Another Manifesto

WHY DO I LIKE KNOWLEDGE? A BRIEF RUMINATION/MANIFESTO 

Most humans are driven by Food, Sex, Money, Power, or Fame. I knew I was not just any human when I discovered in my late teens that I was propelled by a quest for Love and Knowledge. As I sadly realized when I reached middle age that True Love was truly scarce, I settled for Knowledge. 

So Knowledge has sustained me. It has towered over all worldly concerns. I just want to know as much as I possibly can about the world around me in order to find answers to the questions that persistently nag me: Who am I? What am I made of? Where do I come from? What will happen to me after I die? 

During my quest, I was made aware that the knowledge that I had learned in high school and college years was  inadequate. I had to start my own education by reading more serious books and articles. Education does not stop the moment I was handed a diploma. What I learned during college was to develop a thirst for knowledge; to respect and develop a rigorous, disciplined mode of thinking; to be conscious that truths are multilayered; to be ready for changing my idea/hypothesis of things/events/process if new and more compelling facts arrive; and, of course, to acknowledge that there are countless men and women who are vastly more intelligent  than me. 

As I am approaching the big Seven O, when intellectual prowess is supposed to decline, I am aware of a few things:

1. Most humans are afraid of truths and knowledge. They are not constitutionally made for them. They prefer ready-made, stock answers peddled by the so-called religious and political leaders. Most humans are like sheep. The ways they argue about their religious beliefs betray/indicate/show their lack of intellectual curiosity, and their mental infirmities. They don't read and study the books they need to read and study. If only they read one book, say, Why Does The World Exist? by Jim Holt, they would realize that what they have learned in high school and college is outdated and even wrong. 

2. Most humans have False Pride. They don't like to admit they are intellectual weaklings. Their egos are brittle, fragile, and tiny. In other words, most humans have small minds.

3. Most humans lie, make up stories, and defame those they don't like. In other words, most humans have small hearts. 

4. Most humans are just like dogs. They want to make noise, bark, and write on the Net, even though most of what they write are simply rubbish because they are factually wrong or weakly argued and reasoned.