I think that people use a rule of thumb when deciding what things in life are worth learning. Most people seek knowledge in one of the following three categories:
- What many other people learn (calculus, C++, and so on)
- What is easy to learn (hula-hooping, Ruby, and so on)
- What has value that is easy to appreciate (thermonuclear physics, for example, or that ridiculously loud whistle where you stick your fingers in your mouth) -- Land of Lisp. Conrad Barski.
I think another category would be "What few other people can or do learn" (rare foreign languages, chess, obscure trivia about a favorite subject). Knowing something that others don't is good for getting status, at least in the subcultures with which I have experience.
Here's the new quotes thread, for all those quotes you were going to post.
Rules: