Gaining EXP Like Crazy

When I played Pokémon as an adolescent, I used to try to spread out the experience points (EXP) among my monsters so that they would all be well-rounded. I beat the game (that is, defeated the most difficult opponent, not caught everything for you purists) without too much difficulty. However, I had the easiest time beating the game when I decided to invest in only one monster. My fiery chicken friend was remarkably powerful, and he acquired EXP at a rate that suggested that it might be discontinued soon. It's funny that in this addictive video game, the best way to win, for me, was to go against the "being well-rounded" approach we are so used to supporting and instead become as one-dimensional as possible. It makes me wonder. When I look around, I see lots of well-rounded people, but the ones who make it to the top of their fields have spent disproportionate amounts of time pursuing one goal, whether it be comedy, golf, or eating hot dogs. I wouldn't trade many of my lesser abilities for greater proficiency in one, but I might consider it. For instance, I still remember waaay too much about Pokémon. I would gladly trade this knowledge for knowledge in a more important realm, which would probably qualify just about any other knowledge realm. Experience is valuable; we learn from/during/within/preposition it.

Most of us can probably recognize when we've learned from an experience or course. I know I can tell in part because it's directly related to the way in which I learn. When I'm using the "bucket" approach instead of the much more effective (There's that word again!) "fire" approach, I don't learn as much. With the bucket approach, I take all the material covered, stick it in a "bucket" and pour it into my ear until it saturates my brain. My brain, soaking with real analysis or whatever, slowly leaks until what's left is the dried remains of whatever I poured that could not escape. WIth the match approach, my curiosity and desire for more experience sparks a fire inside that continues to burn as an ember, conflagration*, or something in between. The match method works better than the bucket method because it keeps feeding the desire to learn and know. (Yes, Mr. or Ms. Critic, sometimes fires go out. The metaphor isn't perfect.)

The results of learning can take two forms, which are suggested right smack-dab in the middle of our prompt for this week:
"Does it matter for this whether the learning is transformative, where your fundamental beliefs are altered, or if the learning is more surface, new ideas or skills are acquired but your world view remains intact?"
I believe that both occur in my life.

Sometimes, there's a place on one of my mind's shelves just waiting for knowledge to fill it. In mathematics, I find that there is a logical progression from one course to the next. That's why math is taught linearly so often. We can bring a student from counting to binary operations to pre-algebra to algebra, etc. As I learn math, I don't feel that my fundamental beliefs are altered. Most of the time, I am acquiring new skills that connect very nicely with my previously acquired skills. That's one of my favorite characteristics of math: it spirals and grows. I don't have to eliminate what I know, unless I've been taught incorrectly; I only have to connect it to what I already know. It makes sense as a coherent whole.

Other times, however, I need to reorganize the shelves in my mind before I can place an object down. I feel this has been more the case with my faith and its relation to the observable world. I believe the Bible to be God's Word to us. I also believe that science has shown us many observable truths. To me, science and religion are not mutually exclusive. This proves challenging when thinking of how the truth of the Bible and the findings of modern science can coexist. Until about 9 months ago, I couldn't see how the theory of evolution could possibly fit into the world view of someone who believes in Christ as his or her savior. However, my reading and re-reading of Genesis, my study of who God is, and prayer have brought me to a point where the theory and the truth can "live in harmony." It took me a while to reorganize my shelves, but I managed to fit new knowledge in without eliminating anything I believe to be true.

Of course, there are times when space simply needs to be cleared in order to make room for newly acquired knowledge. In this case, I think of it more as an upgrade. Why would I want to believe that I can hypocritically judge when the Bible says that I should lovingly confront? (Matthew 7:2-5 and 18:15-17) Why would I want to think that parallel means "two lines that never cross" when "everywhere equidistant" is such a better way of putting it? In other words, it makes little sense to me to keep knowledge that is outdated or just plain wrong.

In all of these ways, I think that learning becomes a part of me. What I know is useful if I can use it in my own life, but what I know is really meaningful to me if I can explain it to others. The more I truly know, the more I am able to discuss with others. Ideally, I'd be well-rounded and well-versed (like having a whole troupe of super-powerful fire chickens at my disposal!). I want to be able to use and teach what I know. And that's why I'm trying to gain EXP like crazy!

*Credit for my use of this $5-word goes to Ms. Tookey and her PSAT prep methods.