I just finished reading A.J. Jacobs' The Know It All: One Man's Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World. Jacobs sets out to become the smartest man alive by reading cover to cover the 2002 Encyclopædia Britannica - all 32 volumes, all 33,000 pages, all 44 million words - and along the way records his journey. I'll spoil the ending for you... he makes it through Zyweic, a small city in Southern Poland. As for the book, Jacobs mixes in a fascinating blend of trivia, wisdom, humor, and transparency about his struggle to measure up to both a renaissance-genius father and his own lofty childhood belief that he was secretly the smartest kid alive.What I love about the book is how closely I can identify it. Growing up in a house stocked with both the Encyclopædia Britannica and the World Book Encyclopedia (the less sophisticated cousin), I can remember spending countless hours paging through thick volumes looking at pictures, studying diagrams, reading captions, and chewing on entries that were both completely random and captivating. It was a completely nerd thing to do, but in our house, it felt safe and comforting.
I've always loved learning, discovering new and interesting things, even if they were completely random and impractical. There was something beautiful about connecting disparate stories, events, facts, and figures... to see everything as part of a larger story, a historical wave sweeping us along. Whether we knew it or not, we all somehow contributed to it... from Nebuchadnezzar to Darwin, from an unnamed weaver in 12th century Germany to Hong Xiuquan. I like that.
In one sense, Jacobs gave me permission to geek-out again, or at least embrace the inner geek. But Jacobs also pointed out the dark side of insatiable learning. As he crammed his brain more and more with facts, tidbits, and trivia, it became impossible for him to not leak it out over friends and family in all kinds of awkward and ill-fitting social conversations. He was becoming a know-it-all.
Hereto let it be know, that I, too, can come across as a know-it-all.
I'm sure I've irritated way too many people with what seems like a completely inappropriate or poorly timed interjection of a factoid or historical nugget, but when you live with so many floating around inside your head, I think you get used to them. You don't realize how awkward and embarrassing they are to a *well-adjusted, normal person*. Jacobs got fined a dollar by his wife anytime he let loose with a bit of information that she deemed irrelevant to the conversation at hand. My wife just shakes her head.And its not that I have to be a know-it-all. It's not that I have to always be the one with the right answer. But I like it when I do. I like it when I can somehow use all this learning, give it some practical application, utilize it in a real-life scenario (I'm still waiting for the time when my knowledge about ergot poisoning and moldy bread will save a life or at least prevent another witch-hunt). And as honest as I can be, there's no hidden agenda for mental superiority... really, I don't mind if you're smarter than me, if you know more than me, if you correct me. I just love learning, and people tend to share what they love.
There should be a support-group for my kind of people. I think it could meet on Tuesday nights at the local community college... something about wikiholics or googlers anonymous. We could practice having coherent conversations that don't interpose theories about 4th century theologians or the fact that female possums have thirteen nipples.
... see?!? why do I even know that?!?
3 comments:
Ahh, Aaron, it is times like these that I believe you are correct in saying that Tristan married a female version of his best friend. I am now adding this book to my reading list!
I must, however, take issue with one of your comments. I realize that as a fellow know-it-all wannabe, my perspective may be a bit skewed. However, your characterization of the normal, well-adjusted person is surely mistaken. A normal, well-adjusted person is a person who loves to learn, and while those who have not experienced this higher pleasure may be more numerous, surely that does not mean that they are thereby the standard. I refuse to accept as normal the weak-mindedness that comes from a lack of experience with the pleasures of thinking. Furthermore, I wish to suggest two things. First, no detail (with the significant exception of sports statistics) is irrelevant, and 2) any awkwardness in conversation that results from the interjection of one of these gems of insight is surely the result of intellectual dwarfishness on the part of your interlocutor and as such is most certainly not your problem. Awkwardness may occur when a person feels intimidated by knowledge, but the proper response is for the encounter to motivate the other person to become a little less ignorant. You are not at fault here, except perhaps for the failure to choose more interesting well-adjusted friends. ;)
great comment, sharon! thanks for your thoughts. please take comfort in knowing that I have added asterisk marks around the phrase "well-adjusted, normal people" to address your concerns. but back to the book, a great pleasure read... I'm sure you'll enjoy it. He takes the same approach in the book "a year of living biblically" and his latest "the guinea pig diaries" which will soon be on my reading list.
this is a good post my brother. this makes me almost want to start reading books again.
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