Independent Realization V.S. Absract Teaching

Independent Realization V.S. Absract Teaching [+ favourites]

Lets make a few assumptions here.

1. Decius has learned all that he knows all alone and never had anyone helping him along the way. Ofcourse he learned because of other people, but he never had anyone helping him clarify his thoughts.

2. I have learned all I have because someone directly taught me.

I was wondering, is it better to realize things on your own with out the help of others? And do you think itis possible to ever fully understand something when you do NOT figure it out all on your own?

"Wht cry for those that often cry? Instead, help them smile, and smile for those that smile."

The "why", not "how" is what is most important, I feel.

"Hating everyone protects me from elitism."

Not another Decius related thread. Everything I know I learn from books. My idea of education is self-education. Some people have a more oral, "proactive" style of learning. As Decius quite rightly says, the only measure of how good each method is their relative success.

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Everything I know I learn from books.

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My idea of education is self-education.

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"What's the point in not conforming, if it changes you?"

You're better off doing both. You can't realize everything by yourself. When you come to a realization yourself, you may feel more convinced than if you witnessed it on someone else or learned it from a book, but it depends on the circumstances.

"How can we be just in a world without mercy and merciful in a world without justice?"

If you're told not to lick metal poles in the winter time because your tongue will get stuck, you'll either respond with "okay, I won't" or "I doubt that would happen to me" (I tripple dog dare you!!). But until you experience it, you'll never have a full understanding of what it's like to have your tongue stuck to a pole.

Deep.

Street smarts are generally gained through personal experience, while complicated mathematics usually need to be explained. So it really depends on what is being learned, but I think it's best to have both. It's one thing to know something, but another to really understand it.