The Runner 7/25/10
All my life I’ve been a runner. My first stint as a runner was as a child running away from a chaotic home. Then I ran relay races in grade school. As a pre-teen, I was a star short-distancer, running 100 yard dashes until I hit puberty, the turning point to an inconvenient truth: I was not built for competitive sports. Then I noticed another kind of running. It was also highly competitive; the kind of running that makes some people insanely happy and others just insane. Running to keep up with the you-know-who’s made me insanely insane. By then I was living near-enough-but-not-next-to Central Park, where jogging became the obvious escape. Solo running saved me until my knees and feet rebelled.
Lately I notice I am running again. This time, information is the culprit. There is simply too much of it, and I find myself alternately running to keep up and running to get away. What has this age of information done to me? Am I the only one to feel this way? Based on the proliferation of Blackberries and iPhones, I’d have to say, “let’s be honest.”
I recently, embarrassingly, had to defend myself from the taunts of my son who couldn’t believe (I can’t believe I’m saying this out loud) I didn’t know where the World Cup was played. “How could you miss it, mom? Are you living under a rock?” Boy, did I feel stupid! I simply (and defensively) explained that I had to carefully choose how I spend my time. Obviously, he and I did not share the same interest in the World Cup. “But really, mom, how could you not know?” Is it any wonder I feel I must be totally-informed-about-everything-all-the-time?
While my escapes afford me the time to write, I wonder how can I write if I am not informed? Which things do I need to be informed about in order not to sound like an ignoramus? After all, one cannot possibly be informed about everything, can one?
These are the questions that plague me at 3AM. These are the ideas that interrupt me as I go through my day, weighing the importance of the various things demanding my attention. These are the things that keep me running. I am a runner, chasing my tail. Am I the only one to feel this way?
No! Sooo true, so relevant! I feel the same way Nancy. There is so much history and knowledge that we should absorb and there is just a mass of information dispensed everyday that it’s hard to figure out what really is important and relevant for to know. I do think that maybe information that is the most important for us as a human race is given far less weight and pomp in media than something which will appeal to human masses and make some kind of profit (world cup). There is no judge of info that could impose on you what you MUST know (once you’re out of school system anyway)so I guess interests, perception , your own set of values are the guidelines that lead you towards exploring and sucking up specific info and knowledge!
love
Tjasa
Hi Nancy–
The brain can only hold so much information, and it is tasked with sorting that info in digestible ways. When we have sensory or information overload, the brain cannot perform other functions–many of which, arguably, are far more important: strategizing, lateral thinking, perceiving patterns, etc. All of these tasks are needed for problem-solving. More information does not necessarily equate to more wisdom, or more brainpower, or more skill.
I think it’s wise to exhibit control over the information you choose to digest. And I also think knowledge is power. I would just say that it’s important not to issue opinions without informing ourselves properly. But like pretty much everything else, information is probably best taken in moderation–enough for us to engage in the kind of thinking that’s meaningful to you, not so much that we become shut down. (By the way, this is why I think our friends and loved ones never tell us as moms-to-be what childbirth is really like–TMI!).
I support your choice to remain ignorant in areas of your choosing! Best always, Ari
TMI! Yes, that’s the point…there is way too much info and we are on sensory overload. What was that thing I read in the bible about the tree of knowledge???
After all, one cannot possibly be informed about everything, can one?
i read the paper.
i go online.
i am informed.
about the hatred, the corruption, the suicides, the murders, the unemployment,
the fatal car crashes, the domestic violence, the web predators, the drownings,
the toxins, the hurricanes, the earthquakes, the racial crimes, etc. etc.
no, my friend.
ONE CANNOT POSSIBLY BE INFORMED ABOUT EVERYTHING !!!!!!
and thank the good Lord for that.
(can’t run far enough…..)
love, linda