© the other press Opinions November 12, 2003 - Brandon Ferguson OP Contributor I like to learn. Information floats around waiting to be taken in: fed and bathed, put up for room and board, and groomed and horded into personal knowledge. It’s limitless, this available information. Everyone can have some. Please, have sec- onds, and pass the gravy. What is to become of the knowledge that I have housed? Whatever happened to the information I’ve lost? Where are the answers I’ll need for the rest of my life? Information answers questions, whether expressly sought out, or suddenly thought of—information answers questions, the collection of which forms into knowledge. Information is mostly found on paper. If my interest is piqued in a particular topic, I'll reach for a book. But usually it’s the book that’s found first, leading to questions I never really knew that I want- ed to know. Yah know? It’s the chicken and egg of education. But will I want eggs for the rest of my life? Are textbooks the tender breast to sup from that will make me truly happy? Probably not. I can’t answer these questions through research because some information is just not found in a library, (The Journal of All Things Brandon has not yet been bound). Without this information, how can I gain knowledge about my life? But a life found only in books can’t be a life worth know- ing—at least for me. The educational pur- Every Juan Needs Experience suit of knowledge is lost looking for false idols of idealism, if we are strictly speak- ing in terms of the individual. And I am. To clarify: the wealth of knowledge that’s available out there is attained for personal gain, on a purely educational level. Education improves every individ- ual’s lot in life. An individual, however, cannot be truly happy if that individual lives life solely by the book. There is a missing link in the chain of that clarification, and it exists between the second and third point. If education makes an individual better, how can that individual not be happy if s/he only pur- sues this act of intellectual improvement? Ubiquitous Juan could make a similar case for fibre. If you eat more fibre, your health will improve. But you can’t be deemed healthy based on fibre intake alone. It is helpful, but not holistic. One brick does not a wall make. The missing link must be experience. But what the fuck is that? I suppose that it holds a certain kinship with education, and both are mutually inclusive to an extent. Experience can be sought out or stumbled upon. Rather than questions, information, and knowledge—experience is arrived at through actions, whereby les- are embedded into wisdom. Knowledge dictates the answers to ques- tions within an academic scope, given the sons Name: Jonathan Age: 23 Program at Douglas College: Associate of Sciences. First CD you ever owned? Smashing Pumpkins — Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Last CD in your stereo? A burned mix CD. What's your favourite cereal? Quaker Harvest Crunch. Are you involved in sports? Yes, I sing Karaoke. ee Page 8 hittp://www.otherpress.ca information available under the circum- stances—education is a valuable tool for these pursuits. But experience is fuzzy. Experience is never as sure of itself. Wisdom guides the actions of Juan’s response within an individual scope, given the circumstances of the event transpiring. Juan can only know how to act appropri- ately if s/he has been through a similar event before. Otherwise, Juan reacts on instinct alone. Education has no equivalent to instinct. Intuition comes close, but not quite. Ask me an algebra question and you can take any intuition I may have and smoke it in your pipe. Whereas in the realm of all things that can be experienced, I'd con- tend that instinct is more primal, more intent on self-preservation, and therefore more reliable. Experience hones instinct, and instincts often lead to experience. I can find no correlation like this in educa- tion, which perhaps is the great equalizer. Education is not fuzzy like experience. Education has been written down and recorded for the consumption of all. I could go and learn algebra, thus eliminat- ing the need for intuitive stabs in the dark. But there is no textbook that adequately prepares Juan for the day s/he finds a spouse in bed with another. Instinct will rule that day’s outcome. Education offers factual validity—expe- eA ony rience calls upon instinct. But can Juan not say that experience is also written down? Well yes, Juan can say that. But will a poem guide Juan back to marital well-being? Can Dr. Phil spout enough barnyard-isms to heal the wounds from that slutty sow? Before I lose my point to needless obscurity, let me answer in the negative. Both education and experience perform similar functions, albeit in slightly differ- ent forums of Juan’s life. Education tells us about the history of marriage, the equali- ty of rights being denied to gays, the stag- gering increase in divorce rates since the nuclear family went Chernobyl, and even perhaps the future implications for the institution of marriage. But only experi- ence can tell Juan why s/he loves her/his spouse. Only instinct will implore Juan to act in a certain way. Only wisdom will benefit from the lessons learned on that day. In its truest sense, for better or worse, only in experience can a life be made. Theories are for approval and disap- proval—people are for living. I know that the sun rises in the east, and sets in the west everyday. But I feel a whole lot wiser for experiencing sunrises and sunsets as often as I can. Please excuse me—lI've got a sunrise to go catch. Sean Age: 19 Program at Douglas College: General Business. First CD you ever owned? Coolio — Gangsta’s Paradise. Last CD in your stereo? Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. What's your favourite cereal? Frosted Flakes. Are you involved in sports? Yes, I play basketball.