5 Comments

    • Bookscrounger

      Bologna was the premier university of its day. FWIW, if I have not suggested it to you already you might want to read Greenblatt’s The Swerve, telling the story of one Poggio Bracciolini, who found one of the most controversial manuscripts of the day, Lucretius’s De Rerum Naturae, explaining Epicureanism. Bracciolini learned Greek under Manuel Chrysolaris, and then rose swiftly in the Papal bureaucracy to become apostolic secretary to several popes.

      One of them was Baldassare Cossa. In fact, after Cossa was deposed as pope, Bracciolini set out across Europe looking for texts, and that was when he found Lucretius’s book. BTW, we still don’t know exactly where he found it.

  1. Boomer

    Years ago I focused on how my job as a yearbook consultant/teacher presented a situation for kids not only learning the subject matter but also producing the product—–This was actually moving the bar from the cognitive to the effective level of learning—To think that the word EDUCATION comes from the Latin educo meaning to lead or draw out, I always wondered about the differentiation of the 2 and the chronology of the 2—–In Erath that meant to learn the “boat of dem”—–the basics, the transitioning to a higher level, the learned/use of the higher level, and then the creation of a higher level!!! Just seems logical to me!!!

    • Bookscrounger

      Good observation. In my post on Non-Learners, I point out that all children are curious. So to my mind the operative question is, does a strong knowledge base lead to curiosity and analysis? Or do curiosity and analysis lead to a strong knowledge base?

  2. Boomer

    My thoughts would be of not limiting to an either or—-Case in Point would be say my music—I was curious about how to play a one note at the time song (did it on my own)—This knowledge peaked my curiosity/desire to play a 3 note chord—and yes the cycle kept repeating itself—It was like stacking a pile of books–one came from the curiosity side and then the knowledge side as the stack became larger which would represent knowledge of the subject matter—but Doc another phenomenon is the phase out stage where the curiosity or desire leaves for some—Why??? I know you have had to experience this for yourself or seen it in others of all age groups in a vast number of areas!!! Keep up the great work!!!

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