The main point of any ponderance is the inherent dichotomy that exists within anything. It is this essential aspect of nature that allows us to stop, pause, and reflect on what it is that gives us knowledge. This is one of the most important things that we can do with our lives. Our lives are, after all, brief, incredibly limited, and full of the constant reminders that we will never know all, nor will we ever be allowed to do all. Space tourism is nothing but a fantasy for the vast majority of us. In my more cynical moments, I think it would be better if it were impossible for everyone. That would eliminate one more means for jealousy to manifest.

Jealousy usually arises from ignorance, but not always. The two are, however, very closely related. This jealous progeny of ignorance can be readily eliminated by the simple parsing of the situation, but it also means that a pause and a ponderance needs to be given to the larger picture. Always, and without exception, easier said than done. We are, we must remember, dealing with ignorance, which got us into the problem in the first place.

Ignorance does come in two major forms: There is the simple lack of knowledge, the state of being unaware, which gives us no resources with which to measure and evaluate our surroundings. Remember what you know. Always. There is also the chosen ignorance. One can easily choose to forget what one knows, deeming it irrelevant to the situation at hand. This existence in a state of chosen ignorance is the gravest of sins.

We do all like to be clever people. It feeds our egos well. It makes us all feel a little better about ourselves. I will never deny that knowledge is power, but we must always be mindful of our intent. We have all had something we have said come back and bite us in the arse in ways that we never could have imagined. Words are indeed a karmic minefield.

Getting hurt is painful. One would think that obvious, but fuck if we don’t need to be reminded every now and again. It helps us keep our perspective, and to proceed with caution. Memory is short, and I reckon that is why we continuously find ourselves in circular patterns, repeating past mistakes.

Such, is the state of ignorance.

To not know something because we have never encountered it is completely understandable, and is fundamental to a cognitive life. The world would be a mighty boring place if we were born with prescient knowledge. Education would be completely unnecessary, and we, as people would lose immediately one of our best means for social interaction. If we knew everything already, we wouldn’t need to earn a degree, and thereby meet many people with mutual interests. We also wouldn’t need to run to the doctor to discover what that lingering pain in the belly is.

We would have no capacity to learn, and no reason to exchange knowledge. Why would we even bother talking? No, I reckon that not knowing something is a brilliant gift. Children love discovering things, and so should adults. It’s a boring day when you don’t do anything new, but rather go through the same routine all over again, isn’t it?

No, not knowing something isn’t a sin, it’s a wonderful opportunity. It’s a marvellous means for sharing. A very wise man repeatedly said that the greatest thing we could do in life was to share knowledge. That alone makes you wonder what the Christian church was doing when it declared the Gnostics to be heretics. In fairness, the Gnostics missed an important point with their whole anything of the flesh is a sin perspective. I will readily declare that I understand vegetarianism. However, deny me good shag by telling me that any time I have randy thoughts I am doing the work of the devil, and I will tell you to fuck right off. Don’t deny my body its basic functions. To do so is to choose to live in a state of ignorance. And, as I have said, that is a grave sin.

I have been attacked by people for not knowing things. Things I could never have known. No, I didn’t know what time Liverpool street station was going to open back up. How could I with a chemical fire burning uncontrollably? Too many factors for my mind to piece together on that one, so I don’t know why I was receiving a bollocking for not being on a train that would have gone straight through an inferno. But some people chose to live in a state of ignorance.

That is a shame, really. It’s incredibly depressing to think that some people purposefully chose to be unaware of their surroundings, and refuse to think about them. How else can you know what you have learned?

This is the point where we remember yet again that life is altogether too brief, that we are uncertain of the moment of our death, and that we really are obligated to live as best we are able. How can we do that if we chose to live a life of ignorance?

We don’t have to be the best. We don’t have to be the cleverest. We just have to live true. We wouldn’t trust a bridge that was cobbled together with an it’ll do attitude, so why would we trust a life lived that way? It makes no sense.

There is in America, a systemic approach to education called out-put based education. The underlying philosophy behind it is that, regardless of what answer is given, the child should be rewarded for trying. I agree with the system in principle, but mechanically disagree entirely. Anyone can spew forth verbal diarrhoea, but that does nothing to better an individual, nor the world as a whole. There is no real impetus for learning there.

In times past, movements and ideas like that were named things like sophistry and pedagogics. Those two concepts at least had a goal. They taught people how to baffle with bullshit, if the speaker wasn’t able to amaze with ability. Out-put based education’s goal seems to be to get children moved up to the next year’s education, nothing more.

A readily admitted disturbing trend in American education is something called grade inflation. Its origin, as with so many customs, has been lost to the common memory. It started with Vietnam.

The draft was still used in America at the time of the Vietnam War. Certain exemptions were allowed, things like: being the only male child in a family, being female, being the sole provider for children, and working on a higher education. All of these things are comprehensible. The sole male child dies, and the entire bloodline of a family is lost. A woman who is pregnant will tear the foetus from the womb with too much strain. Combat is not only stressful it is very straining. The death of a sole provider of children produces orphans. Kennedy, in his presidency, announced that he wanted to build one of the best educated workforces in the world. He wanted an enlightened age, and an enlightened populace that worked toward making the world a better place.

Students were not to be drafted. This resonated even more greatly as the war progressed and became increasingly unpopular. Professors took it upon themselves to not fail anyone in their classes. To fail a student meant that they may not graduate, that they may drop out of college, that they may get drafted, that they may go to Vietnam and be killed. That is a heavy burden to keep in mind as one reads and grades a student’s paper. No living being of compassion wants to be connected with even that tenuous a thread to the responsibility of someone else’s death. Students were not to be drafted students were not to fail.

The result is that now, thirty years later, letter grades, as used in the American educational system are cheapened to the point of being almost worthless. A ‘C’ grade is passing, showing minimum acceptable comprehension. An A grade is a mark of excellence and full grasp of understanding. These are the espoused ideas. The grading system is supposed to be a meter for the student, giving them an idea of where they stand in their comprehension of the subject matter.

A graduate student, or a student working on honours courses must achieve an ‘A’ grade. Anything less is a sign that they are not working hard enough, that they are coasting on what isn’t actively admitted, but is readily acknowledged, the tradition of grade inflation.

I reckon that better mentoring from the very start would be an effective solution. It would involve, however, a very long shift in the psyche. A shift with a long enough memory, that the origins of grade inflation weren’t forgotten.

That would remind us that, while we spout out phrases such as, no child left behind, they are more than simple catch phrases, they are spoken manifestations of ideas. That would remind us that, yes, we all like being clever, but being clever is some hard work. It would remind us that the elimination of ignorance has a steep learning curve, and that no, we don’t start at the top of it.

That would remind us that learning is a lifelong venture. It doesn’t end with a degree. Life’s dichotomies certainly don’t follow the rules of any established educational system. They don’t give us the benefit of grade inflation to make us feel any better about ourselves and our cleverness either.

They do, however, remind us at every given opportunity the dangers of choosing to be ignorant. They do remind us that our karmic footprint is wide and deep. They do remind us that we would do well to keep that in mind.

Life’s dichotomies are very effective tools in our quest to learn, however. Without them, all knowledge gained is simply acquired, not experienced. We all have seen firsthand that age doesn’t bring wisdom. It is experience that does so.

To acknowledge that is a good enough start, I reckon. It’s a step along the path to cleverness. After all, as one of the best teachers I ever met said;

“You don’t have to be smart. You just have to be smart enough for this situation.”