Original link: https://macshuo.com/?p=1873
There is no new language, no new way, no new power to express new feelings. It’s not pain, it’s not born to be competitive, it’s just some instinctive reactions that have been accumulated for a long time. The situation is too complicated. The reality is too cruel. what kind of result
Here are the lyrics to the night of the times. I listened to a podcast today about Cui Jian’s new book, “Cui Jian’s Poetry Collection”, and I ordered it right away. Then I thought of this song. What can you do at night in this age? Read more books.
With the new company, I built a huge bookshelf, and all kinds of books came in continuously, and my colleagues teased me for not reading books. Don’t look, feel happy. I have “The History of Photos”, “Christmas of the Sheep Man”, “The Art of Travel”, “Buddha’s No. 1 Line”, “Love’s Balcony”, “Behind the Camera”, “A Scoop of New York”, and Er Ye Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos”, which is highly praised, will have another “Cui Jian Poetry Collection” in two days.
From a utilitarian point of view, reading these books is useless. This is the so-called “useless book”, which is the kind of book that has no practical significance and cannot directly help you get a promotion and raise your salary to make money. Such as novels, picture books, biographies, history, museums, etc.
I liked reading this kind of book, even in college, but not in between.
When a person goes from school to society, the most important ability is to support himself and his family. After this problem is solved, what kind of lifestyle to choose is the watershed.
After graduating from university, I came to Beijing and had to live in this city, so in the first few years after graduation, my main task was to improve my ability and make more money. At that stage, I hardly read the idle books that I read in college, it was all reference books. Programming, business, project management. Very economical, no hobbies that cost money, I hardly go out to dinner, programming is my hobby. Then there is the Tsinghua playground to play football and games. Gone.
After that hard time, I felt like I had a foothold in Beijing before I started doing other things. Such as watching movies, partying with friends, playing badminton, visiting Beijing’s hutongs, going on vacation to the suburbs, etc. Most importantly, I started to read a lot of useless books.
If every book is like a broom, you can go far away by riding on these books. If the broom you choose is “Eighteen Tips for Making PPT”, “Learn Java Programming in 21 Days”, “How to Raise Your Salary”, etc., how do you go far away?
So, read books that don’t work for you, and that are best about questions you’ve never thought about before. Treat reading from a non-utilitarian point of view, this is the most important thing.
In addition, many books that seem useless may be of great use. A while ago, I read several books on Beijing architecture, such as ” Chronicle of the City “, ” Ancient Capital Beijing “, and “Ancient Beijing Architecture “. The last one was written by Professor Zhang Kequn, Gao Xiaosong’s mother, who studied under Liang Sicheng. These books record the historical changes of Beijing city and are very enjoyable to read.
I don’t know why I want to read history, but the older I get, the stronger the feeling of wanting to understand history. Later, I saw Gu Heng said that learning history is not about using history as a ruler, measuring this and that, nor predicting the future through history. History is not an equation, a function. The data is given on the left, and the right can be obtained. As a result, there is no such certainty.
So, if you can’t do this or that, is it meaningless to study history? it’s not true. Teacher Gu Heng said that to dispel the arrogance of predicting the future is the best gift that history has given us.
When we understand the uncertainty of a complex society, we become suspicious of other people’s assertions and cautious about our own ideas. This will not only humble the individual, but make society as a whole safer.
If the era is a car, then history is the brake on that car. The more we understand the history and the so many unnecessary sufferings that human beings have suffered, the more we will have a heavier responsibility for the descendants who have not yet been born. This responsibility will make us humble and moderate, and will also become more sober and more independent in the complex historical process. That’s why we say history is the most valuable asset.
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Finally, Mr. Gu Heng also said in his column: When we say that a person is poor, we do not only mean that he has less material at his disposal, but also refers to such a state, that is, a cramped and rough life, which makes our original The noble and refined spiritual world is worn out.
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