Reaction to "The Two Views of the Mississippi"

In the reading, the persona spoke of losing sight of the magic he once saw in the river when he became a riverboat pilot. When he learned this new skill, he lost the ability to enjoy its simplicity and beauty, and now saw every elemental threat it posed to his boat.

I believe this is a metaphor of our learning anything in life. In learning a new skill or knowing more about a new subject, we gain and lose something. We gain knowledge and information, but we can also lose our inquisitiveness and wonder about the things that used to remain unknown to us.

For example, I used to believe in Santa Claus. He was just so full of magic and hope for Christmas. When I learned that he wasn’t real, I gained consciousness of reality. I learned about the truth. However, I lost my belief. I lost the trust I once had in hoping for miracles. Most importantly, I lost my belief in magical things existing in this world.

I guess this was the kind of thing the author implied in his writing. People always assume a magical explanation to things they cannot fully understand. However, people who ask how and why things happen and people who are in pursuit of facts and knowledge lose sight of all the magic they can have in their lives because of their strict adherence to fact.