Wise up: Learning to live the learning life

We do accumulate facts and information as we read a manual or watch the news, certainly. And we digest this knowledge into opinions. But we also continue throughout life to develop know-how: how to use new technology, how to ride a bike, how to make a souffle, how to tell a good story, how to write, how to play the trumpet. We learn to make new discriminations: to tell a new friend's mood from their voice on the phone, to tell a bordeaux from a burgundy, to tell Brahms from Mendelssohn. We learn new preferences: our likes and dislikes change as we grow up and keep different company. A drink that at one time seemed peculiar or unpleasant becomes an acquired taste.