Life

To survive its storms, we have to know how to ‘swim’

July 27th 2026
One day, a scholar went out to sea in a hired boat. He asked the boatman: ‘Do you know anything about astronomy?’ ‘No’ replied the boatman. ‘Oh, you poor man’, said the scholar, ‘you have wasted a quarter of your life. But, perhaps you know something about physics?’ ‘Not a thing’ confessed the boatman. ‘Well then, two quarters of your life are lost!’ lamented the scholar. ‘But perhaps you know chemistry?’ ‘What’s that?’ said the boatman. ‘Never heard of it!’ ‘Oh, what ignorance!’ exclaimed the scholar. ‘Three quarters of your life gone to waste!’ All this time the little boat had been going farther and farther out to sea. Suddenly, a storm blew in. The sea became rougher and rougher, and the waves threatened to engulf them. ‘Mister Scientist’, cried the boatman. ‘Do you know how to swim?’ ‘No, I don’t’ replied the scholar. ‘Well, sir, you’re about to lose four quarters of your life!’
Life is an ocean, and in order to navigate this ocean, some kinds of knowledge are much more useful—invaluable even—than others: the kind that can help us to ‘swim’, to weather the storms and high seas of life, and stay safe and sound.
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