Leading Student

I recently finished Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by the American political scientist Robert D. Putnam.  The book has been on my list for a very, very long time.  I am really glad that I finally picked it up to read (and finish - it's packed with over 400 pages of data), because I think Putnam provides one of the most important commentaries on what is happening in American society today.  He argues that civic engagement, social connectedness, and social capital have significantly declined in America since the mid-20th century, mostly due to the impact of generational changes (replacing a generation that was very active in the community with one that is not), television and modern media (notably the book was written before social media and the Internet), suburban sprawl, and pressures of work and time.  Putnam goes on to argue (convincingly in my opinion) that this is a bad thing for America, as the loss of social capital weakens democracy, increases loneliness, lowers public trust, and degrades community health, safety, and governance.

I'm still processing most of what I've read in Putnam's book, and I suspect I will return to the subject in future posts.  However, today I want to focus on just one very subtle point that Putnam made with me, either intentionally or unintentionally.  I came across several instances in the book where he was describing the research of some leading authority in a specific discipline.  Rather than stating that the individual was the leading authority or the leading expert, Putnam wrote that the individual was the leading student.  I love that!  He's basically stating what the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates once said about wisdom, "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing" (please see my recent post, "He who knows most knows best how little he knows").

I came across the following graphic on the Internet that I think summarizes Putnam's (and Socrates') point perfectly:

As we begin to learn more in a specific field of inquiry, we start to become more confident about our knowledge in the field.  As we develop more knowledge, however, we soon discover that there is a lot more that we need to know.  We are never experts, but rather, we are always students of our craft or in our field.  Rather than striving to become a leading expert, focus on being a leading student in your field!