If you learn something new and then do not apply it to life as you live it.

Did you actually learn this new thing?

or did you simply brush it off?

You still learned it. It's still in your head. It's just not applied knowledge.

Yes, you learned it.

I prefer to say "put it off" though.

One may not apply it immediately out of fear, timing, availability or even laziness. (I'm sure there's more)

Yep, it all depends on what you mean by 'learn'.

Should un-applied knowledge still be considered 'learned' knowledge?

That's an interesting question indeed.

The thing is.. do you learn it because you want to or because you have to? And just because you have to does not mean that you will need this knowledge later on. I'm in my third year of college and have learned many things but that does not mean I will need to apply them to anything in my field. Therefore it's pretty much wasted knowledge that I had to learn simply because the field I've chosen told me I HAD to learn it. Wow that was a mouthful!

I got to think about this because it would seem to me that many people have 'learned' new things in these threads.

Yet they still play the 'your wrong... I'm right game'...

ergo...

such 'learning' played no useful function.

Brian still in fart mode...

Its a matter of perspective, the majesty of thought and word...combining into knowledge is peculiar in that even if not applied to conscious train of thought the fact that one was exposed makes waves in subconscious thought however small or large....

I remember a similar question from the sixties. People were saying, that the innovative American soul never built anything before that it hasn't used later. So all those nuclear bombs, they built them, and they will use them one day. There is no escaping from that.

The lesson is that you learned some new insight or skill, that you can POTENTIALLY depend on using if necessary. Your life is not over yet -- you may use that newly learned stuff later maybe, than today or even later than tomorrow.

Don't sweat this worry for its own sake. But sweating about stuff like that sure brings in the phenomenally gorgeous chicks.