Saturday 10 August 2019

Learning things are not always as they seem

Credit Wikimedia Creative Commons
We are going to Norway, and as I plan our trip, I've been using Lonely Planet and their map which is similar to this one (but this one isn't under copyright).  We are going to the insert. I thought it was just across the way from Tromso (even though the map clearly states it is north), as I am evidently spacially deficient. 

Infact, it is a long way north...as google maps explains below...(and I am clearly an idiot).
 




I have discovered my understanding of how BIG Norway is, was wrong. Having been to Finland and Denmark, I thought it was sort of the same sort of distances, yet every place I plan to visit if much further away than I realised.

With many things in the life, I'm discovering what I thought I knew was wrong. Going to the gaming expo changed my view on video games and the people that play them; going to music festivals changed my view on the kind of people that take drugs and the importance of pill testing; going to a talk on mental health where one of the speakers was intersex made me realise I knew literally nothing at all about their struggles in this society. I had been completely oblivious to this community throughout my whole life.

I am old. I should know a lot more about a lot more things than I do. The good thing is I keep learning, often in unexpected ways.


Perhaps this is the problem with our current society? We hold on to what we believe to be true and see the world incorrectly? Perhaps we all need to be open to continuing our education?




"Our brain is mapping the world. Often that map is distorted, but it's a map with constant immediate sensory input." E. O. Wilson


What have you learnt lately that took you by surprise?

Linking with #OpenSlather  #MLSTL #TwinklyTuesday #GlobalBlogging and #StayClassyMama

27 comments:

  1. Hope you have a wonderful time in Norway! I have never been there, but would love to go. Reading distances from a map can definitely be tricky! Learning new things is the way to stay young. :)

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  2. Have a lovely vacation, Its good learning new things

    much love...

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  3. This made me giggle. I think part of always learning and growing is figuring out things we had wrong. Visiting you from the global blogging link up. laurensparks.net

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  4. My brother in law is Norwegian..
    Enjoy your travels!

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  5. Have a great time in Norway. I bet it's so beautiful there!

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  6. Have a wonderful time! My daughter's boyfriend studied abroad there his junior year and absolutely loved it!

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  7. Norway sounds fabulous. I love the fact that we can have our minds blown, continually, by something new. It's all about opening your mind, following your curiosity and seeing where it leads you. #MLSTL

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  8. Have a wonderful time. I have blogger friends who are in Norway right now. They love it. #MLSTL

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  9. Enjoy Norway! Keep an open mind and keep on learning...They are good for aging well. #MLSTL

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  10. I have never thought of going to Norway but now will have to do so. Learning does keep the brain flexible and we all need that.

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  11. Isn't it strange how we have fixed perceptions (a lot of them from our Primary School days!) Our son is in Finland ATM for work and I imagined freezing weather, darkness etc - his photos are all of sunny days and blue skies (because - it's Summer!) Totally messed with my head. You must be very excited to be going to Norway - so far away and yet such an interesting place.
    Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I've shared on my SM :)

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  12. I remember our first exploratory visit to Ecuador and how much surprised me. I hope I never stop learning new things! #MLSTL Shared on SM

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  13. Have a fantastic time in Norway! It's somewhere I long to visit. A cruise especially to see the fjords. I agree, I think as we get older we realise how little we know. When we were younger of course we knew everything! #MLSTL and Shared on SM

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  14. Sounds wonderful and I hope you have a fabulos time. I would love to visit Norway and my cousin is there at the moment. We do need to keep learning don't we? It is an integral part of ageing well. Thanks for linking up and sharing at #MLSTL.

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  16. Have a fabulous time in Norway. I went skiing there as a teenager and remember it being beautiful! #TwinklyTuesday

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  17. I can relate to this Lydia and as we age it's so important to look at our perceptions and change them if we feel out of touch. Good on you! Enjoy your trip, although I've been to Finland, Sweden and Denmark, I've not been to Norway yet!! #mlstl

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  18. We know so much and yet there is so much more to learn. Good for you in continuing down that path. Maps often get recreated when boundaries change, because the land changes as time progresses, as the weather and elements mold it into new shapes, and yes, even as war changes where the lines on the map go. So I guess, we can change as new information comes in and changes the preset ideas we previously held.

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  19. Ahhh, if I knew everything I thought I knew when I was 21!!! I think you have hit the mark with your statement about society, 'holding onto what we believe is true.' When we stop being curious and when we stop asking why, we might as well sit on the porch and rock. You are going to Norway, and even if you don't know the geography as well as you thought, you are going to NORWAY!!!

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  20. I am 48, at least for a few more months, and rarely a week goes by without me learning something new and I think that is how it should be. How boring life would be if there was nothing more to learn. Oh and have an amazing trip, you are so lucky to go to such an amazing country. Somewhere I have always wanted to visit.

    #TwinklyTuesday

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  21. What a great vacation! Norway is on my bucket list!

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  22. Very interesting! I guess there's a difference between reading about a subject and actually experiencing it in person. Always good to keep learning though.

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  23. You are so NOT old but I agree 100% that we should never stop learning. The other thing is to admit what we do not know and to learn how to say 'sorry' and 'I don't know.'
    Thank goodness for my bloggy friends like you who travel because then I can!! I just recalled in 1968 in my first ever prac lesson on a Year 3 I had to do a lesson on Norway. That was back in the day when I had to use encyclopedias and maps...I had no idea why year 3 back then was studying Norway but I went well at prac. Denyse #mlstl

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  24. I think that we have a distorted sense of distance due to the way we look at maps/globes. The way we are also brought up also has a part: for example my parents think a half hour drive is long! They'd never get anywhere in the USA! Thanks for linking up with #globalblogging

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  25. Not that its any consolation but I'm also rubbish with a map and distances too! Hope you have a wonderful time in Norway - another blogger shared a trip a few weeks ago and it looks beautiful! Thanks for linking up #twinklytuesday

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  26. Oh. That is a ways. Soak up the experience! I totally agree with thinking. We really don't do anything perfectly in life, but we're always growing and learning, hopefully with an open mind x
    In mildly unrelated news my daughter asked me where the tooth fairy lived a couple of weeks ago, I told her Greenland. I hope she makes it there one day :) #openslather

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  27. I was surprised that Amsterdam was so cold but it further north than I imagined before visiting! Thanks for linking up with #stayclassymama

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