The difference between learning and comprehension

As I've gotten older I have come to realize something,

There appears to be a massive, massive difference between learning something and truly understanding it.

You can learn pretty much anything simply by reading a decently presented book on the subject, a fact that people have probably brought up a million times, but understanding meaning behind something can really trip people up.

I've learned a lot about life from hearing about things, other peoples personal experiences count for a lot of peoples social development both growing up and once we're adults, but most would probably agree that social development is really aided by personal experiences, the pain and strife that people go through as they grow turns them into the people that they are when they get older.

So my thinking has been that does my place in an educational system actually mean diddly squat when considering my overall development as a human being, and my happiness as a person.

Personal experience for better or for worse shaped our feelings on pretty much anything, in fact other than as young children for most of us being told something has nothing of the same weight behind it as actually experiencing something.

From a larger perspective I have to realized that no matter what sort of education I or others have there is no reason that you cannot learn something from them, and no matter what no one way to do things or to live is the right way.