“Those who cannot eternalize knowledge are condemned to repeat it.”
—Karnavaara
Basis
As π (pi) has an infinite amount of numbers, comparably, the world has a boundless amount of insight. You might say, “Yeah, but in practice and not in theory. In theory, insight has a limit, but π does not.” But is it really so? Isn’t π in and of itself insight? And if π is insight, doesn’t that mean that insight is infinite? Every time you learn the next digit of π, you will notice that it does not end there. It’s the same for learning. As the universe is constantly expanding, so is insight. This information overload introduces entropy in our memories.
Consequently, what benefit do you have of knowledge if it is ephemeral? If remembering numbers of π is your job or your raison d’être, what happens when you forget them? The answer to that question can be found in the famous quote by George Santayana:
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
I wholeheartedly agree, of course. However, to be more aligned here at Karnavaara, I’ll rephrase this:
“Those who cannot eternalize knowledge are condemned to repeat it.”
Eternalizing Knowledge
Unquestionably, it is about more than how much insight you have. It’s about how well you can retain it. How well can you convert ephemerality to eternality? We can reduce the entropy in our memories in many ways (e.g., by organizing), but it all starts from the foundation: memory retention. There would not be any organizing if you can’t remember concepts or terms, right?
Imagine if Akira Haraguchi, the Japanese man holding a world record (albeit unofficial) for memorizing 100,000 digits of π, forgets even one digit along the way. He must go back and relearn it. To enhance recalling, he uses memorization techniques such as his renowned mnemonic system, where he creates stories and links them to the digits. Isn’t writing similar? We write, and in the process, we unknowingly connect the writing to our memories.
In essence, we are writing our memories.
Therefore, one of the best ways to retain the insight you have accumulated is by writing. To be more concrete, keep a diary or an engineering daybook. I discovered this from reading the book Pragmatic Programmer, 20th Anniversary Edition by David Thomas and Andrew Hunt. I highly recommend the book for anyone wanting to be more pragmatic. They didn’t exactly word it this way, but the premise is the same: jot down anything of interest you want to eternalize to keep it from being ephemeral.
Raison D’être
For this reason, every branch under this tree depicts a diary filled with insight, sometimes brimfully. The be-all and end-all of the tree of Diary’s plantation: to resist letting insight slip by and neglecting other trees and branches of the Forested Hill of Insight. Here, entropy is like a parasitic plant, and the tree of Diary is the prevention (I have yet to find a cure).
On the hill, we will encounter many points of no return where turning back is not an option. The further we climb, the faster we might lose our way. When this happens, stop and take a moment to look behind you. See the trees and their branches and remember where you’ve come from. All you’ve learned—everything you’ve experienced. In doing so, you won’t forget who you are.
Supplementary
These are additional resources to delve into if you so desire. Retaining knowledge is but one benefit of writing. There are many more:
