Winning Words 5/15/12
“The only true wisdom is knowing you know nothing.” (Socrates) I’ve read that 90% of our planet’s life is in the sea and that most of it remains to be studied. A doctor told me that relatively little is known about how life works. Frank Sinatra sang a song about how little is known about love. Do you remember Sgt. Schultz in “Hogan’s Heroes?” His tagline was, “I know nothing.” I can relate to that on many levels. ;-) Jack

FROM TRIHARDER IN MICHIGAN: Dan, my son, is in Pakistan. He just got there ago and reports, "My head hurts realizing how much I already know about Pakistan and that by the time I leave (in a year)I will know so little." ////FROM JACK: Some people get a headache just trying to find Pakistan on a map. This past year I met a doctor who still makes "emergency" house calls, and he is Pakistani.

FROM SHARIN' SHARON: I only wish I could have true wisdom and acceptance of the fact that I know nothing. Constantly getting (i.e. buying) books and reading. In fact, I have read some things Socrates wrote. So far, nothing I've ever read has made me comfortable with knowing nothing. From time-to-time personal relationships help so I know from experience it's possible to feel comfortable knowing nothing when being with a person but the experience is not constant and continuous over time. Actually, most of the time I feel like Woody Allen. This is really an interesting WW. Whatever was it that caused you to post them?////FROM JACK: I'm a fan of Socrates, but not a fan of those who think that they have all of the answers...religious, political, societal, and with sports.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: We are all in the same boat. I little knowledge can go a long way. Our quest for knowledge should never end...until we meet our Maker. He can fill us in on the stuff we don't know and don't need to know.////FROM JACK: Perhaps we have all we need to know...now. Perhaps not knowing all things and having to rely of faith is a good thing. Perhaps there's wisdom in that.

FROM PASTY PAT: Amen, amen!////FROM JACK: I once had a Sunday School Supt who would announce at the end of the SS worship..."We will now sing the Triple Amen."

FROM TL IN HOUSTON: Jack, thank you for th aily foo.////FROM JACK: Either your fingers are stumbling on the keyboard, or you're being funny. Either way, I'm reminded of the old comic strip character, Smokey Stover, a fire fighter whose 2-wheel fire truck was named, The Foo-Mobile."


FROM HAWKEYE GEORGE: the older i get the truer it becomes.////FROM JACK: "If I only knew then what I know now!" That could be said a year from now, too.

FROM SAINT JAMES: "If I only knew then what I know now!" That could be said a year from now, too.////FROM JACK: The song you're thinking about Is "Say Hey," by social activist, Michael Franti. I believe that it's from the 1980s, but it remain relevant.

FROM MY FLORIST: Often to set the record straight I'll remark "I'm not he the sharpest knife in the drawer" this usually draws out suggestion that might be hampered. Letting someone know that you have lots to learn encourages them to share their own insight and thereby grows the knowledge base.////FROM JACK: The dull becomes more useful when it is sharpened. Good conversation has a way of sharpening the mind.

FROM MEDD-O-LANE: When it comes to knowledge God programed part of our brain such as breathing and the workings of all of our organs, and left the rest of our brain open for us to determine our survival. ////FROM JACK: Free-will is one of the great gifts of God. It keeps us from being robots.

FROM MT IN PENNSYLVANIA: Good afternoon, Jack. This reminded me of something I read once about the four states of knowledge:
-- to know what we know
-- to not know what we know
-- to know what we don't know, and,
-- to not know what we don't know
I think the fourth state is where people get into a lot of trouble!////FROM JACK: I like it. I think that we've all gone through those various stages. Problems arise when we get stuck and don't move. If I were to get stuck, I'd like it to be with #3.

FROM CJL IN OHIO: Gee! After all that FROM CJL IN OHIO: Gee! After all that reading for WW? I don't believe Socrates relates to you...reading for WW? I don't believe Socrates relates to you...////FROM JACK: I didn't sit in all of those philosophy classes and learn nothing.

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER: I've heard that ignorance is a close relative of yours.////FROM JACK: “Living is Easy with Eyes Closed.” (John Lennon) I try to keep my eyes and ears and mind open to what's going on around me.////PFC: I don't know is on third.////JACK: I relate to the shortstop!

FROM BLAZING OAKS: I read once that all the knowledge we acquire in a lifetime, is not more than one grain of sand in all the Oceans and Beaches in the world...but we all know more than we did a few decades ago, and let's keep learning until the end!! Upward and Onward! :-)////FROM JACK: One of our Winning Words readers was intrigued by the encyclopedia when he was a young boy. He decided to read all of it starting with Volume A. He was so interested in the article on the Arabic language that he decided to learn Arabic...which he did. I don't know if he ever got to Volume B, but he's one of the smartest people I know...and a good pianist, too.