SOME OF the best things in life reside beneath the surface. Rose quartz is enclosed by metamorphic rock. Stalagmites hang from the ground we walk upon. Unbroken shells lie beneath the beach.
Certain things, beautiful as they may be, are only found after one unearths their exterior. Many students, rushing through the University in order to reach their career destination, do not bother to examine things closely. They instead judge things based on their appearances, moving towards the most striking and vivid.
At the University, students are presented with numerous ways in which to spend their free time. Many of these options, such as heading down Rugby Road, promise instant gratification. Others, such as joining the University Guide Service, ensure resume success. Hidden underneath the myriad of activities at the University, however, are a variety of wonderful lectures given by renowned scholars. Nearly every department and many intra-University programs offer lectures by prominent members of their field, free of charge.
Because the lectures do not seem to provide excitement or box office entertainment, most students consider them to be a waste of an evening. With little leisure time and an eye on the future, students do not want to spend time on activities in which they are not "getting anything." Attending a lecture will not build a student's resume, improve his GPA, or even snag a recommendation. Nor will it supply packaged fun.
But if students would carefully consider, they would realize lectures offer rewards more substantive than those accrued from a long resume or watching Animal House for the fifth time. The benefits may not be fast and easy, but they are worth the effort.
Lectures, unlike the typical class, cover breaking research in the field, and therefore equip students with knowledge of modern concerns. For fields one does not wish to study, this is particularly beneficial. Not every student can embark on a thorough study of the environment. Each student can, however, keep himself abreast of the major developments in environmental science.
Even lectures that cover slightly esoteric or unknown material can provide individual enrichment. Students need not understand the specifics of firing neurons in order to become aware of the general trends in neuroscience.
As the number of accepted and purported truths increases exponentially, every citizen, even the most knowledgeable, remains in the dark concerning some aspect of his world. No one has time to learn everything. One can, however, become aware of the ideas in the world and decide which ideas need to be pursued.
Seeking lectures in one's own field of study allows a student to come to grips with the implications of his field. A student can connect his own studies with the studies of renowned scholars or current world players.
Understanding how a field of study relates to the real world helps students to decide if a field is indeed what they want to be studying, and additionally allows students to test out the material. If breaking research in the field does not match up with what a student has learned as truth, then maybe the field's mode of inquiry is fundamentally flawed.
Lectures provide students with the opportunity to judge for themselves the merit of each field. If students forego such opportunities, they remain in a haze, ignorant of the ideas floating around them.
Even if a student rejects a lecturer's mode of thought, the student, through his identification of the flaws in the lecturer's reasoning, further develops his own mode of inquiry. The student who rejects a particular worldview can pull out the threads of truth, freeing them from an erroneous fabric. Through numerous examinations, a student can collect enough threads to construct his own fabric.
Students should expose themselves to as many different ideas as possible, for one cannot dismiss an idea until he understands the true nature of that idea. Lectures, while they may not seem as exciting or as satisfying as Rugby Road, offer the student a unique chance to come to terms with the world around him - which is, after all, the point of learning.
Many of us, upon leaving the University, will not live in an environment where so many different worldviews amalgamate. So the next time you have a couple hours of free time, consider checking the Events Calendar on the University Web site for a lecture, and expanding your mind, instead of looking for a quick fix of entertainment.
(Kelly Sarabyn is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.)
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