Friday, April 30, 2010 at 8:39pm
“In writing the Pillowbook, Sei Shōnagon demonstrates the importance of interpreting the world in the way that makes the most sense to the individual. Processing outside information in an individualistic manner allows the information to be internalized and retained. People learn more when they have to redefine a situation in their own terms. For instance, in “One Day, When the Snow Lay Thick on the Ground,” Sei Shōnagon shows that she has actually taken the poem that the Empress has quoted to heart. All of the other ladies knew the poem, “and had even rewritten them in Japanese.” The ability to repeat information back does not mean in the slightest that the individual has actually learned enough to be able to apply the material to other situations. Rather, it is in the act of synthesizing new information with what one already knows and figuring out how to apply it that the information becomes meaningful and useful.”
Especially that last sentence! Isn’t that what we have said about the Bible? Internalize in order for it to become meaningful and useful.
The Bible and meaningful books 