Sponge, Funnel, Strainer, or Sieve?

The sixth Jewish Mishnah captures the four different types of learners in the study hall:

There are four types among those who sit before the sages: a sponge, a funnel, a strainer, and a sieve.

A sponge soaks up everything; A funnel, takes in at one end and lets out at the other; A strainer, which lets out the wine and retains the lees; A sieve, which lets out the coarse meal and retains the choice flour.

My question for you – what is YOUR learning style?  Are you a sponge, a funnel, a strainer, or a sieve?

The Times of Israel blog adds,

“Learning like a sponge” is not the ideal in Judaism, as the sponge retains everything, even what is not valuable… or what is wrong …although at least he retains something. The funnel has achieved one valuable talent of not retaining that which shouldn’t be retained, but sadly too much learning is lost. The commentaries conclude that that the ideal student has a mind “like a sieve” retaining the good, fine flour and allows the inferior flour to depart, while the worst student only retains the dregs and allows the fine wine to be lost.

Hmmm.   I’m not sure about you, but that is worth pondering a bit.  I would say that my learning style has changed a lot over the years, and I am currently a sieve.  A sieve that is pretty good at filtering out the superfluous and retaining the meat, the meaningful, the essential. 

I say that knowing, like most rules, my learning style has exceptions.  IF I am full of nervous energy and having a tough time concentrating, I am a sponge and I take copious notes as a trick to keep engaged and “focused.” IF I know that a training will include an open-notes quiz to ensure comprehension, I once again will take copious notes.

If you were able to see the notes I took whilst reading Falling Upward by Richard Rohr, you would question my sieve classification.  3 pages, double-sided, with brief phrases in tiny font.  You would think I captured the entire book.  Well, truth be told, I kinda did!  I haven’t read a book THAT impactful, for ME, in ages!  Falling Upward  captured and articulated my current melancholy mind/body/spirit state.

So, I’ll ask again, what is YOUR learning style?  Are you a sponge, a funnel, a strainer, or a sieve?