THE VALUE OF WASTING TIME

A priori, the traditional conception of education demands that the students will work hard and consistently on some straight "path" toward some nebulous "goal". It is taken for granted that the aspiring candidate for an A.B. will not waste time, that every hour of his working day will be used for acquiring that amount of knowledge which brands him an educated man. So inhuman are most of those who make up theories on education, that they overlook the very human habits of wandering from the "path" and tripping up here and there. They forget that no man ever learned a thing for himself directly; it is natural that he approach a new idea in a slow, roundabout fashion, appraising and rationalizing as he goes.

Several years ago Albert Jay Nock wrote a stimulating article on culture, which he described thus: ". . . One would say that it means learning a great many things and then forgetting them; and the forgetting is as necessary as the learning. Diligent as one must be in learning, one must be as diligent in forgetting; otherwise the process is one of pedantry, not culture. . . . The essence of culture is never to be satisfied with a conventional account of anything. . . ."

Now in settling down to four years at Harvard it would be wise if the Freshman included in his academic schedule a certain number of hours which he will waste each day. He may study in those hours, but will learn things he will never use and promptly forget. But this waste has a value; it shows him something dull or worthless or leads to a dead end. As Nock said further in the same article: "Useless knowledge . . . gains value only as it is forgotten. . . . So let no one be fazed by his inability to accomplish a scholastic task quickly. Part of his Harvard education is realizing that he cannot use every minute to a positive advantage. Yet he does use every minute well, because there is also a negative advantage. In wondering about the miles of knowledge which the University holds in its bosom, let him think of a third statement by Nock: "The University's business is the conservation of useless knowledge; and what the University itself apparently fails to see is that this enterprise is not only noble but indispensable as well.