I continue to be intrigued by how unwilling we are to learn about ourselves, our relationships and the broader world. While I support the idea that not everyone needs or is suited for a structured university education, that does not mean we should stop growing in our knowledge.
Recently, a young man came to our house to repair our washer and dryer. His service and courtesy were outstanding.
While he was there, I asked if he specialized in just a few appliances for his employer. I asked because another young man from the same company had previously worked on our propane stovetop, and I understood his specialty to be kitchen appliances.
I wondered if this young man similarly specialized in laundry units. His response was simple: “I can repair all home appliances.”
I was amazed. I had no reason to doubt him, but his breadth of knowledge and expertise was surprising given his humility and youth. At just 20 years old, he had chosen to learn a trade rather than enroll in university. However, his choice clearly didn’t mean he had stopped learning.
A Lack of Curiosity
One of the great issues in our culture is a lack of curiosity about ourselves and those around us. Because of this, we settle for dated answers and opinions that merely mirror our own.
We feed off the certainty and arrogance of those who boast that they “know,” trusting them without question simply so we can feel secure. Unfortunately, this trust often leads to messes of our own making.
Robert Fulghum’s book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, was catchy, but seriously flawed. A kindergarten education is simply not adequate for functioning in the 21st century, unless you plan on remaining a five-year-old for the rest of your life.
The human person is infinitely complex. In fact, one might observe that in the 21st century, we are still just beginning to understand all the dimensions of personhood.
Take the world of medicine, for example. The competent physician who treated our family in the 1960s (and has since passed away) would not be my first choice in 2026. Beyond his age, he practiced with the limited knowledge of his time.
The first bypass surgery I ever knew of lasted 11 hours; I observed it as a seminary student enrolled in a pre-Clinical Pastoral Education class. Ten years later, in that same hospital, I sat with a family whose loved one was undergoing the same surgery—and it lasted half that time.
Similarly, the reverse shoulder replacement that repaired my damaged right shoulder was perfected by the surgeon who performed it in 2022. Elsewhere, the mapping of the human genome has opened doors of discovery for identifying and treating once-unconquerable diseases.
We also continue to enhance our knowledge of the brain. Just recently, a man with a brain hemorrhage had it repaired without disturbing his skull; surgeons went through his eye socket instead. The repair was entirely successful, leaving his vision undamaged.
In the realm of psychology, Dr. Sigmund Freud opened the doors to the unconscious and the vast interior world of personhood. Today, that research is ongoing, with discoveries being used to therapeutically treat those who struggle with anxiety, severe mental illness, dysfunctional relationships and the trauma of childhood or war.
Ongoing Mysteries
The point is this: The person who stops learning, stops being curious, and stops exploring their world ultimately settles for less. That “less” leaves them vulnerable to being led astray by “alternative facts”—which are not facts at all, but lies, conspiracy theories, and unsubstantiated propaganda. Add to that a growing dependency on social media and AI-generated content not grounded in science or reality, and a person is easily set up to be fooled.
One of my favorite things to watch on Facebook is clips from the Got Talent shows in both Britain and America. Recently, I found an incredible gospel singer from Africa who appeared on Britain’s Got Talent.
Afterward, I saw videos of him singing repeatedly on the show, which isn’t how the tournament format works. Then, he supposedly appeared on America’s Got Talent. That is when I began to notice something interesting: The judges’ reactions were mismatched or exaggerated, and the same audience members were shown reacting in both series.
Because of the magic of AI, just because you see or read something on social media does not mean it is real.
In 2021, Adam Grant published his book, Think Again. In it, he encourages us to approach knowledge and opinions like a scientist, whose primary goal is simply to discover what is true at the moment.
What he is suggesting is not relativism, but rather an acknowledgment that in this complex world, we may discover a piece of the ongoing mystery while still not seeing the full picture. That humble, curious approach is especially vital when we seek to understand sex, sexuality, gender, and gender identity, among other human phenomena.
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A private practice counselor working with veterans and survivors of trauma. Previously, Chancellor served four churches in Texas for 33 years, then ran a Mental Health Department of Alan B. Polunsky Maximum Security prison which houses death row.