On being human

I was either told from a young age or perhaps merely intuitied - with the aid of observation - that to be a fascinating, worthwhile human being, one needed to be deeply passionate about something. Being enraptured by an array of different disciplines or ideas was even better, I imagined. Such being my worldview, I cared about possibly too many things, and not enough about people who were not my family or friends. This kind of thinking can produce elitist behavior and attitudes, and, I realize now, should sooner be avoided, but my current conclusion could not have been reached without a history of it.

Now, in my final year as an undergrad (which I understand means nothing in the grand scheme of things), I see that such diverse and compelling passions are useful in terms of self-value and potential contribution to society. I care about autism, child therapy, dance, theatre, history, art, music and ludicrously long list of other topics. This is acceptable, but demands prioritization and is conducive to the elitist attitude mentioned earlier. Someone fascinated by and hugely talented in molecular biology, airplane engineering, the stock exchange or textiles is probably more whole in the sense that s/he knows everything about said field.

The danger then is being what the Germans call a Fachidiot - someone who is highly informed in one area and vastly ignorant in all others. Choosing to specialize, or even deciding for or against anything at all, is highly limiting. The word decide itself stems from the Latin decidere, meaning "to cut off." Yet if we never limit ourselves in one sense (e.g. choosing not to pursue a career in acrobatics), it is impossible to grow and broaden knowledge in any other.

I am amused by how deftly humans have evolved and yet are faced with a set of entirely novel problems. True, the development of the prefrontal cortex was crucial in the process, but with this increased mental capacity, we are forced to be the planners and acheivers of the world and live by arbitrary, seemingly positive values.