin, super-glue, and indeed, even the very Internet with
which we hold our valuable communication owes its origin in an extremely
"un-useful" field of science. But practicality is not the reason why we
study. We study because we are alive and curious about the universe, just
as a child draws a picture for her own delight. That is reason enough.
Yes, I agree there are certainly many volumes collecting dust on
bookshelves, but I would also suggest that what are contained in those
volumes are all precious and useful in their own right, for they are all
part of our experience and universe. Who am I to judge whether a movement
is a waste of time? The universe has graciously offered us an abundance
of time and space to move as much as we want, and it rejoices as all of
its glorious details is unveiled in wonderment. Perhaps a bit of
hard-gained knowledge fades away and has to be rediscovered an infinite
number of times, just as endless generations of children draw their little
stick-figures with crayons and are never appreciated in museum displays.
But the momentary delight which the discoverer of that knowledge
experiences is no less than the momentary delight of the young artist when
she creates her personal masterpiece, and such delight is enough for both.
And the universe agrees. And that is enough.
Perhaps the beginning of wisdom is realizing that there is as much joy and
pleasure in an "un-useful" bit of knowledge as there is in a "useful" one.
Best,
HF
