What had always made math and science a little intimidating to me is that you either get it right, or you don’t. I remember feeling disadvantaged in math and science exams, because the answers are so clear-cut there is no way I can argue for my case, if any. 4 x 8 is always 32. Limewater always turns chalky when you introduce carbon dioxide to it. If you release a block of a certain weight down a plane of a certain incline, it will travel at a certain speed and come to rest at a certain distance. It was this certainty that defined math and science.
At least, that was how my world held up, until I learnt that nothing is certain in medical science. That many language disorders have no known cause. That etiology not specified is the norm and not the exception. That there isn’t always agreement on a cure. That there are as many treatment options as there are clinicians. That there is a lot more grey than there is black or white.
I am beginning to realize that perhaps growing older and wiser is not about knowing more or having more answers. Perhaps growing older and wiser is about not knowing, about having more questions than you have answers for.
I don’t know, do you?
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2 comments:
a child sees little beyond himself and he is the largest thing in his world. perhaps getting older is about shrinking, realising how much you do not know, seeing the big-ness of the world and your own small-ness. and perhaps wisdom is being humble and continuing to learn.
yes, a shrinking ego and a growing courage to say, "I don't know."
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