Foreword [I don't like studying]

Abstract

In a 1996 interview, the American actress Natalie Portman said, "I don't love studying. I hate studying. I like learning. Learning is beautiful." These words soon became one of the most famous quotations to circulate on the Internet. Their fame, however, is not solely due to the fact that they were spoken by a pop culture icon. The simplistic dichotomy set up by Portman resonates with all those people who identify formal education with the drudgery of studying, but, in time and with some luck, might come to realise that learning transcends their experiences at school. The fact that a teenager uttered the above words makes this point even more vital. At the time of the interview, Portman was still a 14-year-old actress whose main claim to fame was her debut in Leon: The Professional. However, over the years she has starred in many successful movies, notable amongst which is Block Swan. This is the story of a ballerina who is fully committed to her art and, after winning the lead role in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, feels compelled to study so hard that she starts to lose grip on her sanity. The story is somewhat germane to a discussion concerning the dichotomy between learning and studying due to the fact that when learning ceases to be perceived as "beautiful", it impairs our ability to enjoy it and jeopardises our capacity to profit from it.