Academia is Arrogant

You can only learn if you already know what you are learning; if you do not know what you are learning, you cannot learn it. Learn is for those that do not need to learn. 

I have paused an assigned reading to record what I have learned - which is not what I was intending to learn. I have read each sentence in this assigned reading a minimum of three times. Each sentence. Three times. Once I have finished reading and re-reading the sentence, it clicks and the concepts are easy to grasp. So if the concept is easy to grasp - why does it take so long to uncover those concepts? It is because the writing is harder to comprehend than the concept itself. Sentences are longer than they should be, descriptions are detailed - but of no significance to the actual subject, and the author is wielding his intelligence by using words like wielding (but harder).

There is a concept that has become very clear - people who know things, forget what it's like to not know things.

So they write as if everyone knows what they know. Also, there is another concept that I am making up (probably out of frustration), people who know things want to prove that they know things and as a result they make it harder for other people to know things.

Academic writing is like treasure. There are ideas hidden and buried in words and elongated sentences. If you work hard and bring a shovel - you will find those ideas, but it won't be easy. This means that people who are discovering these ideas need to have basic equipment - basic knowledge about the subject at hand, which knocks out a large chunk of people from being able to learn.

Is education for smart people? 

It shouldn't be, but it seems to be. I'm reading an introduction article on a subject I do not know anything about. However, in order to be able to understand this introduction, I need fairly substantial prior knowledge. I also need to be able to pick out information that is significant from information that is filler and not necessary. I am tasked with the role of picking information that is relevant to a topic that I am learning for the first time.

I enjoy learning. I do not enjoy the presumptuous attitude that in order to learn I must be an academic elite. 

Someone once told me that they prefer to read small books. I assumed that it was because they are short. That person told me that they like to read small books because small books cut the fluff and leave only the important stuff. This person told me that they have rarely ever read a long book that doesn't have unnecessary fluff. Give me the information that I need without the ego of the academic.

At our core, we should desire for those around us to have access to information. The process of being presented with something, grasping, understanding, and applying is truly joyful. When you finally understand a math equation or a literary concept or how to change the oil in your car - there is pride, there is success and there comes a hunger to continue. If we make this process of learning harder to attain, people will stop trying. No one wants to seek out failure. Academia, please stop being arrogant, eventually those who hunger to learn will be whittled down to those related to the ones teaching and there will be no one left to teach. No one left to learn.