Ignorance

It is laziness. A sort of mental lethargy if you will. It is an unhealthiness of mind that not unlike unhealthiness of body, causes harm, decreases pleasure, and ultimately shortens life. It used to be the scourge of our world, the thing that all leaders were loathe to encourage or sustain in their areas of influence. The blight of ignorance, after the ambition of imperialism, is the reason that so much of the world has progressed. In fact, the desire to completely eradicate ignorance was, in the last millennium, the reason that we have the "information age" now. The knowledge we find to almost stifle us in its volume was directly caused by a desire to remove the heavy fog of ignorance; the weather of sleepiness, and apathy.

Action comes from motivation, motivation comes from purpose, and purpose comes from knowledge. I have discussed the idea of knowledge before, but this is a different side of the issue. The type of knowledge here is the knowledge for which Mathematics is so widely known; the knowledge of the "problem." This knowledge is often some of the first knowledge ever observed and experienced by any human being.

Problems, within a logical system of consideration, lead us to the more potent level of knowledge: possibility. It is within this area of possibility that we learn that while we cannot plausibly become rich by becoming a dinosaur breeder; there are other ways to get the things that we want. We begin to distinguish between possible and plausible; to see the wisdom in the delineation between probable and palpable. These are the areas of the "solution."

While the solution may be completely out of our sight, the possibility of a solution to those things which we find to be unsustainable, or uncomfortable is what gives us the drive of purpose, motivation, and finally the action to search for it. Without the recognition of a problem, no solution is needed, and logically, no action is begun.

Thus, ignorance is essentially laziness. First; mind, second; body. Those who are ignorant are inherently lazy. And while a simple man may not be highly intelligent, he can still act with purpose. And while action can be attributed to motivation and purpose (sprouting from knowledge), mere busyness is more a sign of a bankrupt intellect and weakened resolve (or ability to sustain a motivation) than of a healthy mind.

Yet while mental laziness may not be one's problem, it is no more commendable to let one's body waste away than it is to let one's mind. Don't tell me what you think, show me what you think...then give me a brief summary.