As for everything in life, there are certain keys to learning without help and without getting lost. Especially today that you can find excessive information on almost any topic on the internet. Why mention the number of tutorials out there! as well as talks, conversations and applications for almost all disciplines.
Learning is easy for people who have developed:
Curiosity
Being curious means that you are eager to learn new things and are concerned about gaps in your understanding of the world. New words and ideas are received as challenges and the work of understanding them is accepted.
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People who lack curiosity will see learning new things as a chore, or worse, as something beyond their capabilities.
Patience
Depending on the complexity of a topic, learning something new can take a long time. And it will surely be frustrating for those who are going to be faced with new terminologies, new models and new information. apparently Irrelevant.
When you learn something for yourself, there is no one to control the flow of information, to make sure you go from basic knowledge to intermediate and finally advanced concepts.
Patience with your subject and, more importantly, with yourself is crucial: there is no field of knowledge that someone in the world has not managed to learn, starting exactly from where you are.
a feeling of connection
This is the most difficult talent to cultivate, and it is where most people stumble when approaching a new topic.
A new body of knowledge is always easier to learn if you can figure out how it connects to what you already know.
The more you look and pay attention to the connections between different fields, the easier your brain can cling to new concepts.
How to self-taught effectively?
With a «learning attitude», working on a new topic is simply a matter of research, practice, networking and programming:
1. Research
Of course, the most important step in learning something new is discover things about it:
learning the basics
It begins as everything begins today:Google! Somehow, people managed to learn before Google, but today a well-formed google search will give you a lot of information on any topic in seconds.
Browse the articles of Wikipedia It’s also a great way to get a foothold in a new fieldand usually the Wikipedia entry for your search term will be on the first page of your Google search.
What we can do is look for basic information and then the work of experts: blogs of researchers in a field, forums on a topic, organizational websites, magazines, etc.
Over time you can subscribe to a lot of RSS feeds (for notifications) to keep up to date with new material as it is published. If you find it difficult to read from the computer, then you can print articles to read them in depth later and look for the names of the main authors or the best books in the field.
hit the books
Once you have a good outline of a field of knowledge, you can go to the library. Look up the key names and titles you found online, and then check out the shelves around those titles. looking for other books that seem interesting.
Then, go to the children’s section of the library and look for the same classification numbers: A good overview for teens is likely to be clearer, more concise, and more learning-oriented than many adult books.
There is nothing embarrassing about reading these books and it is probably the wisest thing to do since these authors are approached from a teaching perspective. They are there to teach. Whereas adult books assume you already know, at least the basics, when you don’t have to. Take advantage of the available tools! It doesn’t matter which ones. The important thing is that you learn solidly.
long term referrals
As you look at the pile of books you checked out of the library, you can start noting or keeping an eye out for books you’ll want to give a permanent spot on your shelves. Check online and physical bookstores, but also look for thrift stores, used bookstores, library book sales, garage saleswherever you are in the presence of books.
The goal is for you to have a collection of reference manuals and featured books that you will return to later to answer tricky questions or to refresh your knowledge as you put new skills to work. And the best thing is to do it cheaply and quickly.
2. Practice
Putting new knowledge into practice helps us develop a better understanding now and remember more later. Although many books offer exercises and self-tests, sometimes it’s best to jump in and build something: a website, an essay, a desktop, whatever.
A great way to put any new set of knowledge into practice it’s starting a blog about it and posting it for the world to see and comment on, as time goes on.
Just don’t keep your learning in your head where no one ever sees how much you know about something, and never sees how much you don’t yet know.
3. Network
One of the most powerful sources of knowledge and understanding in life today are the social networks you can join: the websites you can write on, the LISTSERV to which you can belong, the people you talk to, the colleagues who do the same thing as you, etc.
These networks are crucial to broaden your knowledge in areas where you are already involved and to refer you to contacts in areas where you have no prior experience. Joining an email list, emailing someone who works in the field, asking your colleagues for recommendations, are all helpful ways to gain a foothold in a new field.
Networking will also allow you to put your newly acquired knowledge to the test. with the knowledge of others, which gives you the opportunity to grow and develop further.
4. Schedule
For anything more complex than a simple overview, it’s worth scheduling time for you to commit to learning. Having the books on the shelf, the main websites bookmarked and a series of contacts is of no use. if you don’t give yourself time to concentrate on reading, assimilating and implementing your knowledge.
Establishes a deadline for a goal, even if there is no externally imposed time limit, and Create a schedule to meet that deadline on time and without delay.
Final thoughts
In some way, even formal education is a form of self-directed learning; in the end, a teacher can only suggest and encourage a path to learningin the best case removing some of the work of finding reliable sources to learn from.
If you are already working, or have a variety of interests other than purely academic, formal instruction may be too inconvenient or too expensive to undertake However, that does not mean that you should give up the possibility of learning; history has been built largely on self-taught successes.
At best, even a formal education is intended to prepare you for a lifetime of self-guided learning; With the power of the Internet and media at our disposal, we really there is no reason not to follow your muse wherever she leads you.
Good luck and much success!