“If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is written, calling things to remembrance no longer from within themselves, but by means of external marks. What you have discovered is a recipe not for memory, but for reminder. And it is no true wisdom that you offer your disciples, but only its semblance, for by telling them of many things without teaching them you will make them seem to know much, while for the most part they know nothing, and as men filled, not with wisdom, but with the conceit of wisdom, they will be a burden to their fellows.”
Ted O'Neill on 11 May 13Very apt. I often find that syllabi I write are for external consumption. The students don't read them; they very much rely on the teacher for direction. The syllabus is a map for armchair travelers who will never visit the landscape and buildings in my courses.
