What is everyone's gut feeling on 2012?

[ubergud]

And that's the only reason we're here: Learning!

Why, if we're here to learn, did we forget everything we know before we got there?

Maybe we came here to forget instead?
Like some large intergalactic foreign legion.

But all kidding aside. The question is real. Why if we came here to learn did we begin by forgetting?

I think this is an interesting point, which should be explored. And it makes me wonder if the 'learning' we came to do has more to do with 'experience' than what we traditionally consider learning. That is 'experiencing' an environment where we do not have a 'how to be' handbook, and in so doing, gaining a better understanding.

For example:

Parent: [to child], 'Do not touch the stove, it's hot'.
Child: 'Why?'
Parent: 'Because hot things burn you, it will hurt.'
Child [uncertain, curious] ... touches the stove.
Child knows what hot is much more clearly than just the vague idea of hurt.

One child may hear the warning and trust the parent. Another may not understand (or want to know more intimately), and touch anyway. While in terms of avoiding pain the former may seem more wise, in terms of gaining a clearer understanding of why, the 2nd may have more wisdom to offer. Imagine each child passing along the 'why' to their children had they never touched the stove ... which would be a better teacher? Likely it would perhaps depend on the student :-).

Peace and Joy,

Jason