Learning NEw tHings Gives You New Perspectives
Before becoming an academic, I worked in both the construction industry and was a fairly serious saxophone player. In both of those fields, learning how to communicate effectively, stay organized, and deal with a lot of personal, and sometimes public responsibility were keys.
When I started my academic career and began teaching at the college level, some of my early mentors were surprised at how calm I seemed giving my first live lectures in classrooms full of eager, yet critical students. Looking back at it now, it was ten years of performing as a musician that helped me get used to the fear of public speaking that so many people have. Of course, I get some level of nervousness before a lecture even to this day. But, the practice in several different fields of learning beforehand certainly gave me an edge. This is true for many things: learning new skills, methods of problem-solving, and patterns of thought will help you see patterns and connections in other areas, and this will make you a more effective human being in a wide variety of circumstances.
Overall, I am of the mind that learning is, and ought to be, a lifelong process. Sure, we have no real hope of ever attaining all of human knowledge in our limited amount of time here on Earth. We can, however, learn how to be flexible and adaptable human beings who approach new situations with curiosity, humility, and an eye toward enjoying the journey of learning. If we can do that, and perhaps get good at a few things in the course of a lifetime, I think we will have spent our time well.