The Prospect of Perspective by Raul

The Prospect of Perspective by Raul - May 2014 Scholarship Essay

What's the best piece of educational advice I've ever received? Well, to be honest, it's a more a recent one but it really relates to the way I like handle my everyday interactions and learning process. It's sort of one of the principles put into better terms than my own though that I've been trying to use to guide my life and worldview for at least the past couple of years. In my music seminar the teaching assistant in charge mentioned that when trying to dissect and discuss topics that are still relevant today generally one constant will always pops up. That is “the truth is complicated”; the topics are still relevant today because there is no single correct answer. I guess a more palatable way of saying this might be “the world ain't so black and white” but while this a good alternative to it I find some particular bit of wisdom in the former phrasing.

In life, in education, wherever, you're always going to have some kind of dialogue, maybe a conversation, physical or not, maybe an argument. For example, in a modern context of near completely partisan politics people have gotten a little too comfortable with calling each other idiots, blind to the truth, illogical, et cetera. Instead of considering what they're saying they just react right away without even thinking about it. Sure these people have their reasons for thinking the way they do but so does everybody else. Whether or not you find some validity in the way other people view the world doesn't give you the right to talk down on them for it. Chances are they've put some thought into their thoughts, go figure. Even if you believe they haven't considered all the factors don't call them a moron for it, be respectable, people will appreciate the class and lack of condescension in the long run. People tend to get heated in arguments, that's understandable, an argument implies there's something at stake. Maybe try calmly stating why you disagree, be the better person. I'm not trying to preach some platitude here, not a shallow stop fighting solution but maybe a way to resolve conflicts on a daily basis rather than simply awkwardly delay it until you run into that person again. When it comes to sensitive topics people are pretty antagonistic. From experience it almost gives people a shock when they realize I'm not trying to play the contrarian and that we can actually have a meaningful dialogue with each other or an exchange rather than a one-sided argument. If we can be taught to always question everything then why does that have to imply that we can't come to an understanding with each other. We question each other to gain a greater knowledge, a greater understanding, not to stagnate people into a singular pool of thinking under the threat of insult and injury.

“The truth is complicated” is more than just a general life mantra. In all seriousness it really is educational advice. The funny dilemma I've come to terms with in my learning by now is that chances are when you first learn something there are some concessions on the accuracy or the intricacies of the model being presented to you for the sake of being accessible. Personally, I think that 's great but it's also taught me that when it comes to the math and sciences among other things there's probably always more to the story than what they teach you but that's the point. That's the catalyst for scientific discovery right there. Those small inconsistencies, those cracks in our current knowledge. They're the signs that we haven't gotten the whole picture yet. I mean they've spent decades trying to refine the Standard Model into a form that can account for all the new developments in particle physics that we've made. Even some of the brightest minds in history were shamed during their lifetimes because their ideas, their styles, their theories were too radical for others to even consider even if it turned out in the end they were completely right, in fact brilliant.

Accepting the ideas of others can only bring you more perspective. Even if in the end you don't practice them it's still worthwhile to consider the possibility. Humans are social beings after all, if we can't talk with each other then who can we go to?