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1、1 Unit 3The acquisition of knowledge is self-contradictory by nature. The more one knows, the more he knows how little he knows. Reading often leads to more questions than answers. Writing opens things up rather than closes them off. The author of the following essay regards truth as a rainbow that
2、cannot be really grasped. He urges us to be humble about what we dont know as we pride ourselves on what we know. The Rainbow of Knowledge Craig Russell 1)For more than 3/4 of my life 39 of my 50 years Ive either studied or taught in a school or a college in New York. 2)You might think, then, that a
3、fter all this time Id have some grasp of the situation, that Id actually know things that Id have some positive sense of assurance, of certainty, about knowledge and about life. But I dont. In fact, the more I know, the more I know I dont know. 3)To say that the more I know, the more I know I dont k
4、now is, of course, contradictory. But then, modern physics tells us that reality itself is contradictory. The more scientists look into our physical reality, the more it slips away from them. In a way, the more they learn, the less they know. 4)Knowledge itself is contradictory. For example, picture
5、 your knowledge as a dot, as perhaps the period at the end of this sentence. Notice the tiny circumference of that period, and let that represent the interface of the known with the unknown in other words, your awareness of what you dont know. 5)But now imagine that little period growing, its blackn
6、ess consuming more and more of the page. As it grows, so does its circumference. And if that growing blackness represents knowledge, then as it grows, so does the awareness of what remains unknown. In other words, the more you know, the more you know you dont know. 6)No doubt you have experienced th
7、is yourself in your own personal quests for knowledge. At first, you dont even know a field of learning exists. Its been there all along, of course; you just havent noticed it before. When I got my first computer in 1988, I walked down to the magazine store, hoping to find something about computing
8、and was amazed at the number of choices. Likewise, when I lucked into an opportunity to teach film analysis, I found myself dazzled at the sheer number of books devoted to the subject. 2 Unit 37)Lets say you decide to learn about this topic. You buy one of these books, the best and most complete one
9、 you can find (or so you think), or perhaps you borrow it from the library. But you quickly find that your reading, rather than answering questions, only creates more of them. 8)Earlier this year, for example, I not only had no idea that I had any interest at all in the relationship of technology to
10、 freedom; I didnt even realize that a connection between them might exist. So I started reading books and became more and more aware of the relationship between technology and freedom. Then, on the one hand, I now know much more about this topic than I did a few short months ago. But on the other ha
11、nd, all this reading has made me see how little I really know and how much more I need to read and think and write. Once Ive finished reading a book, I always feel that I need to read three more to gain a better grasp of the topic. And I think and write at the same time. In fact, it is my writing th
12、at has led me into it. We think often that only people who know and who are sure of themselves write. For me, however, its just the opposite. Writing doesnt close things off it opens things up. 9)For a long time, I, as a writer, was paralyzed by this paradox the more I know, the more I know I dont k
13、now. I was very aware of the teaching from Taoism that said “those who know dont speak; those who speak dont know.“ I wasnt sure I should write at all, and, even if I did, I didnt believe that I was qualified to do it. I always felt I had to know more first. It took me a long time not to let this pa
14、radox freeze me and to believe that it was my writing that would qualify my knowledge, and not the other way around. I think of my work not as articles or as columns but as essays a word from French, meaning “to try“. I do not know truth. I only try to find it. 10) I dont mean, of course, to suggest
15、 that we should not learn, or that we should not read and write and think and talk. I do not mean to suggest that we should not try. An infinite quest is not a hopeless one. I only suggest that an understanding will inevitably and doubtlessly lead us away from the force and rigidity of dogmatism and
16、 toward the flexibility and freedom of the individual. As Taoism teaches, “the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death. The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.“ 11)We must temper our pride in knowing with the humility of not knowing. The truth, as they say, is out there, but, maybe, like the rainbow, we can never really grasp it, never hold it in our hands and truly know it. We can only, as
