Book-Smart and Street-Smart

One of the greatest challenges in the academic world is that most of the learning is just the essence of things.  This is also one of the reasons why book-smart people often struggle when confronted with reality.  No words, photos, videos or any existed mediums can truly capture reality with all its minute details.  There is a difference between studying the sky through reading, photos or videos and to experience the night sky for yourself.  Gaze at the grandness of infinity in all directions, hear the owls call and crickets sing, feel the breeze flowing through your hairs and the insects brushing pass your skin as they fly by, smell the breath of grasses and plants. There is not enough words or amount of pixels that can ever fully simulate reality.

I am fortunate that I live in area rich of museums, and many of them offer free admission.  One of my greatest weaknesses is that I am not much of a scholarly type of person, and my many visits to the museums in Washington D.C. were purely for entertainment.  I am a technology-enthusiast, so naturally, one of my favorite museums is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.  They offer many virtual reality experiences, such as flight simulations and the planetarium.  These flight simulations strap you in a fighter jet's pilot seat, which can tilt and vibrate, and the whole capsule can perform 360 barrel rolls.  I must admit that these flight simulations are extremely fun and worth paying additional fees for; however, what participants experience is just a fraction of reality, if not, a total false presentation of what reality really is.  What participants do not get to experience is the gravitational force pressed against the rib cage, heart and lungs when the fighter jet accelerates, nor do they get to feel the pain of being strapped to the seat on long flights, having to deal with urine flowing around in the piddle pack, sniffing in any foul body odor that is trapped in the confined space, having the anxiety of entering turbulent weather and dangerous zones, dealing with the complicated politics through flight control towers while monitoring time and fuel availability, and many other sensations and emotional impacts.  Because what literature and virtual reality offer is just a small fraction of the reality itself, book-smart people often fabricate a much more romantic imagination of reality than what it really is.

The ability of digitizing the human history and experience is a miraculous technological advancement.  It allows people to have a chance to peak into stories and places that they otherwise may never be able to experience in person.  These experiences are nothing more than peaking through pin holes. Our imaginations will naturally paint in the missing pieces that might not be completely accurate; however, it's a much better alternative to complete darkness and ignorance.

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