I read a psychology paper this morning full of spelling and grammatical errors. You could easily disregard everything this author wrote, as many noted they had done in the comments. But if you look past that, there is still knowledge being conveyed. Some of it ended up being new to me, while other parts reinforced that little part of my model of reality that I have formed.

When we stop listening, we cut off an opportunity to learn and be better; perhaps the most important source: other people. You might be turned away by poor communication skills, spelling mistakes, or more likely you think “know better” and disregard everything they say outright, as a defensive measure. Or maybe you just plain don’t like the person and what they’re about.

But this will make you stagnant. Your mind will become a bubble and nothing can change it’s perspective or behavior. You are no longer able to adapt to the environment, and expect the world work a different way from how it does otherwise. If you ever wondered how some old people become “old”, this is how.