i’m performing knowledge wrong
I have seen almost all of the Star Wars content, yet I can’t tell you what happens in which movie or TV series; just that it happened (but not everything!). I can watch 2 seasons of a show and still not remember an important and central character’s name, just what they did and what they look like. Almost everyone I interact with is different in that regard; my wife, for example, knows exactly what happened in which medium, part or episode and never has trouble with names.
It’s like that in other, more educational settings too: I forget where I have read things, but I remember the sentence structure clearly, the exact words used. I forget the names attached to the writing, but not the actual theories or models.
That’s unfortunate, because we live in a culture that incentivizes the memorization of names and sources and uses them as a measurement for how well educated you are. Ironically, just listing off the names of big personalities you read books of or saying “That’s xyz’s theory” or “This was discussed in the latest abc” at surface level seems smarter than knowing the topic, arguments, theories but blanking on who developed it or what the book title was.
That’s just how my brain works, though. I don’t know why. I think I’m okay with it. It does have its embarrassing moments, especially when attribution or knowing household names is such a big thing and it could quickly come off as being uneducated or too lazy to credit an important thinker.
It’s not like I don’t know any names! Obviously I have my favorites in certain areas and some that are too big not to know. But I’ll definitely look stupid saying I’ve never heard of xyz or don’t know who this person is, just for a lightbulb moment after the explanation.
My brain sieve is just odd, but I promise we’ll get on fine discussing things in detail.
Reply via email
Published 08 Jul, 2025