perhaps one measure by which one can discern real learning from mere education is through the answer you get after asking yourself this question: has the knowledge you've acquired and applied in life so far made you a happier person? in the real world, that is, the world in which you take part in the so called rat race, you learn all sorts of survival techniques some of which just manage to ram themselves down into your system. you learn to fake laughter, observe certain phony codes, suppress your voice, lie to yourself. all for the pressing need to survive and inch your way to whatever long term goals you have, or convince yourself you have. you learn about the much-glorified supposed virtue of "pakikisama" and you learn that you still think that to a great degree, it's a misguided notion of a virtue. you learn to be numb, to be practical, to cage your tears because in this world and at this stage, tears are forbidden, expressions of fears are frowned upon, and the only source of pride is success regardless of how or why it was achieved.
you glean more, understand more, see more. but in those rare instances you manage to sneak out of the prevailing reality, you learn that what you've learned has failed to fill the holes in your existence. and you read an account of an ape who learned to become a "man" and you find that you feel the same neither-unhappy-nor-contented limbo after having learned it all.
