Treading - Liquid

I feel like I am getting the hang of my classes - which can only mean that they are going to blindside me after I sail through the first few weeks of review. Then, application of the previous concepts will reach new heights and my knowledge banks will be flooded anew. Procrastination and lack of study will stunt my ability to grow fully as a well rounded student. It is one of the eternal problems - short-term and long-term benefits rarely coincide, ever one must be sacrificed to reap the latter. For instance, I could spend my income on books and entertainment, or I could save it in hopes of having greater purchasing power for a more valuable asset. I have a friend whose elementary level sibling is already planning for down payment options on houses.

That is a bit extreme and a little comical, but nevertheless sobering to me - I need to realize the big picture of my actions and their consequences. The more I learn, the more I learn I need to learn more. Knowledge is somewhat of a cosmic treadmill - sometimes you have to run just to keep pace with the world. There are shortcuts - such as doing Internet searches for research, hoping that the sources are up-to-date, well informed, and even somewhat objective in their treatment of subjects.

Learning a new language is a great personal asset for the foreseen future, but there are people working on translation programs that would reduce the need. There is an experimental application that uses the camera lens on your phone to translate Spanish to English. There is Google Translate, which allows input of your native language to an output of a foreign language and has the option of hearing your sentence spoken in both formats.

Is it worth learning a subject that might become obsolete given technological advances? People have pointed out that those who trained on the typewriter thought that their career would last their lifetimes. Will tech ever fail us like the obsolete Y2K scare? It seems laughable now, but was a media-covered panic 12 years ago. I only have today, so I will try to make good use of it as a preparation and precaution for tomorrow's challenges.