blather from the Vermonter
We seem to have an insatiable need to show ourselves off - what we've learned, what we opine, what we've experienced, etc. I don't think most people are genuinely interested in others' such claims to importance beyond their relevance to one's own collection. Or at least most pairs of people fail to share genuine mutual interest. I at least know that i tire of most people i meet on this level within a day or so. (This says negligibly little of me and less of them; it's a trait i live with and did not choose. And it's worth mentioning that to tire of one's lessons is not to come close to tiring of their company.)
When i overhear a scholarly conversation and catch a gaping (to me) hole in the web of perspectives, my inclination to interject with a comment is usually overcome by my recalcitrance at a perceived subsequent obligation to involve myself further in the topic, which in these cases is far removed from my own web of disciplines. As pop politics makes glaringly clear, one needn't be a scholar on a subject to contribute an original perspective to its examination, especially at the level of informal conversation. So, question to anyone: Would you feel justifiably offended or put off by such an interjection into your conversation with coscholars from one without the exposure to carry it further? or naturally but unjustifiably? Would it make any difference if the person expressed interest in learning more through you?
I think i would love to have such attention paid my mathematical conversations, but i think i'm being fair in acknowledging an order of magnitude between the pool of lay (untrained) people who could point up an omission in conversation on a hard science and on a liberal art. I can see a bit more now how easy it is for the naïve to associate inaccessibility with difficulty.
I will never again make a long trip (i'm not conducting myself) without a sizable reading selection and an mp3 player. Trains should have passenger libraries, or at least take-a-book,-leave-a-books.
And are the zaniest people for some reason attracted to public transportation, or am i just suddenly made aware of them in this unfiltered and cramped environment?
Oh - a lesson from several months ago: Everyone's an asshole to someone.
When i overhear a scholarly conversation and catch a gaping (to me) hole in the web of perspectives, my inclination to interject with a comment is usually overcome by my recalcitrance at a perceived subsequent obligation to involve myself further in the topic, which in these cases is far removed from my own web of disciplines. As pop politics makes glaringly clear, one needn't be a scholar on a subject to contribute an original perspective to its examination, especially at the level of informal conversation. So, question to anyone: Would you feel justifiably offended or put off by such an interjection into your conversation with coscholars from one without the exposure to carry it further? or naturally but unjustifiably? Would it make any difference if the person expressed interest in learning more through you?
I think i would love to have such attention paid my mathematical conversations, but i think i'm being fair in acknowledging an order of magnitude between the pool of lay (untrained) people who could point up an omission in conversation on a hard science and on a liberal art. I can see a bit more now how easy it is for the naïve to associate inaccessibility with difficulty.
I will never again make a long trip (i'm not conducting myself) without a sizable reading selection and an mp3 player. Trains should have passenger libraries, or at least take-a-book,-leave-a-books.
And are the zaniest people for some reason attracted to public transportation, or am i just suddenly made aware of them in this unfiltered and cramped environment?
Oh - a lesson from several months ago: Everyone's an asshole to someone.