The Symbol of your Ignorance

[Xaladin]

I'm not sure if this belongs here or in one of the "general discussion" places, but it is very Sixth of the Dusk and is arguably spoilery, so here it is.

The "symbol of my ignorance" is a chip clip given to me by a woman who made a huge fool out of me.

What is the "symbol of your ignorance?" What did you used to think was easy, and how have you learned?

[Farnsworth]

A math quiz that I got a 0/10 on. I pinned it above my wall.

[1stBondsmith]

Two small optical attenuators mailed to me by the telecom installer after he noted I had none in my design. They are critical to laser communications and I was fresh out of college. I asked him what an attenuators was. I keep them on my desk 18 years later.

[Staphylococcus]

I have a not physically visible one...A concussion after I fell, jumping a horse at the age of 13. I thought I was a good enough rider. I wasn't. Fell on my head, completely lost my eyesight for like half an hour and God Beyond, how it hurt!

Have been riding for almost 10 years now, still scared when I jump

[kmosiman]

A small cross section of a part that I was sanding on a belt sander.

I lost my grip and sanded off my fingerprint. I should have used the surface grinder that was on the other side of the plant, but didn't want to walk that far. I never finished sanding the saw marks off and it makes a nice addition to my key ring.

[Aon Ati]

The bracelets I wear to remind me of the my most important life moments. (I call them my copperminds)

[Zelly]

Great topic! Interesting the things we carry for their personal meaning and remembrance (especially as a warning to ourselves).

Mine are two dental crowns and an implant.  

[+ElephantEarwax]

A large coin I keep in my pocket. To help me remember by the weight.

[Unlicensed Hemalurgist]

A USB flashdrive from high school I have in my drawer, on which I still have several embarrassing political tracts and even more embarrassing love poems I wrote. It's a reminder of how far I've come from my socially awkward past.

I will NEVER go back.

Edited March 20, 2018 by Unlicensed Hemalurgist

[ReadAndFindOut]

A bent metal washer I picked up on the side of the road after an argument with my girlfriend, which was totally my fault. Storming away and walking the four miles back home while trying to push it through my hand helped me come to terms with my selfishness and idiocy in relationships.
We got married a few years later.

[Archer]

My backyard. Every time I look out and see the lush green grass and obvious lack of worldhoppers, I am reminded that the Earth isn't in the Cosmere.

I'd have to dig around for it, but somewhere in my house I've got a metal model tractor I built in manufacturing class in high school. Most of it was built on a metal lathe. I still remember making the body of it. For an entire class, I shaved small amounts of metal off of it, trying to get it down to size. As I toiled, the piece got darker and darker, turning a burnt purple colour. Everyone else in the class accomplished the task in 15 minutes, but I was still going when the bell rang an hour later.

I learned two things that day. One, don't try to grab a piece of metal you've been lathing for an hour with your bare hands. It will burn your hand.

The second lesson I learned came when another guy in the class took pity on me, and told me how lathes work. He told me that in that class we used two different types of bits. A sharp, pointed one that's good for cutting lots of metal very quickly, and a rounded one that's used for finishing. Guess which one I was using. 

Despite my numerous mistakes, that tractor was probably the nicest thing I've ever built. I learned a lot in that class, even if I took the unconventional route most of the time. 

[goody153]

Does my disappointment with myself count ? It reminds me of my uhmm general failures in everything 

Edited June 17, 2018 by goody153

[The Forgetful Archivist]

It is time I posted here. 

The symbol of my ignorance is a ticket to prom. I have spent almost my whole life on the outside, I was a drifter, never staying for long. In my free time I would sit in my room and keep to myself. I was happy, I was complete and fulfilled. In the rare moments when I was with casual acquaintances, we would make fun of authority, we would mock the student council, the faculty and the events they planned. In short, I was surrounded by echoes of my own beliefs and worldviews. This changed when, by some miracle, I made a friend who pushed me out of my shell, they eventually convinced me to ask someone to the prom. I did, they said yes, we went to prom, and I loved it. Were the streamers tacky, yes, but it didn't matter. I saw people so full of life I saw energy and I saw what I had been missing. I was both scared and excited by this new world, I returned home and realized that the scales had dropped from my eyes. I saw the joy that meaningful interaction with others could bring, I realized that my cynical self was a fool. After that night I went to every school event I could, I talked to people and tried to make friends. However, in one months time, I found myself graduated and alone, I also found that I still had a thirst for more. I had a hole that needed to be filled. I tacked my prom ticket to my wall, and every time I see it I feel a sense of loss. I had wasted my time and I had squandered potential for meaning. I had placed myself in a chamber full of echos that reinforced my own opinions. Every time I see that simple piece of paper hanging on my wall I resolve to never make that mistake again. I have resolved to never wast an opportunity again, I see myself for who I am and what I was, blind, arrogant, and ignorant. 

Let my ignorance  be enough for the both of us, let my mistakes be a warning to you. Never mock what you do not know, and never pass up an opportunity. Don't squander the potential for meaning. Please.

[+Invocation]

Mine would probably be the metal in my leg. Moving, running, jumping, standing, it all used to be so easy. Now I've got permanent muscle bruising and a messed up leg that cramps at random times and won't let me do things I used to take for granted. 

Now I know never to do that because I don't know when I'll lose it.

[Karger]

I don't have a physical one but there is a rather embarrassing memory that I dust off whenever I travel.

[Wander89]

I once got given this glass car when I was like 8 because I was absolutely hopeless at helping my grandparents out. They were moving so far away and I did not want this to happen. I tried to sabotage everything to no avail. Was pretty embarrassing to find out that it was only about 2 streets away.

[+Harrycrapper]

My answers are video game based, so I don't have something physical. Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion: I spent about 50 hours of my first playthrough not knowing I could click on a place I'd been and fast travel there. And in that game there are abilities that level up from walking and jumping that contribute to your overall level which in turn determines how tough the enemies are. So, my character was super weak in combat but really good at moving around so I would just take forever running around an enemy landing strategic blows. Wasn't until I asked friend to help me with something and he looks at my stats and then me as if I were an idiot that I learned that I was an idiot. 

I've gone back and played various older games from the NES/Sega Genesis era and I used to win them all the time and now I can barely play them at all. I'm not sure if the video games have just changed that much or if I have.

[I lost my flute]

I accidentaly bought 5 of the same things on amazon when I was trying to buy two.

 

[1stBondsmith]

Last year @The Forgetful Archivist listed the Prom Ticket he/she uses. I would also like to list an additional reminder I have of my Symbol of Ignorance. Today I have half the hearing (one ear lost hearing in college), half the eyesight (lost to straining on screens and some age issues), no sense of smell or taste (lost in a head injury that injured the brain), half the strength and endurance (lost in a war conflict and weight loss in the recovery), and now, half of my wife's precious time (lost to anxiety, treatment and pain from early onset Parkinson's). It seems I have half of all the things I love that I used to have all of. They were a "basic" part of life I now miss, and am forced to adapt to. Most people I deal with have no idea I have any of these limitations. Enjoy your available experiences and blessings with gratitude... with joy... and sharing as much of it with the people around you as you can. You will be left with large reminders when they pass.

[Torchwood17]

I'd say the AP tests I took in high school. I thought I was so smart so I signed up and took like every AP class (basically college classes in HS) I could, thought I would pass all the tests, I failed the majority of them cause I didn't really study properly.

Made me realize I couldn't just breeze through life but that I need to study and actually put the time in to learn knowledge and skills, the memory of those failures largely motivated me to get through college and that anything worth doing was worth putting some effort in for.