Quote:
Originally Posted by amward
When I was at school I was always being held up as an example for my general knowledge.. I got it from reading and mostly reading fiction. It's amazing what you can learn from someone else's research. So now I have this brain full of (mostly) useless facts, although these days it's getting harder to recall them.  Trivial Pursuit anyone? |
Same here, Anne. I know a little about lots of things (otherwise known as knowing just enough to be dangerous). I tried to put together a list of topics I learned about by reading JUST one author's novels once. It included jewelry design, rose rustling, antique sewing, writing a dissertation, diving, vintage clothing, politics, Egyptian artifacts, the Oriental Institute in Chicago, architecture, the Underground Railroad, demon worship, schizophrenia, ghosts, sea monsters, hynotism/mesmerism, and Revolutionary war history.
The author? Barbara Michaels.
Now, I'm not saying I got a comprehensive education on all these subjects by reading only those titles, but I sure learned more than I ever needed to know on a few of those subjects (like rose rustling). And like you said, most of it sure comes in handy for Trivial Pursuit!