Trying To Know It All

[JackD]

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I seem to run into a bit of a problem, occasionally, when reading my textbooks. For the most part, all of the info makes sense but sometimes there are sections that are so dense, that it would take me hours just to figure out what it means. For example, I was reading about the causes of schizophrenia when I ran across this:

"Specific findings included central chromatolysis of neurons and mild gliosis in a restricted distribution of the brain stem and thalamus, and cell loss and cytoarchitectural disruption in the frontal lobes, prepyriform cortex, and entorhinal region."

And it keeps going on like that for about four or five pages.

My concern isn't so much that I need to know what that means in order to do well on the tests or pass the class, there is no way the professor is going to ask us about that. However, I do remember people saying that it isn't that difficult just get through a course, what is important is to know the info in order to be good at what you do.

I remember as an undergrad, I could go through the books and it felt important to understand everything, and it was doable. What I am wondering now is that still the case. Is it important to attempt to understand everything or do you need to start discriminating a little bit, and saying "this information just isn't that important". Should I expect to come across situations occasionally where I just have to have to determine that trying to figure something out is a horrible waste of time or is this all of this information here for a reason, and is it pretty dang important to know all of it?

 

[psychmama]

Okay, so here's something really important that I learned in law school, long before I decided to switch careers and study psychology: There's no way to know everything, and it's really not necessary. The key is to understand overarching concepts and then know how to find answers to the things you don't know. In today's day and age, this is more true than ever with a proliferation of web-based resources and specialists. If you're really curious about understanding something, go look it up. But trust me, by the time you run across something again it will most likely be when you really need to know about it. There's plenty of time to refine your understanding of the details then. All of this is just my opinion, of course, but it's served me well. No one is supposed to know everything.😉

 

[JackD]

Thats a thought.

So what you are saying, for example, is that it is important to know what SSRIs are, when they should be used, what they do but it isn't important to know every single type and brand name. And if i need to know what someone means when they are talking about "fluoxetine ", i can just look it up and move on.

Well, i think i can do that.

 

[erg923]

Thats a thought.

So what you are saying, for example, is that it is important to know what SSRIs are, when they should be used, what they do but it isn't important to know every single type and brand name. And if i need to know what someone means when they are talking about "fluoxetine ", i can just look it up and move on.

Well, i think i can do that.

At the masters level i think that example ok is, but you should come out of a doctorate with more knowlege of psychopharm than that,IMHO.

 

[JackD]

At the masters level i think that example ok is, but you should come out of a doctorate with more knowlege of psychopharm than that,IMHO.

Yeah and I think i do have a course in psychopharmacology eventually, so I should know more about meds. That was really just an example off the top of my head.

 

[Ollie123]

This is something I struggle with on a daily basis. I frequently get side-tracked into more basic science articles and other things that are largely irrelevant to what I need to know (we're not even talking cognition research, we're talking biology, physics, engineering, etc.). Half the time I even do so knowing its irrelevant but academic curiosity still wins out🙂

Realistically, you can't know it all. Its important to accept that, otherwise you will feel hopeless and burn out quickly. Figuring out exactly where to stop is tricky, and more knowledge is definitely not going to hurt so everyone draws the line differently. This is why its important to not be isolated, and to have colleagues with expertise in other areas. For what its worth, my broad reading definitely hurts me at times because it prevents me from doing other reading closer to my area - everything is a trade off and there is only so much time in the day.

 

[psychmama]

Thats a thought.

So what you are saying, for example, is that it is important to know what SSRIs are, when they should be used, what they do but it isn't important to know every single type and brand name. And if i need to know what someone means when they are talking about "fluoxetine ", i can just look it up and move on.

Well, i think i can do that.

Yes, that's the basic idea. I'm sure you know a lot and will be amazed at how much you pick up during grad school training. It can seem overwhelming, but it becomes easier to know what's most important over time. Good luck!

 

[psychmama]

At the masters level i think that example ok is, but you should come out of a doctorate with more knowlege of psychopharm than that,IMHO.

Agreed, but that sort of knowledge builds over time. My sense is that the OP is feeling the very common feeling where early in one's education there's just so much to know and it seems both fascinating and overwhelming to master everything. Eventually we all need to gain more detailed mastery of subject matter. All in good time though....