Y U DO

So, with all the books I've been reading lately, and all the movies I've watched, and all the games I've played and just generally all the information I've taken in, my mind has been buzzing nonstop. For one, there's one thought that's been really nagging at me: how much do we take in? Do we ever stop absorbing information (short of dying, naturally), and when do we at least slow down? How varied should we be? What should we read and watch, and where do we find it? And how much do we partake in?

Obviously, we never actually stop, unless we're dead or lying on a hospital bed staring at the ceiling and thinking nothing in particular because our brains have mostly rotted away. So that's one dilemma solved right off the bat.

The next question is, how much knowledge can we really absorb? Well, the brain has it's limits, so we can absorb all we want, but we won't remember all of it. And indeed, one day, we may find ourselves completely losing our memories and never being able to recall such things anyway. But how much should we TRY to absorb? This, again, obviously, varies from person to person. Some people don't read at all, some people read hundreds of books a year. Some people go to the movies with their friends once or twice a month, other people sit at home alone and watch a movie or two every single day. And of course, different sources yield varying amounts of information. A Dan Brown novel obviously won't teach you as much about history or science as a textbook would, but at the very least it could excite your imagination. Is that as important as having the knowledge in the first place? Anyway, it could inspire you to look into it, so it can't hurt...can it?

So while I'm at it, is fiction anywhere near as important as non-fiction? Is it better to use fiction to relax or as a means to better yourself? Once again, it varies. 'Nuff said.

And now the one that really baffles me: Why do we have so much information in the world? History and most fields of science are constantly advancing, so that's a no-brainer. But what about fiction? What about all the many, many, MANY religions out there? Why do we need so much information that in the long run won't benefit most people, that may only touch a very select few number of people personally, but not even inspire them towards anything? Why would people create such things in the first place? This one, I don't know if I'll ever be able to answer.

tl;dr: I think too much, and can never reach a coherent point. And now I just contributed MORE writing to the metaphorical pile, so I'm thoroughly confused.