This article really made me think about the liberal arts education and what it means to be well rounded. As hard as we try, we're never going to read every great book or see every great movie. The thought is sometimes very depressing. I've been working my way through the BBC's top one hundred books for about two and a half years now, with frequent breaks for other books, but even if I do finish reading those then there's AFI's top one hundred movies and Rolling Stone's top albums to listen to before you die, and the ten places you must see before you die...the list sprawls on and on and it's daunting. However, as this article says, to surrender to the fact that you'll never know much of anything and shouldn't try, is as pointless as trying to know everything at once.
So be content, my fellow college students (and maybe some of my professors) that you're always going to be ignorant of something, but it doesn't make you ignorant. Try your best to do what you can and you'll have some beautiful experiences. Remember, sometimes the greatest beauty is found in the unknown that's all around us.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/04/19/135508305/the-sad-beautiful-fact-that-were-all-going-to-miss-almost-everything?sc=tw&cc=share
Beth,
ReplyDeleteAnd there are more than 100 books. And some of those that don't make it on to that list will speak to you. So, while you can be guided by such lists, please strike out into the unknown where you can discover something surprising and great.
LDL
Case in point:
ReplyDeleteToday, I checked out two books.
One, The Secret History, was on that list. The other, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel, was not.
Baby steps.