Monday, June 6, 2011

Cognizance Grants Power

When you are aware of something's existence, you instantly gain power over it. Although it may affect you, it loses much of its power and you can use it yourself.

I had a conversation with a friend about passive-aggressiveness. We talked about how it exists in all cultures, in all economic classes, amongst all races. It led into how our culture is structured to reward passive-aggressiveness because we only punish physical actions, not verbal ones (barring certain exceptions). No matter how much you insult or offend me with your words, if I throw the first punch, I go to jail. As such, the winner is the person who can be the most grating and repugnant and get other people to do very regrettable things.

Less than an hour after that, I had another conversation with a different person who was being extremely passive-aggressive. And were it not for my first conversation, I assuredly would have done some regrettable things. But I was cognizant of what was going on and I was able to ignore it, or at least prevent it from influencing my actions. On top of that, if I ever was in the mood to screw with people, I know precisely how to be a passive-aggressive dick.

The power you gain from being aware of things is tremendous. This is why you need to study. You need to learn as much as you can about as many subjects as you can. No matter how much you may be sort of receptive to or aware of, no matter how much you can figure out from personal experience and introspection, you will never be able to reach the same level you would if you introduced yourself to these subjects through reading or discussion (or at least not as quickly).

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