Books and Experiences
Many people must have once wondered, are books or experiences more important in one person’s life? Does he should read and study to gain knowledge, or he should go outside and enjoy what is happening in his life? No wonder, knowledge gained from books and the knowledge gained from experiences are both important in people’s life, they are playing different roles.
Books are abstract, but experiences are concrete. The knowledge gained from books may not easy to understand, but it is really important to a person’s mind and intelligence. For example, many people do not like mathematics and not good at it; indeed, math is difficult to learn for many people and can hardly be used in daily life, but it is necessary. The abstract knowledge can build people’s thought patterns and help them to learn how to learn. On the other hand, experiences are concrete. If a person learn some knowledge from an experience, he learn from that exactly thing. Although the knowledge learned from experiences is suitable on the person who went through it at that time perfectly, it may not suitable for anything or anytime else.
Another difference between knowledge gained from books and knowledge gained from experiences is about the time and place. People can read books and learn from them at any time, but they have to wait for a right opportunity to learn from experiences. In a person’s life, books are everywhere. One man can just go into the library at anytime and read whatever book he want. Books can be read at anytime, anyplace, and with anyone. People even can read a book on the subway back their home. However, experiences are not everywhere. If a person want to learn something by experiences, he has to wait for a good opportunity. Remarkable experiences are not as easy to find as books. In a word, the opportunity of learning something from experiences is not that easy to meet.
In many cases, books are indeed easy to find and can be read at anytime, but the knowledge gained from books are hard to remember. Most people could not remember everything they read from a book; people always forget. Without reviewing, knowledge gained from a book can easily be forgotten after one week. However, experience can hardly be forgotten. Experiences are actually happened on oneself, so they might never be forgotten like a mark. Therefore, if one person gain some knowledge from his experience, he might never forget it with his whole life.
In conclusion, knowledge gained from books and experiences are both important in a person’s life. People can learn abstract knowledge from books and build their ability of thinking and learning at anytime and anyplace. On the other hand, knowledge gained from experiences is more unforgettable than books. In a word, books and experiences are two sides of gaining knowledge and benefiting people.