Haven’t We Done Enough Learning?

When do our brains get to take a vacation?

One of the many phrases from my childhood that still rings in my head today, is my parents saying; “What are you learning from this?”

These six words would be sprung whilst my siblings and I were sprawled on the couch watching endless hours of television. If I was caught up late reading a book, or if I was singing loudly along with the questionable lyrics on the radio.

“What are you learning from this?”

More often than not the answer was, absolutely nothing, though, of course, I would never say that. I’d make up some bullshit answer about the moral of the story, or if I was simply too tired to fight, just stay silent.

Today, continuous learning forms a necessary part in acquiring critical thinking skills and discovering new ways of relating to people from different cultures. To live a life without continuous learning is unthinkable. — Education Executive (2019)

So my little mind started to question why I couldn’t just do something for the value of nothing. Why couldn’t I spin around on the grass, arms spread until I was dizzy and fell over, watch television upside down, or read until my eyes hurt?

The thought still bugs me, but I’m older, wiser, and most importantly, tired. And so it is from this place of exhaustion I wonder if the pursuit of knowledge is paramount to every action.

From mandatory workplace training to staying up to date by reading relevant articles and textbooks based on your profession. Taking up photography or coding in order to increase your employability or develop a side hustle. The time to just stop and smell the proverbial roses becomes smaller and smaller until all we are left with are a few hours of choppy sleep.

Push yourself through too many hours or days of work and your brain starts to push back. — Minda Zetlin, inc.com

I don’t want you to think I am against learning. I actually really like picking up new skills and am self-taught in numerous pursuits from touch typing to knitting — but the important thing to note is that I learnt them for the fun of it, with the notion of learning, nowhere in mind.

Enjoyment and interest should be at the centre of a few skills we acquire, as we spend so much of our time doing things out of need over want.

Downtime replenishes the brain’s stores of attention and motivation, encourages productivity and creativity, and is essential to both achieve our highest levels of performance and simply form stable memories in everyday life. — Ferris Jabr (2013)

As it turned out, what I was subconsciously learning from hours of visual consumption, is that I wanted to make television. My unhealthy reading habit embedded an acute understanding of story, and spinning around in circles — well I probably learnt nothing from that other than how to amuse myself, but that’s okay too.

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