Slow Learner

When I was very young, the school system informed my parents that I was a "slow learner." As I grew older, they said just the opposite. I really wasn't doing anything different, so which categorization was more correct?

Surprise, surprise, they were dead wrong both times. No, in fact it's obvious that I'm a non-learner. I can prove this. How many opportunities have I had today for learning. Dozens? Hundreds? Now multiply that by the number of days that I've been alive. And how many experiences have I actually learned from? You see my point.

But wouldn't it be great if I could be a slow learner. If all of my experiences gradually improved my awareness and my character. If listening to someone's beliefs was never a waste of time. If I viewed learning as a process rather than a goal. If I always sought perfection but could be pleased with mere progress.

If I could be a SlowLearner, that would also imply that I: Of course, there's such a thing as being too slow. Look how many years it took me to realize that I want to try to be a SlowLearner. Hey, I might be one by now if I'd realized this sooner! Oh wait, it's not about being, it's about becoming, isn't it :)


Or could it be about being, and becoming is describing an expectation?


SlowLearner is also a book by ThomasPynchon. ISBN 0316724432
Cool! I had no idea. Upon investigation of this book, one quote from the Introduction struck me in particular:
"Do not underestimate the shallowness of my understanding."


There is also value in forgetting.
