[chaostheory]

Does anyone else feel this way? If I'm not in the process of acquiring some type of new information then I am wasting time - I must always have a book on me because, invariably and understandably, there is always going to be periods in the day where I am waiting on someone or something; and a book is a simple solution for a mind that can be compromised by hyperactivity if not kept busy from superfluously dull activity. Down to the point, learning has almost become an obsession - I NEED to be learning something new; more books, more perspective, more random lectures on something I know nothing about, etc.

All the books I read are consistently science oriented, right now I am reading The Red Queen - Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature by Matt Ridley. If I'm not reading I love working with computers in my spare time.. so I figured I'd give a shot at learning a programming language, perhaps php or c++ (supposedly IntJs make exceptional programmers?).

I also spend an hour each night learning German using Rosetta Stone (great program by the way) and then plan on giving the Russian course a go.

How do you feel about learning new things, is it essential to your daily routine? Do you make it a point to become "well-rounded" in a variety of subjects? What are subjects you would like to become more knowledgeable in? And finally, what are your favorite things to study in your free time?

[Malsqueek]

Ausgezeichnet! Ich denke, Deutsch zu lernen ist eine großartige Möglichkeit, um Ihre Zeit verbringen

That aside; Yes. I tend to think that a day with no new information is a wasted day. Be it new experience, new concept, new literature, new music. Whatever. Must. Consume. New. Knowledge.

[Jantei]

Yes, the systematic acquisiton of knowledge has become essential to my daily routine. Reflecting on my earlier life, it looks like I was just devouring, processing and synthesizing information from any source that I encountered, but I have become much more discerning and goal-oriented in recent years. The hard sciences, and especially maths, are great distilled sources of information, so that's what I occupy myself with most of the time.

If you're interested in programming, are reasonably adept at math, and are looking for a challenge, check out
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
, by Abelson and Sussman. It makes use of a language called Scheme, which is a variant of Lisp. Scheme is an exceedingly elegant, minimalist and powerful programming language. This used to be the book and language used in the introductory computer science course at MIT, though it's been replaced by some Python book recently, amid much controversy. The book is available online for free at the address linked above, and
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
that go along with it, conducted by its authors.

SICP has often been accused of being too advanced for an introductory computer science book. If you find yourself sharing that opinion, look into
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
, which was written with the goal of serving as a precursor to it.

[Warrior]

I used to try to learn about many, many different subjects, but it left me very unsatisfied. Trying to learn so many different things just left me frustrated that I didn't have time to do more. Now I try to focus on just a few things - expertise related to my career, my training, my faith, and my family, and maybe one or two other things. Oddly, I found that when I focused on a few areas, I seemed to learn about other areas better than I did before.

[Slowandeasy1]

Keirsey in his book Please Understand Us II suggests that NT types are always at a cross-road - always looking for new opportunities to feed our intuitive perceptions. Knowledge is one way to search for opportunities. I am assuming you are reading technical books that provide lots of "great ideas". If so, I am the same way. Occasionally I will harness my time to one adventurous search, then off to the next.

Also on the temporal time line, he suggests that SJ's live in the past with custom and convention, SP's live in the present with the need to do and NF's live in the future with a drive for the ideal life.

Interesting read, if that is your bent.

[NeverAmI]

I have also been very involved in gaining new knowledge. When I was younger I was so unattuned to understanding myself that I tried avoiding accumulating knowledge because I did not like the negative connotation given to being smart. Once I started understanding myself better (MBTI was a huge help in that) I have had a much better time moving forward in life.

Over the past couple years I had a resurgence of non-fiction reading and I feel as though I am coming back to life.

Music theory, Arabic (on hold right now), biochemistry, neuroscience, theoretical physics, networking technologies, etc.

I am addicted to The Teaching Company (TTC) lectures.

[Night Runner]

	Originally Posted by chaostheory To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	How do you feel about learning new things, is it essential to your daily routine?

Not yet... I'm making a conscious effort to get myself to that stage, though. When I was little, I had a genuine thirst for knowledge, but there were no resources... The local library was a mess, I had read all the old encyclopedias we had at home, my teachers were underpaid and overworked, and guys at the local computer store laughed in my face when I told them I wanted to learn a programming language.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
I'm finally starting to get this thirst for knowledge back, but ye gods - I have wasted so many years of my life because there were no opportunities!..

	Do you make it a point to become "well-rounded" in a variety of subjects?

Not quite. For example, I couldn't care less about art, music or literature, and I really can't see myself delving into those disciplines - at least not until after I'm done with all the ones on my "to do" list.

	What are subjects you would like to become more knowledgeable in?

I have an almost masochistic obsession with chemistry. I understand so little of it (thanks mostly due to horrible teachers I had years ago), and I want to master it, damn it - if only because it's the only science I know next to nothing about. Besides, being able to manipulate various elements and create new compounds will be a great reward.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
I'm also thinking of becoming an electronics repairman/tinkerer (there are so many free functional yet slightly outdated computers out there!), learning the finer points of electrodynamics and ionization processes (got a few ideas that have a greater than zero chance of getting patented), becoming fluent in Spanish (which is improbably similar to my mother tongue, Russian), etc.

For the first time in my life, I finally have the motivation and the resources for pursuing these hobbies...

	And finally, what are your favorite things to study in your free time?

Personal finance. The more I learn about it, the more I realize how little I know.

[Jantei]

Originally Posted by Warrior To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

I used to try to learn about many, many different subjects, but it left me very unsatisfied. Trying to learn so many different things just left me frustrated that I didn't have time to do more. Now I try to focus on just a few things - expertise related to my career, my training, my faith, and my family, and maybe one or two other things. Oddly, I found that when I focused on a few areas, I seemed to learn about other areas better than I did before.

Warrior brings up a valid concern. Retaining what you've learned is just as important as accumulating new knowledge. If you find yourself becoming frustrated with retention issues, there is a lot of very interesting and surprisingly practical literature on learning and memory. Ebbinghaus and his learning/forgetting curve experiments are particularly relevant, as well as the spaced repetition techniques that resulted from them. If nothing else, take copious notes of everything and review them periodically.

Learning about learning is good times; almost as much fun as thinking about thinking.

[Jantei]

Ahem... how embarassing! It appears that I didn't register much of what Warrior said past the line 'frustrated', which is when my crazy Ni(?) went into overdrive and I went on to infer/project what would come next, which wasn't quite on the mark.

On the other hand, my cautionary advice still stands for any would-be informavores.

But let's try that again: one way I dealt with the frustration that came with the realization that there is only so much I could absorb and process within a lifetime was to seek out information/knowledge with an ever higher signal-to-noise ratio, as mentioned in my initial post.

I approve of the quality-over-quantity approach that Warrior advocates.

[Lord Shadowbane]

It is to me the one thing that bother me the most about life. There is so much that I can learn and so little time for me to learn it so I must specialize. I feel that I ought to have a broad base in everything and then master as much as possible in what interests me.