Of all the lectures and books and coursework I was involved with over the last couple years as I finished my undergraduate degree, one little line in a Speech class lesson on proper citations sticks with me perhaps the most strongly. The author of the book was underscoring the need to include dates in citations and his reasoning was “experts sometimes change their mind, so currency is important” (Rothwell, 2016).
The statement was incredibly freeing for me.
Experts sometimes change their mind.
Maybe new evidence came to light. Maybe something caused them to see things from a different perspective or through a new lens.
And if even experts sometimes change their mind, maybe it’s ok if I do sometimes, too.
Before I had kids, I knew all sorts of things about parenting. New evidence has come to light. 😉
Listening to authors from different backgrounds, cultures and experiences has also led me to see some things through a new lens.
As I looked through my array of books, I saw authors who I once agreed with, who I now question. I saw books filled with ideas I have questioned in the past but reading other perspectives has made me evaluate my own beliefs – sometimes resulting in me adjusting my beliefs, sometimes resulting in me recommitting to my original beliefs more strongly.
Some books I held onto because I have referenced them numerous times and likely will again. Some I passed on because I decided if I ever read it again, I want to read it with fresh eyes, not constrained by the highlights and margin notes that are in my current copy.
Some of them I want to sit with longer and some of them will stay because I want to continue to understand and perhaps be challenged by the perspectives they contain.
And some I just need to pass on because, like the CDs and crafts yesterday, I would need to live a hundred lifetimes just to get to it all.
Citations
Rothwell, J. D. (2016). Practically speaking. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
(picture contents: beginning to collect books from around the house for evaluation)
Uncovering Real 