Books vs Experience

What's your choice? Are you the trademark nerd, preferring to stick to the books and stuff in knowledge till your brain can't hold more? Or are you the endeavoring daredevil, seeking pleasure in practicality, exploring new avenues and picking up pointers on your journey through life? Nothing wrong in choosing one, both have their pluses and minuses... Gimme a moment, I'll elaborate... Before that, let me make my stand clear... I'm maverick material, i prefer learning stuff by staying in the actual picture instead of visualizing an ethereal scenario...

Now, let's see what it would be like to have a discussion between two ardent supporters of their own choices, Mr. Bookworm and Mr. Maverick...

Narrator: Welcome, Gentlemen-
Maverick: Aww! Cut out the crap, get on with it...
Narrator: Well, go ahead guys, you know the issue...


[Scene Starts with Mr. Bookworm sitting upright in a chair, his blue shirt neatly tucked into the black formals, his glasses a touch askew, a sign that he'd been reading until moments before this meeting. In contrast, Mr. Maverick is sitting casually, in a t-shirt with the caption "FU" and a worn out jeans, his legs crossed at an angle, his eyes fleeting occasionally to the contemptuous figure before him]


Mr. Maverick: So, Mr. Bookworm, you think books are better than practical knowledge?

Mr. Bookworm: Of course Mr. Maverick, it is obvious. According to Newton-

Mr. Maverick: Aww, screw Newton, tell me what YOU think.

Mr. Bookworm: Er, I totally believe books are invaluable for gaining knowledge. It cannot be otherwise. [accompanied by an incredulous look]


Mr. Maverick: I must apologize I refuse to see your point. What is the use of books if you're going to spend all your life shut in a room reading them? Start the real thing man, come out of your cocoon.

Mr. Bookworm: Reading is essential to live. Otherwise you'd be overwhelmed by your surroundings.

Mr. Maverick: And what better way to live than to actually living it? You mean to say, you live and learn by reading instead of coming out and facing the real thing?

Mr. Bookworm: If you read, you'd be prepared to meet 'the real thing', whatever it may be.

Mr. Maverick: And when would that be? You'd be shunning away from it, under the pretext that you're 'preparing' for it.

Mr. Bookworm: That's preposterous.

Mr. Maverick: It is what it is.

Mr. Bookworm: OK, I'll ask you something. Imagine you don't know anything about swimming. You're pushed into a lake. What CAN you do? Instead, if you'd read about how to swim and float, you have a chance to survive. Can you counter that?

Mr. Maverick: You do have a point there.

Mr. Bookworm: Yes I do, and that's the reason I say books are better any day.

Mr. Maverick: I must oppose, life doesn't pre-plan everything for you. You can't expect to learn EVERYTHING. You must learn to adapt and survive, which you get only from experience. I mean to say, you have read about swimming, fine, but think you haven't read about fighting, and you're suddenly faced by a couple of goons. What would you do? Ask them for a moment to run to the nearest library?

Mr. Bookworm: Well, that would be a prudent thing to do, but-

Mr. Maverick: It would be, assuming those two goons are thick as trolls. In any normal scenario, you wouldn't stand a chance. You need experience , practical knowledge on how to tackle them. Even to run to your library, you need to come up with a convincing excuse, for which you need practical knowledge...there aren't many books labeled "1000 excuses for all occasions".

Mr. Bookworm: Yes, you're right on that one.

Mr. Maverick: Um, yeah, and there's another thing. You can gain a lot of street smartness from experience that isn't there in the books.

Mr. Bookworm: If you adhere to what's there in the books, you wouldn't need that street smartness in the first place.

Mr. Maverick: Probably, but what if something unexpected happens? Like the 'out of syllabus' stuff?

Mr. Bookworm: That would be a slight problem.

Mr. Maverick: Of course it would be.

Mr. Bookworm: Still, Mr. Maverick, I prefer to play safe... Knowledge from books is time tested and proved by great people.

Mr. Maverick: And how do you suppose those people came to know those things? By experience I must say... So again, experience prevails, my dear fellow...

Mr. Bookworm: Uh...

Mr. Maverick: Your bookish knowledge is like sitting in a camp reading about AKs and Uzis... Practical Knowledge is like being in the front, an AK in your hand. Books will help you little in such a situation-

Narrator: Excuse me , people, but we're running a bit late on this... If you could wind it up-

Mr. Maverick: Uh, OK [a touch of irritation in his voice, at being disturbed]

Mr. Maverick: So Mr. Bookworm, what do you say?

Mr. Bookworm: Uh, I must agree you're right about certain things.

Mr. Maverick: And you've got some good points too.

Narrator: So guys, I guess I'll sum up the discussion then... Knowledge from books is essential, but it's of little value without experience. I remember one saying in this context. It goes like this... "Knowledge is like a boat, Experience is like the sea. You can go to the sea without a boat, but a boat is of no use without the sea"