After writing chapter 788, I saw some reviews and realized that some of my friends were overly sensitive and wrong. I wrote this chapter to talk about some basic concepts but did not post it. After I posted chapter 789, I saw some reviews and felt that it was better to post it.
What is a scholar?
Let's start from the beginning, thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago.
The nature of human beings is basically fixed after the evolution of the brain. Based on the basic attributes of humans, which is our current basic attributes, there is only one way for humans to mature and improve: repeatedly experience things, use thinking, and gain experience. Even in the future, things can only be done this way.
One of the important factors for humans to surpass animals is the invention of language, which allows the experience of predecessors to be passed down. Predecessors experience things on behalf of you, think, and then come to a conclusion. After generations of accumulation, humans established the current society.
The purpose of reading a book is to gain the experience of others. For example, when we read a novel, we simulate an "experience" and think about it in this "experience". When you simulate the same thing eight to ten times and finally encounter the real thing, you will at least have an idea in your heart.
Then what is an ancient scholar?
Through reading, they gain more experience than others, and thus become the ruling class. Naturally, they will have a sense of superiority and will look down on others. In modern times, they have been criticized. What is more worth mentioning is that the 'scholar' has more social experience, and understands the cruelty of society. When things come to them, they know how terrible the consequences will be, and it is easy for them to be weak and roundabout. A scholar cannot rebel for three years, and a scholar has no backbone. This is a true and undeniable attribute.
But, what is a modern scholar?
In the past, we have been called 'the eyes of the people are bright' and 'smelly old nine' too many times. Suddenly, as long as there are people, it is best if there are no scholars. But in modern society, with the explosion of information, books are everywhere. Who hasn't read books? Who can't see books? Who can see the real difference in social class after reading books?
But the basic attributes of humans have not changed. To be more mature and sensible, you need more experience, more thinking, and more horizontal comparisons in life. You are human, and you can't take shortcuts.
Why do we hate scholars?
In modern society, those who hate scholars, forgive me for being blunt, are the kind of people who are truly lazy. They don't read books and don't improve themselves, but they still think that when faced with some complicated matters, they are naturally correct. They prefer not to use their brains and don't work hard, but they still feel that they are better than those who are smart, hardworking, and constantly enterprising people.
It couldn't be compared.
Modern society has done away with the classes of the past, but the class of wisdom still exists, and will exist in the foreseeable future, which is simply manifested by the fact that the wise find a way more quickly to do something, and by the fools bungle it, the class is manifested and elevated in the matter.
If you want to be smart, you have to think and read. In the past 30 years of development, social classes had already appeared. After realizing the importance of education, the concept of "winning at the starting line" had also appeared. The rich would send their children to good schools and find good teachers. The so-called "good" would inevitably be reflected in helping their children to absorb nutrients from books faster. These children would become better people. They would be able to crush the stupid people, and the stupid people would truly become the bottom of society. But compared to the past, this class was not very fixed, because the world was full of books. It all depended on whether you had a sense of urgency or not.
Reading has the following characteristics:
1. Reading can be a substitute for "experience," but the gains must be multiplied by the thinking. In other words, smart people can learn more from books, and this is unavoidable.
2. Reading cannot completely replace "experience." When you read a certain experience in a book, you constantly think about it. This thinking still needs to be put into practice, and for it to be beneficial to you in reality, you still need to experience an actual event. In this event, you might still be flustered, but if you don't read a book, you might be flustered eight or ten times before you learn the correct lesson.
3. Reading is based on everyone's different personality, and there is such a thing as enlightenment. For example, if you read a book aimlessly and experience a hundred times in the book, you might only shorten the amount of experience you need in reality by two or three times. But through purposeful horizontal comparison of different books, we might be able to find the correct life lesson more easily, and mature faster. Those elite schools and universities that teach students according to their aptitude can do this kind of thing, but as long as one is willing to study, there is still hope to surpass others.
4. The essence of modern reading is a shortcut to replace "experience." To experience something, it might take ten days to half a month, and you might not be able to find enlightenment. But in ten days to half a month, you can read more than ten books. In this process, we face the world, and the process of improving ourselves, is to constantly "experience", constantly think, constantly use every experience to cross-compare, and finally find the methodology of this world. This book says a principle, and that book says another. Why do both exist at the same time? You can find more detailed solutions and explanations. After more comparisons, you can find the law that applies to all worlds.
5. A little personal experience: Determine the goal, solve the equation. For example, when we look at Confucius's Analects, we need to determine that Confucius' goal is to "cultivate a gentleman and build a Great Harmony Society." He faced the current situation of the Spring and Autumn Period, so the essence of the Analects is "some ideas on how to achieve a Great Harmony Society in the Spring and Autumn Period." In the solution of this equation, Confucius's entire logic structure exists. If we can understand this, and if he faces a modern society, the solution of "some ideas on how to achieve a Great Harmony Society in the modern period" will definitely be different. Reading a book, we extract the writer's way of thinking and logic structure. Then, when we face things, we will have countless horizontal comparisons. This is the most fundamental purpose of reading. It is not to learn how to bow and bow, but to learn their logic core.
These are some of the most basic things. Originally, I thought that I didn't need to say it, and even thought that I didn't need to be so shallow. But even now, there are so many people who unconditionally despise "literati". Do you really despise "literati" to gain a little sense of superiority, or do you really despise "culture"? The future is a professional society. When facing things, do you rely on your innate genius brain, or do you rely on professional explanations? But professional people have no bones. Culture. People don't think that culture supports the framework of a society. People see it as a tool to make money for themselves. Then, when they can make money, it's okay to be a little twisted. When the entire society's professionals are doing this, if one day they say that gutter oil is harmless, do you have to eat it?
"The eyes of the masses are clear" doesn't mean that the masses are unconditionally correct. It means that the masses have the purest understanding of the things that are directly related to them. For example, if you make extravagant claims that we are seeing more and more smog, the government will have to solve it. The masses make requests. It will always be the masses who make requests, the experts who come up with solutions, and the government who implement it. This cycle continues, and society is in a virtuous cycle. But in the hearts of some twisted people, they think that they are clear, that they are right in everything. Even if they don't read or use their brains for their entire lives, if I say what society should do, others will have to believe me. Isn't that nonsense? If a country can be governed by a chuunibyou, we have long been close to the truth. I have also been chuunibyou before. Isn't it simple? As long as there are people with bad records, we can just kill them all.
Ultimately, society depends on wisdom to point out the direction. This direction is very narrow, not as wide as we think. But the way to obtain wisdom will no longer change. It is to let our brains "experience" again and again, to constantly "think", "cross", and "compare". Finally, to obtain a basic logical framework that is suitable for the world. People's naivety and loveliness will never be close to the truth. If you hide at home, don't use your brain, and then despise "scholars", you will never prove that you are smarter than scholars. To become an outstanding person, you can go through experiences. You can read a lot of books to replace part of your "experience". But when it comes down to it, no one can take advantage of it. And the bones of scholars are our bones.
Despising the ancient scholars is to despise the class that came from it. In modern times, despising others for reading more books and using their brains is the real stupidity.
These things are originally the basic knowledge for enlightenment. But I see that there are indeed such people among my readers. In a modern society, they hope to despise "scholars" and "culture" to prove that they are just as brilliant and great without reading or using their brains, and gain some sense of superiority.
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