Billy Coffey
Billy Coffey

In praise of useless facts

September 27, 2009  

I would have liked school if it weren’t for all the learned I was expected to do. Friends, sports, and girls were the reason I got out of bed and trudged off to the classroom every morning. Math, history, and reading were most definitely not.

By high school I had fully mastered the art of sneaking by and even managed to convince myself that there was something inherently pleasing about a good, solid C average. Knowing a lot isn’t important when all you really want is to get by.

That sort of thinking further cemented itself when I accepted Christ. Since faith was all I needed in order to get to heaven, I didn’t really have to bother with knowing much. Besides, knowledge was faith’s enemy, right? Sometimes you could know just enough to get you confused with what you should believe and shouldn’t.

But sometime between then and now, I discovered that learning wasn’t all that bad. I also discovered that I had quite an appetite for it. One could actually say I have quite an appetite for accumulating useless facts.

Aside from maybe being able to win a few dollars on Jeopardy, most of my family and friends think this hobby gets in the way. I think not. So to hear my argument in favor of filling your brain with things you’ll never use, head over to Katdish’s blog. It’s worth the trip just to learn in what key a housefly’s wings hum…

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Comments

  • Anne L.B.

    Life, like music, must contain several parts equally. There must be melody and beat … that's how we dance through our days … God is a musician at heart.

    Why Billy, if I didn't know better I'd think I'm over at Singer-Scribe. Your musical voice is stunning. I'll tell Gwen to stop by.

  • Melissa from the Blue House

    Can't wait to read it. :)

  • katdish

    The center point (by distance) of North America is located in South Dakota.

    So there you go…

  • Tammy

    Heading over, to find out what I can learn:)

  • Rosslyn Elliott

    Anne – LOL! True.

  • Heart2Heart

    Billy,

    I was just saying this to my daughters doctor who was describing to us why she had to write everything down because if she didn't, she would forget. She chalked it up to getting older. I explained like you that we are like the computers from long ago. Built great but our hard drives are getting a bit full and can't contain as much as the newer computers can. My younger daughter's is a steel trap.

    I am just waiting for an upgrade to be made available so I can get some more memory and while I am at it, perhaps a faster processor. Mine is still running at a Commodore 64's speed.

    Love and Hugs ~ Kat

  • Gwen Stewart

    I'm so glad Anne did send me over. I love talking school and learning, Billy–even if you struggled with the book-learning stuff at that time.

    Perhaps I fool myself, but I think teachers are so much better at reaching the students who don't love school these days. I find an odd dichotomy within conservative circles regarding education, though (and I'm not talking conservative as in politics only; I'm talking faith, values, etc.) Conservatives tend to stress testing, drills, rote memorization. Yet brain research–conducted by neuroscientists, not educators–proves that people learn best when in groups, when engaged, and when allowed to choose their areas of study. One would think that conservatives would embrace the research. Instead, they decry any "new math", any "cooperative learning"–dismissing it all as "fluff" and "frills".

    Yet cooperative learning, new math, different ways of experiencing and learning–this is exactly what happens in our fast-paced world every day. Facts are easy. Facts are Google. I'm not saying we should not teach children information–but what about teaching them to think? To love learning?

    Sorry to preach here, Billy. Every time an adult admits difficulty in school, for whatever reason, I long deeply for a redo. I want to go back and make it better for you somehow–you and everyone who struggled in school. I love teaching just that much. I think it pumps through my veins, even after all these years.

    God bless you today, and thanks for allowing me to go on. And on. :)

  • Mich

    I loved this…

    I have a friend who is very similar to you. School was not his thing, but he was full of interesting tidbits. Our conversations were never dull.

    I loved what you said about learning and how it helps you feel closer to God. So true.

  • Carmen7351

    Your second paragraph reminds me of my husband. So there are others out there!!!

  • Daveda

    LOL, you never know when an useless fact may come in handy!

  • Jennifer

    The comment about curiosity being the least used part of us–so true. We're so busy doing and being that we rarely stop to just be curious.