ygolo
My termites win
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2007
- Messages
- 6,162
Do people who naturally distrust authority have stories about how they overcame this to formally study the humanities?
My own experience is not such an example. But I would like to learn about others experiences.
Although I have done some self-study, I still carry a distrust of the formal education in the humanities--not necessarily because of bad experiences. Simply because nobody ever won over my skepticism. I appreciate the beauty of art, music and literature, as well as the stories of history. I just never became convinced that I ought to think about these things in the way my teachers did.
Since I was very young, I have had a great distrust of authority in general. I was also very skeptical about what I was being told by my teachers. I generally wanted to see things for myself before I believed them.
For this reason, mathematics was the only subject I trusted, because it was the only place where I could see things for myself--no fancy equipment needed, no reliance, at all, on taking my teachers' word at face value. Where I was expected to do that, I would re-derive the things my teachers did not explain. There were very few arbitrary things. In fact, the mathematics community at large seemed to be obsessed with minimizing the amount of arbitrary rules involved. I appreciated this.
Later, when I actually had access to equipment, I started trusting the sciences also because I could witness the laws first hand--especially physics, because I could easily see what I was learning in physical situations accessible everywhere. I should say this trust did not extend to modern physics initially, that is why I didn't pursue things beyond a minor. But the mathematical analogies made were compelling enough to keep me interested, and what I've learned since about semiconductors and GPS have largely won over my skepticism.
To be honest, I don't test every claim that I come across. But my mind does automatically start thinking about how I might do so. If I believe I can test a claim given time and resources, and the claim is backed up by a report of something similar, that is plenty for me. As of late, even just knowing the claim comes from a source I have come to trust can circumvent this process.
My own experience is not such an example. But I would like to learn about others experiences.
Although I have done some self-study, I still carry a distrust of the formal education in the humanities--not necessarily because of bad experiences. Simply because nobody ever won over my skepticism. I appreciate the beauty of art, music and literature, as well as the stories of history. I just never became convinced that I ought to think about these things in the way my teachers did.
Since I was very young, I have had a great distrust of authority in general. I was also very skeptical about what I was being told by my teachers. I generally wanted to see things for myself before I believed them.
For this reason, mathematics was the only subject I trusted, because it was the only place where I could see things for myself--no fancy equipment needed, no reliance, at all, on taking my teachers' word at face value. Where I was expected to do that, I would re-derive the things my teachers did not explain. There were very few arbitrary things. In fact, the mathematics community at large seemed to be obsessed with minimizing the amount of arbitrary rules involved. I appreciated this.
Later, when I actually had access to equipment, I started trusting the sciences also because I could witness the laws first hand--especially physics, because I could easily see what I was learning in physical situations accessible everywhere. I should say this trust did not extend to modern physics initially, that is why I didn't pursue things beyond a minor. But the mathematical analogies made were compelling enough to keep me interested, and what I've learned since about semiconductors and GPS have largely won over my skepticism.
To be honest, I don't test every claim that I come across. But my mind does automatically start thinking about how I might do so. If I believe I can test a claim given time and resources, and the claim is backed up by a report of something similar, that is plenty for me. As of late, even just knowing the claim comes from a source I have come to trust can circumvent this process.