Knowledge Opportunities

(Microsoft Media)

Here's a challenge. Nobody needs a university these days to acquire knowledge in order to just know and be a better neighbour or member of the community, or perhaps even to do something useful or interesting, or both, with that knowledge.

If it's not about science, technology and medicine (yes, well, to be honest, we might want a well-trained GP, not just one having read books on various medical subjects), studying, or let's just say "learning", that'll do, can be done even without having to do annoying assignments for some lecturer giving you a more or less lukewarm and frequently pointless comment and a result for an essay about somebody else's writing or story telling, or some events in history or current politics, some philosopher's remark...

(Microsoft Media)

If you are not too keen on waving about a diploma or degree, saying things like "hey, hey, I can add 'BA' to my name now, and you are happy with just the bare knowledge instead, use the media. There are many documentaries, not just sitcoms and soap operas. Use public libraries, there are many interesting books, not just novels.

Learn to form educated opinions just by reading, observing, thinking (twice, if necessary), listening, comparing. And don't just repeat what others say or write, think about it; if you find you agree after careful consideration, you can still choose to repeat something interesting and valuable you've read.

(Microsoft Media)

Even reading about science, technology and medicine - if you don't insist on becoming a surgeon or rocket scientist - can put you in a position to understand better what a GP or an engineer tells you or what a science documentary is ultimately about, and you can put it all in perspective. And you can even find mistakes or flaws in someone else's logic.

But you've got to use the opportunities that weren't available to previous generations. You owe it to yourself and to your contemporaries, and at times even to future generations.