Joey-dear, thanks for the challenge, but I think I will get to it next weekend. I need to do a little research. If it was the Silmarillion…. I could just pop out my answer, but this could be difficult. But it looks like I might have to look at the “Five Ages of Man.” Hesiod appears to be my main source… which is just fine with me. I loved reading Hesiod despite the gender theorists in my life believing that he was a sexist.
In the meantime, I’ve been contemplating the problem of “understanding.” I find it somewhat interesting in Bible study… We share prayer requests, and they are often quite personal… It’s sometimes hard to empathize with an event/ situation that I haven’t personally experienced. However, at other times, it seems way too easy to empathize. I might think I understand what a person feels like because of my own experience… but in reality, my experience is often clouding my understanding of their experience b/c I impose my conceptualization of my own situation onto what somebody else is going through. Since I don’t often know all the details, I can often assume things that are unsaid that should not be assumed.
Well, I don’t feel right giving examples…. sometimes I feel a little misunderstood myself… which is probably while I recognized the “understanding dissonance.” But I feel the understanding gap in my job as well when I transcribe interviews. Once again, I’m not allowed to share any direct examples, but it is entirely strange at times to realize that while I’m trying to objectively type the conversation word for word… there are places that I am mentally/physically unable to do so. Sometimes I cannot hear a word that I do not know. Sometimes, b/c of the recording, it’s impossible for anyone to hear. But for example, I don’t hear swear words. It’s like I’ve spent my whole life tuning them out… Often on the recording, I completely miss the exchange b/c I don’t understand, comprehend what’s going on… It’s out of my conceptual framework.
It’s also kind of strange b/c I listen to my professors interviewing/ analyzing their subjects. Meanwhile, I’m analyzing my professors, and I’m wondering what their purposes are for a certain question or line of thought. Was a question asked for personal reasons? Was it asked for the research only? In the end, is all research personal?
In Dr. Noll’s class, we came to the conclusion that nobody researches something that they are not interested in. (Well, unless they are forced, but that’s not where I’m headed). Yes, all research is subjective b/c of that fact, but at the same time, it is not necessary to dwell on biases b/c we can begin with that as a basic assumption. By matter of being a dedicated Christian, I’m going to do history on things that are good examples of Christianity and try to justify or distance myself from examples of bad Christianity (i.e. certain acts during the Crusades, the Salem Witch Trials, etc.). Meanwhile, a communist, who doesn’t believe in the supernatural, will not feel the need to write about reports of miracles but will focus on cases of inequality caused by capital.
Okay, if I’m thinking this deep, I should be studying. So good night, good luck, and thanks for all the fish.
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