Dissatisfaction

For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

- Ecclesiastes 1:18

To borrow a line from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, "The more I see of the world, the more I am dissatisfied with it."

Some days I hate knowing things. I hate knowing that there are problems in this world that can't be fixed. I hate that there are paradoxes with no solutions. 

I've been feeling this way a lot lately...

So of course I found it ironic when today in class one of my professors addressed this type of feeling. It's an upper-level psychology class and lately we've been talking about some pretty dark mental problems. The kind that can't really by fixed and that usually affect more than just the person who has them. 

I have hated this part of the class more than I've hated any other thing I've learned in school (including my math and science classes, which is really saying something). I've never dreaded going to class so much as I have during this section of Abnormal Psychology.

So today the professor read us the above verse out of Ecclesiastes and then he said he had a question for us. But he prefaced his question by telling us that he wanted us to consider our answers not just in light of the class, but also in the grand scheme of learning in general.

He asked us, "Would you go back? If you could, would you unlearn all of the things that you hate knowing about? Would you trade being wise for nice feelings?"

Food for thought...