Knowledge Bases

Last time I saw my best friend's 8 yr old son, we were talking about clothing from the past. He had me read part of one of his history books about how kids during colonial times would hunt for the various berries used to dye fabric. We both thought this was neat, and I knew there was an even more important point that I want him (and everyone, really) to always keep in mind.

"Hey, so . . . these kids. They were taught what plants to pick in order to get the dyes, right?"

"Yeah," he said, as he walked from one side of the room to the other. "They knew the right berries to get."

"Would you know the berries?"

"No," he informed me, with a dramatic shake of his head. "No one has ever shown me."

"No, no one ever has. Mostly because we don't have to do that anymore. In fact, I'm not sure anyone you know could show you, because knowing that isn't in our primary knowledge banks. It's something you'd have to research."

After that, I told him how my grandfather could tell the kind of every tree and bird he saw without ever having to look it up. He could isolate and explain different types of grass in the yard. To me, it was always just grass. My grandmother knew every flower and could tell you tons about them. She knew how much sun they needed, how much water. She knew the best times to plant them and at what temp they needed to be brought into the house.

There is a tendency of the young to assume they are more sophisticated than the old. The young always assume they know more than their elders, mostly because they adapt to changes in technology and are more open to new ideas. The fact that some old person has to be taught how to use the newer phones or needs some time to grasp how to handle the remote control with 7000 buttons on it is quite bemusing to younger people. It was to me when I was young (old people couldn't work the VCR or use a mouse! Hah!).  It probably was to my grandparents as well.

However, at any point that I begin to assume I'm so much wiser and less ignorant than those who came before me, I always have a humbling moment of clarity. I cannot name every kind of bird or tree just by looking at them. I don't know all the types of flowers and would probably only learn how to keep them alive via trial and error. My grandparents had a vast and useful knowledge base that I do not possess. What we know is quite often relative to what we need to know.

My friend's son plans to study the dyes of colonial times and learn what plants were used.  He is doing this because he has an interest in domestic history. I would like to learn about flowers, because I've started to think that once my current family of cats is no longer around, I should take a break from the heartache of losing pets and see what kind of green thumb my grandmother may have passed on to me.

My grandmother may have never figured out how to check her email, but she knew many things that are useful to basic survival. She knew far more than I do, and I have to admit that my knowledge base has a lot of uselessness. After all, knowing how to grow a garden will always be more practical than my nifty VCR skills.

If anything, I want to approach people and their wealth of knowledge with respect. We can learn from everyone. Being snide about what someone else can teach us will only further our ignorance.