The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: knowledge

  • Get Your Scientific Groove On

    I love science. Whether it’s anthropology, meteorology, sociology, psychology, chemistry, oceanography, astronomy… you name it, I’m fascinated by it. I wish I realized that as a child. In public school, I viewed science as just another damned subject I had to get through. And my teachers didn’t inspire enthusiasm. I might have taken another path…

  • Try Listening

    I know a guy who talks so much that people actually scatter when they see him coming. He’s a nice guy. He means well. But he can suck, literally, hours out of your life as he holds forth on whatever he has chosen to blather on about on that particular day. And you’re expected to…

  • Letting Someone Win

    When I was a little girl, I remember running home from school every day, excited to tell my mother what I had learned. She would always make a point of telling me that it was something she already knew. Of course it was. Still, I could never hide my disappointment. I wanted, just once, to…

  • The Contradictory Metrics of Ignorance

    I just came across a group on Facebook called Jewish Ritual Murder. It has 1057 likes. Its sole purpose is to perpetuate false stories that promote the myth of the Jewish blood libel. There’s an insane belief out there that Jews ritually murder Christians and use their blood for any number of nefarious purposes. This…

  • You Learn Something New Every Day

    Uh oh. Now I’ve done it. I’ve stumbled across a website that is sure to suck up huge chunks of my time. Because it’s fascinating. Zidbits.com is what I found when I Googled “I want to learn something new.” The fact is, I always want to learn something new. And this site promises that you’ll…

  • Language: The Canary in the Coalmine

    One of the very first blog entries I ever wrote, back in December of 2012, was Express Yourself While You Can. In it I posited the theory that languages are the keepers of culture. I know I behave differently when I’m speaking Spanish, and we often attribute different traits, rightly or wrongly, to people who…

  • Gaps in Knowledge

    It always throws me for a loop when I discover something that I should have known all along. For example, I’m mortified to admit that I’ve been spelling President Obama’s first name incorrectly during the entire course of his administration. Someone finally pointed that out to me the other day. I really have no excuse.…

  • What Perishes is Not Real

    For the life of me, I will never understand people who don’t like to read. There is so much wisdom out there. Reading is like accessing the brains of millions of other people. There is more knowledge in this world than one brain could possibly hold. Think of books as thumb drives that enhance the…

  • New, but Not.

    I find myself having to strike a strange balance at this new job. I have 13 years of experience opening drawbridges, so as they say, this ain’t my first rodeo. But on the other hand there are subtle differences in policies and procedures at this new place, so there’s definitely plenty to learn. Of course…

  • Life is for Learning

    Someone said to me recently, “Life is for learning.” Very true, my friend. The common thread that flows through every life experience is the opportunity to increase your knowledge, should you choose to accept it. The ability to absorb information– what a gift! Even if it’s just your basic, “Maybe I should never stick my…