To one degree or another, erudition is characteristic of each of us, its level depends only on a person’s desire to receive new knowledge. An erudite person can easily answer even a difficult question, but he will never stop at the achieved level, striving to constantly replenish the baggage of his own knowledge.
What is erudition?
Erudition is the ability of the human mind to assimilate and retain in memory a significant amount of knowledge and information from a wide variety of areas. On a personal level, this quality manifests itself as wide awareness, well-read , the ability to organize and systematize information received from various sources and, if necessary, explain it in an accessible way.
The circle of knowledge of an erudite person is distinguished by its scale and depth – in addition to highly specialized information that he needs in his professional activity, he is keenly interested in novelties from other branches not related to his work. Erudition is the product of continuous work on oneself , the fruit of constant self-development and self-education. For this reason, not every educated person is an erudite, because raising one’s own intellectual level requires not only a lot of work, but also a great desire.
Signs of an erudite person
Usually erudite people do not consider their own intelligence to be their main advantage, do not strive for self-affirmation at the expense of others, or even try not to expose their intellectual abilities at all. The erudite understands that it is impossible to know absolutely everything, and therefore treats everything new with interest. In addition, other qualities are inherent in erudite personalities, for example:
- Analytical mind. When analyzing various information, the erudite invariably uses logic, and he relies on it when choosing the most optimal way out of any life situation.
- Inclination to creative thinking. This ability helps erudite people to successfully solve various questions and problems. A creative approach to current affairs allows them to bypass outdated stereotyped solutions to problems and come up with new, more effective ones.
- Quick adaptation to new conditions. This quality is very useful when changing place of work, residence, etc. because it allows a person to quickly integrate into a new environment and a team, and then quickly navigate within it.
- Good organization. Erudite people love self-discipline, they clearly follow the plan for the day developed the day before, which allows them to properly allocate their own time and solve the tasks on time.
- Striving for self-development. Self-development is one of the main life stimuli of the erudite, replenishment of the piggy bank of his own knowledge and skills is always his priority.
- Ability to make quick decisions. Reliance on logic allows intellectuals to find the right solutions even in difficult and confusing situations.
- Excellent communication skills. This quality allows erudites to successfully interact with the people around them and communicate their ideas and ideas to them in an accessible way.
What advantages does erudition give to a person?
Naturally, erudition is one of the positive personal qualities. Among its main advantages, the following advantages should be noted:
- It is easy for the erudite to maintain almost any conversation, while surprising the interlocutor his knowledge, thanks to which he feels comfortable in different companies;
- Intellectuals have a great chance of getting a good job, moreover, they are faster move up the career ladder;
- The ability to assimilate new knowledge and skills gives such people the opportunity to quickly get a new profession;
- The opinion of an erudite person sounds weighty and authoritative for those around him, which allows him to successfully occupy leadership positions;
- An intellectually developed personality can easily operate with a significant amount of information;
- Such people are less likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and senile dementia;
- An erudite person attracts increased attention to himself, which helps gain success with the opposite sex;
- Erudites easily meet and acquire new business connections without any problems;
- They are listened to when solving work issues, since their opinion is considered competent;
- An erudite person has self-confidence, which allows him to achieve success in various endeavors;
- Children of intellectuals develop faster than their peers, because parents gradually transfer their own knowledge to them.
The difference between erudition and education
Naturally, there is a lot in common between education and erudition, but there is one significant difference between them – an erudite is necessarily educated, but not every person with education is an erudite. It is no secret that many educated people do not want to develop and acquire new knowledge, preferring to simply take on faith the material provided to them by teachers during their studies. , which means, and develop, constantly receiving new information from various sources and analyzing it. Putting anything in doubt, the erudite immediately begins to look for information on the issue of interest to him, after which he thoroughly examines the available information and comes to his own conclusions. In fact, intellectuals do not tend to perceive even an established point of view as the only correct one.
How to develop erudition?
A number of experts on personal growth do not deny the possibilities of independent development of erudition, since a person’s abilities are, in principle, not limited. General concepts about erudition are very subjective, as are opinions on this score, and therefore it is impossible to say exactly what kind of knowledge an erudite should have. The main point here is a person’s personal interest in the development and expansion of horizons. And now here are some universal tips for those who want to improve their intellectual level:
- Read more scientific, historical and philosophical literature, as well as educational manuals;
- Do not trust everything you hear – always check and analyze incoming information, using several sources ;
- Encourage your own curiosity, expand your range of interests, learn new and unknown;
- Communicate with people who have a lot to learn, more often be in the company of erudite and educated people;
- Do not forget about cultural events, in particular, about trips to museums, theaters and cinemas, exhibitions, concerts, scientific conferences, etc.;
- Give preference to scientific document linen films;
- If you are interested in any area, study it as deeply as possible, do not limit yourself to only superficial information;
- If possible, try to travel and get acquainted with the culture of other countries and peoples;
- Work on your speech, introduce new words and terms into it;
- Reflect on the books read and the information received, form your own opinion to this or that question;
- Do not fill your brain with unnecessary and useless information, avoid negative news, obsessive advertising and aimless pastime;
- Constantly train your own intelligence. To do this, you can start learning a previously unknown foreign language, master the game of chess, etc.;
- Expand your circle of acquaintances by interests , share your knowledge with new acquaintances, family and friends.
Conclusion
Thus, erudition is an unambiguously positive personality trait, and a person can develop this quality in himself on his own. To become a real erudite, one should constantly study, develop, strive to acquire new knowledge, be interested in various spheres, branches and areas of human life. After all, a person lives as long as he is interested in the new in all its manifestations and diversity.