Priming the Mind With Exposure - Part II (Where's my Chicken Feet?)

Where's my chicken feet?
Ever make that trip to Giant-Mart to get those oh so essential weekly essentials and go into a frustrated fit when you don't immediately find your regular brand of detergent, beans, or chicken feet, or whatever junk you normally put in your cart? In a matter of frantic moments you find your goods and all is right with the world.

One or more things may have happened. A) The Manufacturer changed the package, and/or B) Giant-Mart moved your cherished frozen tacos to the next freezer bin over. This is all designed to make you spend more time looking around in hopes that you'll see all the other cool stuff they have for you to buy. No matter how frustrating that is for you. After all, you have the mental image in your head, you know where it's supposed to be, just let me have my stuff you a-holes! In the course of all this you just may discover there really is more than one brand of macaroni and cheese. Hey...how 'bout that? You, my friend, have just been exposed and primed. Now you're an informed shopper ready to go and make a choice between something new and same old thing you'll likely buy anyway because you have no adventure in your soul.

Look Out!
So you can understand now that what you don't know can indeed hurt you. Very much. If you're not aware of the world around you, you'll be susceptible to every conniving thieving jerk out there. And...you can miss great opportunities just because you may not catch that critical word, or acronym, in someone's conversation that could make all the difference for you.

So...the more exposure you get, the more likely you won't be blindsided like the Pacific island natives. And you won't miss opportunities because you don't understand what someone is saying. If one of your cohorts is using specialized terms that you don't know, you're likely to slough those words off as being unimportant and disregard or ignore them all together. When you do know them you'll feel included.

In Conclusion
Most of what college classes are about is exposure. You learn little tidbits. Do a little bit with it and move on. Even when you specialize in biology or math or music or what have you, the object is to get exposure to knowledge that will hopefully open doors of opportunity and shield you from the great unknowns.

The broader your experiences - the more protections and opportunities you have. Educate yourself!