Re: The Conscious Mind

Ira Brodsky (ibrodsky@ix4.ix.netcom.com)
Fri, 11 Oct 1996 12:12:02 -0600


Kathryn Aegis wrote:

>>Having taught myself to fly radio-controlled sailplanes years ago by
>>observing the behavior of local soaring raptors and spent some time around
>>bald eagles in the Pacific Northwest before that, I can confirm how rarely
>>these birds speak.
>
>Exactly. It's not something you read in a book--probably Churchill's
>weakness. I only caught onto it because I spent a year working with
>birds of prey at the Raptor Institute.
>
>Once again proving the value of experiential learning,

You can't learn how to ride a bicycle by reading a book, but you certainly
can learn about the habits of birds of prey from a book. In fact, there
would be little if any human progress if everything had to be learned
through direct experience.

Winston Churchill was a genius. He was, in fact, living proof that a
person could know more through reading and reasoned analysis than all those
who relied on "direct experience." Mr. Chamberlain relied on experiential
learning and believed Hitler was a man of peace. After all, Hitler told
him so to his face. Churchill was a student of written history and knew
better.

Isn't the net a great thing? Anyone can diagnose Churchill's "weakness" in
front of hundreds of people scattered around the world. And others can
reply just as fast...

Ira Brodsky
Datacomm Research Company
Wilmette, Illinois