That Anyway, Is What I Have Learned

Knowledge is nothing until it is reflected on. Figures and facts are nothing more than information without the effort to draw upon past experiences to apply them to future situations. You must experience the knowledge for it to become useful and memorable. In classes, we are force fed information that we have to memorize. We have learned to take mental not of any points the professor prefaces with “know this for the test”, while tuning out anything that accompanies “this is extra”. But that isn’t learning—that’s cultivating the ability to fire particular synapses in the brain in response to particular stimuli in order to regurgitate an answer. What we have experienced in this class is the ability to forgo the cookie-cutter model for learning. We’ve had the opportunity to reason, reflect, rant, and revive our learning attitudes by having free reign for what we get from the material.

Where does this reflection lead us? It takes us through a metamorphosis. Reflection reveals the essence of who we are: layers and layers of mythological levels. These levels are formed by our past experiences. But as we add more experiences to our lives, we change into someone different. Wendell Berry puts it well as he says, "The past is our definition. We may strive with good reason to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it. But we will escape it only by adding something better to it." Reflecting on what we have learned allows us to become something new. The end goal of reflection is to become who we want to be.

Persephone experienced a lot of reflecting during her abduction. “The Pupil lost herself when her pupil saw its own reflection in the pupil that reflected her looking at a reflection of a reflection of a man who lost himself by looking at a reflection.” This is broken down on page 209 of Calasso. In this dizzying encounter with reflection, she reflected on two things. One, infinity was revealed to her—the reflection gave her knowledge. Second, the reflection gave her a new perspective—“she saw herself in the eyes of Hades—reflected to render the perspective of the one filled with desire—and she realized she wanted to be carried off to feel the gaze of passionate covet again.”

Reflection is the basis for gaining knowledge and perspective. It prompted the fate of where Persephone would go and who she would become

So what does this reflection mean for us? Where do we start? We have to determine where we came from. In studying the creation myths, it’s clear that each culture has defined where they have come from as the basis for who they are and where they are going. In every story, there was once conviviality where things were excellent. Nearly every story contains the idea of some deity. I did an extensive research project last year and concluded that a dependence on a higher power is actually programmed into our very essence. So where did we come from? What is the etiology of us?

In order to figure out where we are now, we need to figure out where we are going. What does the apocalypse look like? How does what we do now affect what happens when the veil is lifted and what was unseen becomes seen?

Where are we now? We have been initiated into a state of conflict. How does our current state of conflict reflect on our future? How will we use our conflict to become the person we want to be? We reside in a state of indifference, where no one cares about what comes next except for the next vacation days, the next promotion, and the next set of privileges. We need to live in the now by reflecting on our past and looking to the future to become who we want to be. And that starts now, pal.

Ultimately, where we once were, where we are now, and where we are going encompasses our worldview. It defines who we are and who we want to become. So the basis for reflection and the goal of learning should be to discover ourselves and how we fit into the bigger picture of existence. This class has given us the opportunity to think outside what we are told to think—to reflect on what we want to reflect on.

What else can we get from reflection? We can reminisce. Reminiscence invokes powerful emotions. Last Thursday, as Dr. Sexson was telling his story, a reflection was invoked. It had nothing to do with the story, but rather the way it was told. It brought me back, with such realism due to the emotions I experienced, to when my mom would read to my brother and me when we were kids. It was an emotion of memorable peace and enchantment.

Our narrator in The Storyteller experienced a reflective emotion such as this as he went from painting to painting in the art display of the Peruvian jungle. It brought him back to all the conversations he and Mascarita had together.

So reflection, besides invoking the power of knowledge and perspective, brings about strong emotions. These emotions define our memories which define where our story has come from.

Our lives need more reflection of experiences and less regurgitation of facts. This reflection is what defines our story (past, present, and future), our legacy, and our myth.

That anyway, is what I have learned.

My Air Quote "Proficiency"

I didn't realize it until "yesterday", but it turns out I use "air quotes" quite a lot, particularly when "tutoring". 

For example, when explaining how the membrane potential of nerve cells change during local and action potentials, I liken the concept to a "battle". The membrane permeability to a particular ion is the "voice" of the ion in this "power struggle", while the electrochemical gradient is the "degree of unhappiness". For an ion to be "happy" the electric gradient must be equal and opposite that of its concentration gradient, so that the net flow of ions across the membrane is equal. The ebb and flow of the membrane charge is a carefully maintained balance, with the leader in the war changing depending on when it "finds its voice" to be able to convey it's "unhappiness" and shift the tide of the "struggle".

It seems that air quotes not only put things in another contexts to give people that not-so-nice-uneasy feeling that I'm not actually their "friend", but they also draw from someone's past knowledge to transpose an abstract concept into a more familiar one. 

Clues to the Story

If you all had been paying attention, you would have noticed...

The names: each of the names of the characters started with the same letters. Alison - Ariadne, Thomas - Theseus, and Mike - the Minotaur.

Alison had a problem with an older brother: Mike got everything he wanted, just like the Minotaur.

Alison elected help from a studly man to deal with her problem: This is the role that Theseus played for Ariadne.

Alison and Thomas dealt with Mike: Ariadne and Theseus dealt with the Minotaur.

Alison and Thomas started liking each other: Ariadne and Theseus fell in love.

Thomas dumped Alison: Theseus dumped Ariadne.

Drinking was what promised to take care of Alison: Dionysius pursued Ariadne and promised to love her.

But drinking let Alison down and her life was seemingly over: Dionysius dumped her and killed her. 

A Displaced Story of Ariadne and Theseus

Alison was just a regular girl with regular problems. Drama on her soccer team, issues with grades, and no boys seemed to like her. 

But there was one thing that irked Alison the most: her older brother. Mike was the most obnoxious individual to walk the planet, he demanded everyone's attention, and the worst part was that he always got what he wanted. Everyone seemed to like him, or at least tolerated his jerk side to be in with him. This left Alison as the shadowed sister with few friends. That is, until she decided to bring him down a level. 

You see, Mike got people to like him because he was the school drug dealer. He had all the goods. Alison knew this, but the school authorities didn't. All the teachers, staff, and school officers loved Mike and thought he was the most stellar of guys. So Alison decided to take this power away from him. But she couldn't do it on her own. She got her friend Thomas to help her. Thomas was a cool, standout guy by most standards and Alison had secretly had a crush on him since the 6th grade. 

People had tried to reveal his drug dealing before, but Mike had always found out who the snitch was and exacted some kind of revenge that would get them suspended while all the while maintaining the golds stars he had from all the school officials. The trick would be to destroy his power without getting caught. So Alison and Thomas carefully sketched out their plans and this is how it went down. 

There was a new chemical that smelled exactly like marijuana, but if you were introduced to it in small enough amounts, you quickly could not smell it all. It was fairly easy to synthesize and Thomas could do it with the access he had to the labs at the school. After Thomas made a few batches of it, he gave it to Alison who started slipping bits of it into Mike's room while he slept. After a few nights, the receptors for that chemical were adequately desensitized and the big play was ready to be dealt. Thursday was marijuana dealing day for Mike. So Alison smothered his bag with this chemical to give off the intense stench of Mary Jane. Needless to say, even the school officials had to give Mike's bag a search and the appropriate punishment was dealt.

All of Mike's influence was gone and Thomas even started to seem to like Alison. Things were going great. But it wasn't meant to last. Thomas dumped her to go out with her best friend. So Alison turned to drinking. Alcohol promised to love her and stay with her and satisfy her forever. But it too lied. Alison's life seemingly came to an end on the night she got arrested for a DUI. 

Some kids are just never going to have it go right for them.

The Readiness Is All

We need to embrace the concerns of death. There are two kinds of people who accept death: those who are ok with what happens after death and those who are ok with what doesn't happen after death.

But first, and perhaps more importantly, what about those who don't accept death? Indeed, many avoid the topic like the plague. We can see this in culture today: death has risen to a great level of taboo as we strive to avoid offending those who can't accept death! It's the elephant in the room that effects everyone whether they embrace it or not. I would go so far as to suggest that those who can not or will not meditate on the topic of passing stoop to a level of immaturity. Instead they meditate on drama, the next party, and getting that promotion. But the significance of these superficial themes will fade away with the realization that they will soon defend to meaninglessness. King Solomon sought to experience all the world had to offer in the way of superficial experiences (the man had 1000 women after all), and he made the conclusion that EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS MEANINGLESS. He summarizes his findings in the book of Ecclesiastes. And yet those who can't accept death dwell on this as the end all, be all of life.

But what of those who can accept what comes after life? Can life ascend to joy? King Solomon would say the only way to accomplish that is to look beyond the world to the fear of God. He was one who embraced and was ready for what came after death and could thus enjoy life. The fear of God drove him to faith. And that faith was what made I'm both ready to live and ready for what came after life.

And for those who can accept that nothing comes after death? After we fall beyond this life

"The readiness is all"

We have to be ready to go...wherever that is.

Sad Benjamin

In light of the death stories we talked about in class yesterday, I would like to share my most traumatic death experience.

The greatest affection that has been ripped away from me was attached to a fictional dog. His name was Old Yeller.

Despite vowing to never read the story again so as to avoid reliving that experience, the vivid details that were etched into that ten year old mind have stuck with me ever since that fateful day.

I used to read every good fictional story available to a young, blossoming elementary student. From Where The Red Fern Grows to the Hardy Boys, I read a lot, to say the least.

Enter: Old Yeller. 

I loved the story. I grew to love the dog. And then the author gored him. 

I was laying in my parent's bed, reading, as I love to do. After Old Yeller's abdomen was ripped open, the tears started flowing. But I kept reading. I held onto hope that he would survive. Then my mom came in the room, saw me in my saddened state and suggested I come downstairs. I complied and cooled down. 

But of course I had to go back to the story. So I did. And Old Yeller was shot. 

Young Ben was beyond crushed. 

Maybe Storytellers are a Good Thing

I was startled to glean from The Storyteller that it seems there is a lot of emphasis put on stories and the place they have in culture and life. This may be hardly news to any of us, and certainly came upon me slowly as a multi-week startling process, but it’s shocking to me that the storyteller seems to be highlighted as the pinnacle of human achievement.

Now obviously, the book puts much emphasis on the storyteller. Mascarita recounts the day he realizes his new-found position on page 210.

”So there I was -- the storyteller. I was thunder-struck. There I was. My heart was like a drum. Banging away in my chest: boom, boom. Had I met my destiny? Perhaps.”  (Llosa, 210)

Maybe I was startled when I read this because I, deep down, think that we all have a purpose that must be “greater” than one who tells stories. But upon inward reflection, I realized this faulty thinking process within myself. In an achievement driven culture, it seems that we could all use a dose of the reality that we need to slow down and think about where we have come from—because that is what determines where we are going, pal.

So perhaps we need more storytellers in this world.

That, anyway, is what I have learned.