An Ode to Theoretical Knowledge

We've all heard our students complain before: "Why is everything so theoretical? How does this relate to the real world?" While we might occasionally fall short in providing real-world examples, the truth is that university studies are intentionally theory-heavy. To help my students make peace with this fact, here's how I explain it to them:

Whenever my partner and I travel to a new city, we fight over the best way to explore it.

Her approach? Dive in headfirst. Get lost in the streets, soak up the atmosphere, and experience everything firsthand. She argues, "It's the only way to feel the pulse of the city, its rhythm, its soul."

I, on the other hand, like to first sit down and plan to not get lost. I tell my partner, "Remember Edinburgh? Because you didn't do any research, you completely missed Arthur's Seat, the coolest spot in town!"

And she goes, "You spend half the vacation glued to Google Maps. How can you say you've visited the city?"

Alas, we both have valid points. To truly understand a city, you need both perspectives. You need the bird's-eye, abstract view to uncover its layout and main attractions, but you also need the concrete experience of people-watching, walking the streets, and taking in the smells and sounds.

This abstract-concrete principle applies perfectly to learning any subject, including those we teach at university. To become an expert in fields like law, computer science, or any other discipline, you need two key ingredients:

    1. A deep theoretical understanding
    2. Hands-on practical experience

After graduation, you will have ample opportunity to gather practical experience. University, however, is the ideal place for building a theoretical foundation in a field. Universities are full of professors who are essentially cartographers of their respective disciplines. They create abstract models, or maps, that offer insights into complex topics that are hard to obtain through practical experience alone.

Granted, there are bound to be moments when a lecture will feel too abstract. But rather than dismissing the theory out of hand, try and see how it can be useful. Ask yourself or the lecturer these questions:

- Why did the researcher come up with it?
- Why did it make its way into the textbook?
- What secrets about the world does it reveal?

Every time you understand a theory and its applications, you gain a pair of new glasses. A pair of glasses that some of the smartest people in history sweated over to give birth to. A pair of glasses that give you a new, powerful way to see the world.

Learn theory. Gain experience. Look at the map. And go explore.

This post and image were created with the help of Claude.ai and ChatGPT