A collector can know an item’s history while forgetting to enjoy its presence.

Knowing about a thing can quietly replace being with it. Someone who can date an object, name its maker, and recite its history may go months without simply looking at it, because expertise fills the space attention used to occupy. Information is easier to acquire than presence, and far easier to demonstrate. The learning was supposed to serve the pleasure and can end up standing in front of it.

Pick up something you own and spend two minutes with it without recalling a single fact. Notice the weight, the surface, and the way it catches light.