“We often have to explain to young people why study is useful. It’s
pointless telling them that it’s for the sake of knowledge, if they
don’t care about knowledge. Nor is there any point in telling them that
an educated person gets through life better than an ignoramus, because
they can always point to some genius who, from their standpoint, leads a
wretched life. And so the only answer is that the exercise of knowledge
creates relationships, continuity, and emotional attachments. It
introduces us to parents other than our biological ones. It allows us to
live longer, because we don’t just remember our own life but also those
of others. It creates an unbroken thread that runs from our adolescence
(and sometimes from infancy) to the present day. And all this is very
beautiful.”
Umberto Eco
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