# Its only now that Im learning



## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

I have been a life long student. I have a college degree, did well in that and did well in High School. It is only now that I find that Im learning. There are so many cool things in this world to discover, Astronomy, zoology, botany, physics, and others. All of these things relate to us. Ive been buying cheep textbooks, (2 editions ago or so) and watching all the free lectures on youtube. When I go outside rather day or night I am an awe of the world that we have. So much of it is understandable if we just take the time to do so. I don't care who wins the superbowl, who is on American idol, whos cd is number 1 on the chart. I still hear all that stuff and I do like my nascar, but for the most Im far more excited about why the stars arnt the same all year long, what makes a tomato plant grow, how rocks came to form, why the white tail does what it does, what trees are better for what task. All these are available for us to learn at next to nothing in cost but the time it takes to learn. I have this massive list of things I want to learn in the next 15 years before I get my country land so I can truly enjoy it. This is my own belief, and some may disagree but I have found that learning these things has not made me distant from God but closer. Just a thought I wanted to share.


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## Moose33 (Jan 1, 2011)

You know about the free web based courses offered by MIT, right? I just peeked at the web site and the first one I saw was about water in developing countries.
I love learning g stuff
There may be other schools that offer the same kind of program.


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## ksmama10 (Sep 17, 2012)

One of my pet peeves is the statement and attitude," I have finished my education." What? It isn't like taking a piece of bread and sopping up the juices off one's supper plate. I always wonder if the person saying this has had a vision that their life is done...me, I plan to keep learning til I draw my last breath. Too much good stuff out there. My library card is one of my most prized possessions, and I am on a first name basis with all my local librarians, one has been a close friend for 20 years. I have found that the more I read, the more I NEED to read. I'm like the kid in the story of The Five Chinese Brothers, the one who went too far from shore picking up treasures from the bottom of the ocean..too many gems I haven't looked at yet.


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

bio...that totally resonates...

Also, Im finding the more aware/awake I become..the more I have to learn and the hungrier I am for more and more. Almost like information cant get to me fast enough. Although once I get to that point I have to remind myself to slow down. It takes time to sift through some info in order to not be fooled by disinformation n bull..other info and topics are best assimilated slowly to savor, digest and fully understand and explore..I love learning. Someday I hope I get to travel to the places and expeirence it all too..


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## Enchant18 (Feb 21, 2012)

I agree completely. PBS has a series on chemistry and physics I've been watching.... For fun! My hubby walks in shakes his head and walks out. The love of learning has become a rare trait.


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## ras1219como (Jan 15, 2013)

Agreed! There are always new things to discover. I'm not much of a chem or physics person, biology is more my style in the science department. But my favorite thing to learn about is history. All history fascinates me but ancient civilizations are my favorite  


Sent from my iPhone using Survival Forum. Please forgive typos.


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## ksmama10 (Sep 17, 2012)

My husband I both love documentaries, particularly historical ones, but we like science topics too. I've noticed that several of our kids like them too, and they'll choose to watch one when we're not the ones picking. Our 17 year old dd recently chose to rewatch Band of Brothers on her own..which led us to rewatch too. Not a documentary really, but a good historical film just the same. They also like films about shipwrecks...we all have watched every one we can find on the Titanic.


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## backlash (Nov 11, 2008)

Same thing here.
I really enjoy learning.
A few years ago I checked out a Washington State History book from the library.
Great stuff.
But in an ironic twist just like in school I was late returning it.
No fine but a polite slap on the hand.


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## ksmama10 (Sep 17, 2012)

backlash said:


> Same thing here.
> I really enjoy learning.
> A few years ago I checked out a Washington State History book from the library.
> Great stuff.
> ...


I find myself looking for reasons to do mini-research projects. Just this past Friday, I was out in the extreme SW corner of Kansas with my husband, who was preparing to start this year's BAK(Biking Across Kansas). I sagged him out to the Colorado line from Elkhart..which was just a short jaunt of 18 miles, but our route took us by a historical marker and scenic lookout. We don't always stop for those, but he had paused on his bike on the way out(I was ahead at the state line) and wanted us to both to stop on the drive back to Elkhart..I'm glad we did. The lookout was a historical site alright; used on the southernmost route of the Santa Fe Trail, known as The Cimarron Cuttoff. It was beautiful..so when I got home, I did some googling to learn more about that route and the whole trail through Kansas. Earthshaking info, no. But it helped me appreciate my state and our role in history.


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## tleeh1 (Mar 13, 2013)

I totally agree...learning is a life-long activity that keeps our brains active.

One a related note, this came across one of my other feeds today (coincidence???), and while it's from MIT (and may be considered 'liberal' studies), it might give you an outline for some things to study...and they're free!

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/find-by-department/


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

The more I learn, the less I know.


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## ksmama10 (Sep 17, 2012)

sailaway said:


> The more I learn, the less I know.


Yep, the more I learn, the more I realize just how little I know.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

There has never been a time when so much information has been available to the average person, cheap or free. I love physical books and imo they still offer things that modern technology sometimes can't, however technology has made many other things much more feasible. Learning things by listening for example, instead of having to be in the physical location of the speaker(s) now a person can listen to conversations and lectures from around the globe while doing something that doesn't require their full attention.

With all this information though, someone like myself that leans toward "Information junkie" status at times, needs to take a conscious effort to stop and reflect on that knowledge at times. For myself I try to make sure I alternate between non-fiction and fiction when reading because just like exercise they work different "muscles" and allow the others to relax a bit.

I also have to make sure there are times when I just turn everything off, and, like mentioned in the OP, just experience the world.

This video is definitely from the "consider info from ANY source" whether you have issues with them or not part of me.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

My father was a Civil War history buff. He loved to read and collect from the era. He had a fantastic collection of non-fiction books about the war from that era and through the years up to current history on it. It was amazing to follow the progression from the perspective of someone who was there to generations later, someone writing a book on the same event based on their research.

If you really like history, buy old college text books, as old as you can find. Then read their modern counterparts about the same events.


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## ksmama10 (Sep 17, 2012)

Woody said:


> My father was a Civil War history buff. He loved to read and collect from the era. He had a fantastic collection of non-fiction books about the war from that era and through the years up to current history on it. It was amazing to follow the progression from the perspective of someone who was there to generations later, someone writing a book on the same event based on their research.
> 
> If you really like history, buy old college text books, as old as you can find. Then read their modern counterparts about the same events.


Yes, perspectives change over time. It also is good to read accounts from both sides of a conflict. I've heard the Civil War referred to as "The War of Northern Aggression."


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## valannb22 (Jan 6, 2012)

Have you tried Coursera.org? It is a free online resource that offers a huge variety of classes from universities all over.


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

He who toils the earth will reap its fruits but he who toils the mind will reap the world
The Confucius in Me.


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

The more I study, the more I know.

The more I know, the more I forget.

The more I forget, the less I know.

So why study?

_OK, that was my high school philosophy years ago._

I've heard of many using Kahn Academy for free online learning.
https://www.khanacademy.org/


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## SouthCentralUS (Nov 11, 2012)

I could write a book about what I don't know. That is from a country song but it fits me.


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

valannb22 said:


> Have you tried Coursera.org? It is a free online resource that offers a huge variety of classes from universities all over.


Thank you SO MUCH!! I never heard of them before. Just signed up for a course in Neuroeconomics. Taught by a guy with a sexy Russian accent no less. Life is good. artydance:


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## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

Im glad so many of you share my feelings. Maybe the fact that we can learn new things is what allows us to see the potentially dangerous things in the future.


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## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

valannb22 said:


> Have you tried Coursera.org? It is a free online resource that offers a huge variety of classes from universities all over.


That's awesome. I signed up for a Dinosaur Paleobiology course that starts in September. I have always wanted to take a course in that.


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## ksmama10 (Sep 17, 2012)

biobacon said:


> Im glad so many of you share my feelings. Maybe the fact that we can learn new things is what allows us to see the potentially dangerous things in the future.


What I see here is a bunch of folks with teachable spirits, people who know the difference between knowing a lot and knowing it all. That alone puts us ahead of the game just a hair. Let's hope that's enough. It certainly is a start.


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## valannb22 (Jan 6, 2012)

biobacon said:


> That's awesome. I signed up for a Dinosaur Paleobiology course that starts in September. I have always wanted to take a course in that.


Ohhh! I hadn't seen that one yet. Going to have to sign up


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

Thanks for starting this thread for it has so much truth to it. I can honestly say that my wife and I have learned more in the last fifteen years than all the previous years. I hated school for a number of reasons I won't go into but once we started reading together is when the real book learning started. And then there is what I call the college of the outdoors, things we learn while out hiking, hunting, fishing, gold panning/detecting, finding crystals, gathering firewood, picking beargrass, hucklebery brush, cedar boughs, ferns or just enjoying the wildlife we run across in the process. We have learn why it's so good to leave older growth trees at the top of ridges because they condense fog, low clouds and moist air, we've seen them rain this down on a rather clear day, amazing. Just this last summer with the fires in the mountains behind us in seeing the fires burn slowly in the thick underbrush and realizing it was a very good thing. I'm 71 and it seems that I learn new things each day and here's the interesting thing, the more I seem to learn the more I realize how very little I actually know. I'm starting to realize that I will need to have another life to learn what I want to know and do all the things I want to do.


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## Gians (Nov 8, 2012)

Moose33 said:


> You know about the free web based courses offered by MIT, right? I just peeked at the web site and the first one I saw was about water in developing countries.
> I love learning g stuff
> There may be other schools that offer the same kind of program.


Currently watching "Energy Decisions, Markets, and Policies", you can access the lecture slides on PDF too.
Thanks Moose33 and Tleeth1 for a great free resource :2thumb:


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## Idaholady (Apr 24, 2010)

One of the things I do for myself is to set some goals each year. One of my goals is to learn something new every year; it didn't matter if it was how to make candles; bake bread or learn how to dehydrate stuff from the garden; or take some handgun classes; just learn 'something.' 

The other goal is to meet one new person each year. You can learn a lot from people and I've met some really wonderful folks, who happen to be like minded. Life is a learning process; don't sit in front of a TV and miss out on life!


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## Mase92 (Feb 4, 2013)

Bio your education is worth more than any 4/6/+ degree could buy, Why? You want to learn what you are; you go at the pace you set for yourself, you have an open mind and take in much MUCH more than a student getting the degree they have settled on. I applaud you!


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## Foreverautumn (Oct 25, 2010)

Viking said:


> I hated school for a number of reasons I won't go into


I remember when I hadn't even started Kindergarten yet. I remember crying my little eyes out because I couldn't go to school with my older brother, because I was too young. Now, fast forward to the end of my Senior year in High School. I was in English class, and the teacher asked us soon-to-graduate Seniors if we had any words of wisdom for the younger students. I flat out said, "Yeah! SCHOOL SUCKS!" 

I'm not sure exactly what happened between pre-kindergarten and my Senior year to almost completely sour me on the whole idea of schooling, but SOMETHING did. I think the problem started around 7th grade, when school just simply turned into a prison! I just don't know how else to describe it! I think the main message I took from school was "Shut up and GET IN LINE!"

College, in some ways, was noticeably better; at least the other students were there because they WANTED to be there, which made the environment noticeably better. But the basic message was still "Shut up and get in line," just not quite as loud.



Viking said:


> the more I seem to learn the more I realize how very little I actually know. I'm starting to realize that I will need to have another life to learn what I want to know and do all the things I want to do.


Oh, tell me about it! If I want to get depressed, all I have to do is stand in a science/technology section of a bookstore! So many books, so little time!


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

I honestly believe that ADD/ADHD are for the most part is pure BS. Had they had those things when I was in school I'd have been tagged with that, thing is a lot of kids are not getting enough good information and they are flat bored, I know I certainly was as I used to draw pictures of cars, boats and airplanes on the top of my work papers which my teachers did not like. Basically, children are often smarter than their teachers in a lot of areas and some teachers are not able to feed new and exciting info fast enough to keep their attention.


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## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

I have been a teacher, I have not always been a good one to each kid and Im sorry for that, but I have always tried to excite the kids to see the value in something beyond just the normal learn this so you can check it off. I was explaining how vast the universe was recently to a new high school graduate. It was like he was hearing it for the first time. What do they teach kids now days? Wonder dosnt need to be taught, only encouraged.


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## 101airborne (Jan 29, 2010)

biobacon said:


> I have been a life long student. I have a college degree, did well in that and did well in High School. It is only now that I find that Im learning. There are so many cool things in this world to discover, Astronomy, zoology, botany, physics, and others. All of these things relate to us. Ive been buying cheep textbooks, (2 editions ago or so) and watching all the free lectures on youtube.


 bio, check out a place called courseca they offer free on line classes that cover the entire spectrum and you can earn a certificate if you want. I've taken several including a couple prepper ones along with counter terrorism, geo-politics, and others. It's also a fun way to interact with other people.


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## ksmama10 (Sep 17, 2012)

biobacon said:


> I have been a teacher, I have not always been a good one to each kid and Im sorry for that, but I have always tried to excite the kids to see the value in something beyond just the normal learn this so you can check it off. I was explaining how vast the universe was recently to a new high school graduate. It was like he was hearing it for the first time. What do they teach kids now days? Wonder dosnt need to be taught, only encouraged.


We had a biology teacher like this when I was in high school. He was just plain old fashioned awesome. He loved kids and was totally enthralled with his subject, and tried his best to help us catch onto how cool the natural world is. I remember him pausing several times to say, "Isn't this just COOL?" One unit he taught seemed dull to some of my friends, but it's stuck with me all these years; he had us learn the common birds of Kansas and Oklahoma. I STILL like to try to identify birds I see about. I will cry real tears when I read his obit in the paper some day.


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## Foreverautumn (Oct 25, 2010)

biobacon said:


> I was explaining how vast the universe was recently to a new high school graduate. It was like he was hearing it for the first time. What do they teach kids now days? Wonder dosnt need to be taught, only encouraged.


What are they teaching kids nowadays? They're teaching them Heather Has Two Mommies. They're teaching them "Here, use this condom! It'll solve everything!" And they're teaching them women are victims and men are scum. Anything BUT how to read and write and do anything LIKE basic arithmetic.


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