Bibliographies

I read a lot of books.

In each one, with rare exception, there is a bibliography. In many, the bibliography is quite dense, reflecting hundreds of articles, journals, and other books, representing what might be thousands of hours of reading.

Thousands (or if you want to be conservative, hundreds) of hours of reading and research from just one bibliography.

Now I know it’s not the ‘job’ of the reader (you and me) to become as well-versed in the topic as the author, and subsequently read what the author has read. That’s why we’re reading the book in the first place; to learn what they are trying to share, the summation of what they have found.

If we wanted to know everything that they know at that level of detail, well, we would just write the book ourselves.

However, often while I’m reading I see:

• How much more there is to know about important topics that interest me;
• How many great books I have not read yet;
• Questions or feelings that I should personally investigate deeper based on what the author has shared; perhaps I don’t fully agree, or, completely agree and want to know more.

It also makes me realize that there is no excuse, for any of us.

Everything we could possibly want to learn about is right there at our fingertips.

Bibliographies are just one example.

What’s stopping us from learning isn’t money, time, or access to resources.

It’s things like effort, motivation, desire, fear, and/or lack of action.

You either make a choice to know, or not.