I am not nearly clever enough to do the Sunday New York Times Cross Word Puzzle. But being a stamp collector I am pretty much the go to person in our home for exotic geography, oddball Presidents, and significant events for say the year 1948. And beyond the pleasure of acquisition and completion this is one of the greatest benefits that philately bestows. As a society we tend to lack a shared fund of knowledge that people can use when they communicate together. This is why when the people on different sides of the political spectrum attempt to speak they have so much trouble. They tend not to share the same facts and understanding of history and politics.
Shared knowledge is one of the things that people need in common in order to communicate and understand each other. Perhaps the greatest common thread we have in society now is shared entertainment and culture. Sports, movies, and TV shows often cut across regional, ethnic, and educational bounds and create a shared national experience that makes us feel united as a country. This is the importance of the Olympics and why they enjoy such popularity. Does anyone remember the record for the pole vault? We just remember how we felt when our team won, and that experience unites us.
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When millions of Americans collected stamps, philately was part of this shared collective knowledge that helped us communicate with each other. Nearly everyone in my fourth grade class knew the capital of Bulgaria, in large part because we were all either collectors or talked constantly with those who were. Now, philately still has purpose beyond simple acquisition, but we are in danger of being increasingly related to just being helpful to our crossword playing wives.