I am obsessed with learning.
Posted on: June 18, 2009 - 11:35am
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I am obsessed with learning.
Since I dumped religion I have become obsessed with learning. Has that happened to anyone else. I can just sit around and read all day long. I even have a physical science book that I read while I am on the toilet.
"Take all the heads of the people
and hang them up before the Lord
against the sun.” -- Numbers 25:4
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Absolutely.
My first foray into reality was the (at the time) staggering realization that humans are animals and nothing more, and we can study them the same way we study any other animal.
Since becoming an atheist, I've probably learned more than I did in two college degrees -- just from reading stuff on my own.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
http://hambydammit.wordpress.com/
Books about atheism
I've always had a passion for learning, but I think when you let go of religion you sort of free yourself because "God" doesn't remain the answer to everything we don't know, anymore. If you really think about it, religion enslaves people in more ways than one. It's not just the complacency it creates, but a fear of sharing thoughts with other people, a fear to question the universe, and it robs us of ambition and desire since we have Heaven to look forward to.
Absolutely. I do the same thing with one of my old Bio books from high school. It's also interesting to look at things you took for granted as a religious person in a completely different light. Hitchens' "The Missionary Position" springs to mind...
"Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, show me the steep and thorny way to heaven. Whiles, like a puff'd and reckless libertine, himself the primrose path of dalliance treads. And recks not his own rede."
I'm pretty much addicted to learning. When I get bored, I learn something. When I learn a lot about it, I get bored, and then I learn something else. Ad infinitum.
I've been an autodidact my entire life. When I was 12 or 13 I was curious what an enzyme was. I had read the word in various places, but had no clue what it was. So I went to the library and got an encyclopedia and looked it up. That's when I first learned about evolution (for real, not the watered down version you get in everyday culture), and that one little learning experience helped me ace Biology in highschool.
Kids are natural-born learners. The problem with the education system is that it beats that natural capacity for wonder out of kids. Kids become numbed out, bored, afraid of learning, and generally anti-intellectual (the whole 'nerd' thing).
I always hated school, and never took it seriously, which was both good and bad. Bad because my work habits are weak, but good because I didn't get my wonder instinct killed. I think that's why I learn and why I'm addicted to learning.
Wonder is by far my favourite emotion. If anything is going to lead humanity out of the darkness of religion and superstition, it's wonder. The universe is too amazing to waste our lives failing to appreciate it.
Wonderist on Facebook — Support the idea of wonderism by 'liking' the Wonderism page — or join the open Wonderism group to take part in the discussion!
Gnu Atheism Facebook group — All gnu-friendly RRS members welcome (including Luminon!) — Try something gnu!
Yah, I have pretty much always been hooked on learning. If I look one thing up on wikipedia, I very often end up opening the linked articles in new tabs and linked articles often lead to further linked articles. One search will often have me read as many as 10~15 other articles on related material.
It does not end there for me either. One of the hardest parts of spring cleaning is deciding which books to throw out. I probably buy like 30~50 books a year and that means that books have to go in order to maintain the flow.
As far as the nerd stereo type, learning has always been so important to me that I simply ignored that. In fifth and sixth grades, I was one of six students in my school who was authorized to operate the VTR (reel to reel video tape recorder). That set me apart from my peers fairly well.
It did not matter all that much though because I was also the best student at a bunch of other things that were of some importance to kids. For example, in dodge ball, I was always the last man standing on my team and coach would have to put three balls into play to end the game. In other games, I was generally known to be the best person to captain a team because I would pick the strongest line-up.
Oddly though, I was considered “learning disabled” because I would grow out of my grade curriculum very quickly. I remember one period of my life where each grade math class would start with a review of previous material. How fricken many years do I have to learn multiplication for any way? Teach me once and then move on. But NO! I had to be taught it like three years in a row.
When I would question why this was, the stock answer is that the new teacher needs to find out what I already know. Yet, when I would “act out” (a typical American phrase to indicate parental disapproval at my pulling some asshole stunt), I would be told “Young man, this is going on your permanent record”. Hey genius! Why not put the fact that I already got an A on multiplication in the third grade.
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WOW! That is so fucking annoying. Even more annoying(and basically the reason for why I'm being repeatedly taught the same stuff) is when a classmate wants to borrow my calculator to multiply 7 x 13 I'm not kidding...........
''Black Holes result from God dividing the universe by zero.''
I've always loved learning, but the process of rejecting religion was a push towards learning in itself.
*Our world is far more complex than the rigid structure we want to assign to it, and we will probably never fully understand it.*
"Those believers who are sophisticated enough to understand the paradox have found exciting ways to bend logic into pretzel shapes in order to defend the indefensible." - Hamby
I've noticed that I need internet everywhere I go.
I go outside and see some interesting insect and immediately I need to know everything about it. Someone mentions something I don't understand and I go search for information. I'd give anything for direct brain connection to the internet
That is the main thing my phone is used for. If I go somewhere without my phone I am not bothered by the fact that I can't call anyone, I just miss my Internet!
"So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence." - Bertrand Russell
Stewie: Yay and God said to Abraham, "you will kill your son, Issak", and Abraham said, I can't hear you, you'll have to speak into the microphone." "Oh I'm sorry, Is this better? Check, check, check... Jerry, pull the high end out, I'm still getting some hiss back here."
If I may be so bold, you took the most difficult cultural step in learning by rejecting the god meme. It is a truly liberating experience.
Jews stole the land. The owners want it back. That is all anyone needs to know about Israel. That is all there is to know about Israel.
www.ussliberty.org
www.giwersworld.org/made-in-alexandria/index.html
www.giwersworld.org/00_files/zion-hit-points.phtml
it sure is.
"Take all the heads of the people
and hang them up before the Lord
against the sun.” -- Numbers 25:4
Religion is the protector and perpetuator of all human slavery, for the profits of the capitalist system.
arthur king, the voice of god
And yet religion is far older than capitalism. Go figure.
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That's funny that someone would become so obsessed that you'd read something completely out of order on the toilet......lol. Now, that's what I need to become...........