We take so many things for granted that really ought to astound us.
On my daily trips to Santa Fe over the past two months my wife and I have been listening to Teaching Company tapes and CDs – lectures by the best college teachers in the nation. At the moment we are listening (in turn) to lectures on the Great Ideas in Psychology, Great Literature of the Western World, The British Novel, and A History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts. When I drive alone I have been listening to lectures on Particle Physics and on the evidence for Dark Matter. My daughters and granddaughters are currently watching Teaching Company videos on Modern Astronomy and Cosmology by one of the nation’s leading astronomers. From time to time during lunch we watch a DVD series on Great Artists of the Italian Renaissance by a wonderful art historian from the Smithsonian Institution.
These lecturers are all brilliant, among the very best lecturers to be found in the entire country, or even perhaps in the Western World (the psychologist, for example, lectures at Oxford). I would consider that a few of them are no doubt in the genius range of intellect.
It occurred to me the other day that until recent times, most people in the world never met a genius in their entire life. In most of the world this is still true. Now, through the marvel of books and tapes and videos we can listen to and learn from four or five geniuses a day if we are so inclined. We ought to marvel at our good fortune, though in fact most of us not only take if for granted, but don’t even take much advantage of the opportunity.
More’s the pity.
PS – If you have never heard of The Teaching Company, I encourage you to visit their web site at http://www.teach12.com/ and see what a wealth of wonders is available.
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