I learned a ton through IRC, too! And I'd give a strong +1 for this pattern. Personally, I think it applies generally to a lot of fields. Once someone has suffi

I learned a ton through IRC, too! And I'd give a strong +1 for this pattern. Personally, I think it applies generally to a lot of fields. Once someone has sufficient experience and wisdom, they inevitably come face-to-face with how little they truly know. Ideally, that humility is paired with a general sense of wonder and curiosity. I think, once you realize how little you know, it gets so much easier to (re)embody the childlike curiosity and desire to learn more. I don't think it's a given, though -- and sometimes (at the risk of arrogantly declaring myself to be humble), I find it pretty hard not to be overwhelmed by the massive volumes of reality that I'll never get to learn about. William Butler Yeats had a slightly different -- but far more beautifully phrased -- take on it in his poem, The Second Coming: [1] The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. [1]: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43290/the-second-coming https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43290/the-second-comi...