I’m not one to brag but I like to think of myself as smart. I have a good education. I read a lot. I watch the local and world news. I listen to NPR. Maybe I’m not smart so much as informed. Anyway, despite all of this, sometimes I wish I knew more about some subjects. And that’s why today’s Ten on Tuesday topic is 10 Subjects/Things I Wish I Knew More About.
- Geography. My geography sucks once I move outside my local area. I think this is fairly common but that doesn’t make it less of a problem.
- World History. I have a pretty good background in U.S. History but that’s about it.
- World Politics. Again, I’m quite familiar with U.S. politics but the global stuff? Not-so-much.
- World War I and World War II. Are you sensing a theme here with the world stuff? Hold on, I’ve got one more . . .
- World religion. There’s lots of ’em and I know very little about ’em.
- Economics. I was afraid to take this in college because I wasn’t good at math. I should have just done it, though, because I think this is something that would be very useful to me.
- Spanish. I can read a menu and order. I can ask how much something costs. Beyond that, though? I’m a little lost. And I learned something on this trip to Mexico, too. If you ask in Spanish how much something costs, well, they answer you in Spanish. I need to learn my numbers before next year.
- Photography. Also Photoshop. I use my camera every day and I’ve learned a lot in the last 5 years or so but there is still so much more to know.
- Computer programming. Back in the day I could update the library website with simple html. Now, though, with style sheets and Java and so much else, I don’t even dare touch it for the simplest of changes.
- Psychiatry. Seriously, when I got my Master of Library & Information Studies, I should have gotten one in psychiatry, too. It sure would come in helpful at work. Just sayin.
How about you? What subjects do you wish you knew more about? As always, if you want to sign up for the Ten on Tuesday email then please click here.
I don’t know if it’s any consolation for either one of us, but I’m also quite deficient in all the same world subjects. There’s always room for more growth and learning, but just think how much you DO know about so many things!
The good thing . . . is that it’s never too late for some learnin’! (I’m slowly picking up my incredibly deficient world history skills by traveling. It seems more palatable that way, somehow!)
Do you wish you had that Psychiatry degree for the patrons or the co-workers? But maybe you shouldn’t say….. LOL Great list!
Your list has subjects we should all know more about whether we want to or not. I ran out of time yesterday and couldn’t pull together a cohesive post.
There is always so much to learn that I can’t imagine a day when there’s not something I wish I knew more about! Curiosity keeps us growing! My 15 year old son is taking a programming class (for free!) from a guy at church; he’s way ahead of me which is a good thing since me thinks computers are here to stay.
Are you sure you mean psychiatry? That requires becoming an MD first. Wouldn’t becoming a psychologist or social worker suffice? If you decide to study Spanish, I highly recommend a book entitled “The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice”.
Anyway, it’s never too late to learn new things, and here in the US it’s possible to reinvent yourself. After 13 years of being a commercial artist, I became an attorney over twenty years ago.
Things I want to know more about: I’d like to be able to know the names of all the common plants and trees. This is knowledge my mother had, and I have no idea how, where or when she learned it.
I’d like to understand meteorology. Barometric pressure really confuses me. Maybe there’s a video somewhere explaining it.
I’d like to be able to read Chinese. The beauty of it is that I wouldn’t have to learn the verbal part as the characters can be translated directly to English.
Between the library and the internet, all these things are doable.
All (somewhat) doable things.
I’d like to relearn math.
I’d like to get a refresher course in Greek and Hebrew which I learned in Seminary but after learning another language (Portuguese), both languages popped out of my head.
I’d like to learn more about different sheep and their wool.
I’d like to learn more about human anatomy.
I’d like to learn about a car (so I don’t look like a dufus at the mechanic).
And like Katie, I would also like to learn more about local botany.
Geography, History, Religion, Math & Foreign Language… sounds like a grueling year of high school! Except that this time you wanna and it can all be on your terms. With no grades.
Well, I have college credit in #5 (met DH first day of Comparative Religions) and #10 (nursing required intro to psych and abnormal psych).
As to world geography…when I was in high school we not only got Alaska and Hawaii as states, but every week there was a “new” country or two in Africa. Now Eastern Europe has and is going through the same sort of change. Poor National Geographic just gets to the point when it thinks it is safe to print the definitive maps, and Pow! another country!
There were numerous overlaps in our lists–number one is economics! It is so intertwined with justice and human rights. I took Latin in ninth grade and loved it–more classical education would have been wonderful (our Latin teacher retired at the end of the school year). More biology and botany–oh my, the list could just go on and on!
There are just so many things to learn about! If only that darn 9-5 job wasn’t interfering with all this knowledge… I think knowing more about psych should be a requirement to deal with the general public nowadays. Just sayin…
I am fairly well educated and well informed. But I am humbled whenever I encounter an electrician, a plumber, a builder, a mechanic, for they know ten thousand things that I don’t and never will.
That is a big list! Which of those wishes will become reality?
My grandkids can count to 100 in Spanish. I learned a little when my kids were watching Sesame Street! 😉 2nd DS learned to speak and write Spanish when he had migrant workers on the golf course. He taught them English and they taught him Spanish on their noon lunchbreak. Worked out great!
My Dan has a lot of World Religion knowledge between high school and college – always amused me as an interest of his. (I’ll tell you his real Book of Mormon story one day!) And the photoshop…my brother GAVE me a brand new copy and there it sits. Great subject today Carole!
Wow — it was like you were describing me!! lol
You are smart, so there’s no doubt that you can learn more about these things with a little effort. LOL – you work in a library! Just sayin. I think it is admirable that you are looking outside your immediate circle to the world. It’s a big world, and it has a lot to teach us. This was a great topic.
My ambitions aren’t as lofty as those of the other commenters; I really wish I knew more about free-motion quilting!
World History was always one of my most favorite subjects in school….that and Physiology. I wish I had paid more attention in school.
Today I would love to learn more about your #8, become proficient as one can become in tai chi and find more time to read.
You my friend can do whatever you put your mind to do. <3