Holding on to useless information

I always considered our brain capacity when it comes to memorizing a bunch of things to be limited, and science seems to agree. I don't mean that the brain is a container and you can store just a certain amount of things in it - but it does forget a bunch of things as time goes by in order to make it easier for you to learn something new.

The problem comes when people decide to hold on to useless information that doesn't do anything for them except make them look good in front of others who don't know as many things as them.

For example, one of the things my mother kept telling me when I was young is that I should always learn geography because it's awesome to know a lot about your country and a lot of other places.

Despite hating geography, I tried listening to my mother and I actually learned a bunch of things about not only the place I live in, but other countries as well. I have to admit - it felt good seeing how a lot of other people din't know as many things as me. It made me feel superior and smarter.

However, as I grew older, I realized that just knowing a bunch of things for the sake of looking good in front of others isn't a smart way of acquiring new information. You just force your brain to remember something you don't need in your day to day life.

Sure, knowing all the capitals of every country in the world may look good in some contexts, but it won't be of any use to you if you don't actually travel or if you don't use that information fairly often. Then why do people go crazy over knowing useless things? Why is everyone willing to categorize you as being stupid if you don't have the "common knowledge" they have?

I guess this has something to do with how society works and the desire people have of looking good in front of their friends, enemies or even strangers. We just want to feel smart, even if we're actually not.

As with a lot of similar things, I consider that to be a huge waste of time and energy. To be honest, I'd rather be considered stupid in a lot of contexts than to remember a bunch of information that I never use. I already am considered stupid by a lot of members in my family that know a lot of things considered to be "common knowledge".

The fact that I don't know where a certain country is, that I don't know certain chemistry elements or that I don't really know or care how a car works, makes me stupid in the eyes of those members of the family that consider themselves smart.

The thing about knowing things you don't need is that it makes you focus on them so much that you forget to learn something useful, something that helps you make progress and improve your life. The funny thing is that a lot of those people who consider me stupid for not knowing what they know don't have a better life than I have. Actually, most of them are in worst situations than me and struggle to live every day.

They don't even have the courage to learn something new out of fear of failing and wasting their time, yet they are always eager to prove how smart they are in comparison to everybody who doesn't know what they do.

Being able to make the difference between learning something useful that can change your life in a positive way and just knowing random facts for the sake of looking smart is pretty essential these days, in the age of information.

You can spend entire months online learning a bunch of completely useless things that will never help you with anything, feeling smart and superior compared to everyone who doesn't know as much as you. However, that doesn't make you better and it won't change your life.

Learn how to focus on the type of knowledge that matters, don't pay attention to what a mediocre person considers "important" and learn something that you can actually use to improve your life.

In time you will see that being able to work for yourself and make progress while being considered stupid by other people is a lot better than to know a lot of random things and live a life you hate just because you feel too smart to learn any useful skill.