And along the way, the map of my life got better. 就这样，我人生的地图慢慢完整起来。

It got bigger; it contained more places. 版图不断扩大，地方也不断增多。

There were more things that might happen, more futures I might have. 可能性越来越多，我的未来选择也越来越多。

It wasn't a formal, organized learning process, and I'm happy to admit that. 当然这不是正规的，有条理的学习过程，我对此毫不避讳。

It was spotty, it was inconsistent, there was a lot I didn't know. 这个过程断断续续，有时还前后矛盾，很多事情我也没彻底弄明白。

I might know, you know, Cantor's idea that some infinite sets are larger than other infinite sets, 比如说，我可能知道康托尔的理论，无限集合也有大小之分，

but I didn't really understand the calculus behind that idea. 但支持这个理论的微积分我就完全不懂。

I might know the idea of opportunity cost, but I didn't know the law of diminishing returns. 我也许明白“机会成本”这个概念，但是我不懂收益递减法则。

But the great thing about imagining learning as cartography, 但将学习想象成绘制地图，

instead of imagining it as arbitrary hurdles that you have to jump over, 而不是想象成一系列障碍，需要你一个个去跨越，好处就在于，

is that you see a bit of coastline, and that makes you want to see more. 你能看见一点点海岸线，这让你想更进一步，发现更多的东西。

And so now I do know at least some of the calculus that underlies all of that stuff. 所以我现在至少了解了微积分中最最基础的知识。

So, I had one learning community in high school, then I went to another for college, 因此我在高中加入了一个学习社团，然后在大学加入了另一个，

and then I went to another, when I started working at a magazine called "Booklist," 工作后又加入另一个，当时我刚刚开始在一家名为《书单》的杂志社工作，

where I was an assistant, surrounded by astonishingly well-read people. 职务是助理，身边是一群热爱读书的朋友。

And then I wrote a book. And like all authors dream of doing, I promptly quit my job. 之后我写了一本书。就像所有作家梦想的一样，我迅速辞职了。

And for the first time since high school, I found myself without a learning community, and it was miserable. I hated it. 这是我自高中以来，第一次脱离了学习社团，这很痛苦。我很不爽。

I read many, many books during this two-year period. 在这两年期间，我读了很多书。

I read books about Stalin, and books about how the Uzbek people came to identify as Muslims, 有关于斯大林的，关于乌兹别克斯坦人民是怎么被视为穆斯林的，

and I read books about how to make atomic bombs, but it just felt like I was creating my own hurdles, 甚至还有关于怎么制造原子弹的，但我的感觉并不好，像是给自己制造了障碍，

and then jumping over them myself, instead of feeling the excitement of being part of a community of learners, 然后还要自己跨过去，我完全感受不到身处学习社团里时的那种兴奋，

a community of people who are engaged together in the cartographic enterprise of trying to better understand and map the world around us. 当时的我们就像一群地图发烧友，聚集在地图制作公司，试图更好地理解和描绘我们所处的世界。