Things you wish you knew more about

[Rumpole]

I work peripherally in the resources and petroleum industry, so I'd like to learn more about economics and how thing like resource prices are set, what causes fluctuations etc. And also the technical side of things like exploration, drilling and basic geology. I'd also like to finish learning French and Japanese.

 

[Andromidius]

I wish I wasn't quite so inept at learning new languages. Even basic sentences are extremely difficult for me.

Wish I knew how to read and write music as well. Would make songwriting more of a possibility for me.

Also, though this isn't technically 'knowing more', I'd like to be more able to write stories. I know I can write, and I know I have plenty of ideas. But when it gets to sitting down and writing...utter mindlock. So frustrating.

 

[The Heartbreak Kid]

I wanna know all about the Universe, Aliens, Stars, etc.

 

[zabu of nΩd]

I wanna know all about the Universe, Aliens, Stars, etc.

 

[Einherjar86]

I'd like to explore all sorts of literature both fiction and non-fiction, and get a foundation on how exactly to go about evaluating the quality of written word.

Poetry or prose, or both?

To people like Cyth or anyone else who reads quite a bit: Do you listen to music while you read? I'm fairly new to the whole medium in general, and I'm always a my pals and have the mindset of "well, I should probably spend this free time listening to music". I typically try to listen to ambient music while I multi-task like this, but I feel like it inhibits my ability to process everything in the book.

I never listen to music while I read. I need to immerse myself completely in a work in order to get its full impact. Preferably, I like to be in a locked room, by myself, for as long as I determine. I feel that's the best way to do it.

 

[waif]

When I read I'll have ambient music or just something quiet going on in the background; black metal is good because it doesn't make me want to sing along. Then I completely ignore the music and read. I usually read for long periods of time (4-6 hours) alone without moving. It feels weird when I get up.

 

[cookiecutter]

When I'm reading something I'm not entirely interested in I tend to listen to black metal. It helps me concentrate by removing outside stumili and by not being very intrusive. Xasthur works especially well for me in this regard.

 

[King Richard]

I agree, I wish I knew how to work on cars other than changing the oil/filter

Well, a good tool in learning how to work on a vehicle is to buy a beater and fix it up, no shit. I think cars are more intimidating than anything. Repairing a lot of things on a car is much easier than one would think.

I wish I knew more about the universe and a lot of other sciences in general. I find it fascinating how the universe works.

I also wish I knew more about science and the way the universe works...it's so damn fascinating

get ur own wishes!1

Question: have any of you post-college people ever continued visiting colleges afterward just to sit in on the classes? That's pretty much a must for me once I'm out of school, and have the ability to learn what I want without the pressures of homework, grades and graduation hanging over my head. I want to bum off lecture classes like fuck in the coming year.

You can just sit in classes without being kicked out/arrested?

 

[The Ozzman]

You can just sit in classes without being kicked out/arrested?

It's called an audit. You can go to the class and sit in lecture, but you don't get graded on it.

 

[King Richard]

Do you have to pay?

 

[The Ozzman]

Do you have to pay?

Probably depends on the school. Check the registrar page

Xavier's policy:

Auditing Courses

Anyone wishing to audit a course may do so. An audited course does not carry credit or earn a grade. No one may change from credit status to audit status or from audit status to credit status after the seventh calendar day of the term. Regular tuition rates apply. A grade of "W" may be awarded by the instructor if the student does not fulfill class obligations, or stops attending.

Wiki:

An audit is an educational term in the United States for the completion of a course of study for which no assessment is made or grade awarded. The grade of "audit" is awarded to those who have elected not to receive a letter grade for a course in which they are typically awarded.

In this case, 'audit' indicates that the individual has merely received teaching, rather than achieved a given standard. The term 'audit' is Latin, translating as 'he hears'; in other words, the student has experienced the course but not been assessed.

This technique is often employed by individuals who wish to take a specific course without the risk of under-performance resulting in a poor or failing grade. This can be helpful when reviewing a long-unstudied subject, when first beginning the study of a discipline wherein one has little experience or confidence, when taking a course merely for enjoyment with no need or desire of academic credit, et cetera.

Auditing is generally an option at institutions of higher learning (colleges, universities) rather than grammar school (K-12).

 

[Addo_Of_Nex]

Poetry or prose, or both?



I never listen to music while I read. I need to immerse myself completely in a work in order to get its full impact. Preferably, I like to be in a locked room, by myself, for as long as I determine. I feel that's the best way to do it.

Both, really.

I'm the same way in the sense that I pretty much need to be alone without any background noise to really take as much as possible from the book. I'm just not sure if over time you grow accustomed to it or if it's just a matter of certain people being able to combine the tasks while others can't.

 

[King Richard]

That's a waste of time. You could easily just research a subject on your own if all you want to do is have a casual exposure to it. If you are going to attend a class like that you might as well pay for it so it goes on your permanent transripts and be used towards something.

 

[Einherjar86]

Both, really.

I'm the same way in the sense that I pretty much need to be alone without any background noise to really take as much as possible from the book. I'm just not sure if over time you grow accustomed to it or if it's just a matter of certain people being able to combine the tasks while others can't.

Well, it's easy if you just want to read works of great writers. You can find those in your local bookstore or library. However, if you want to gain "insight" into thse works, you have to dig a bit deeper. Literary criticism is often harder to find and get into. What kind of stuff are you looking for?

 

[Addo_Of_Nex]

Well, it's easy if you just want to read works of great writers. You can find those in your local bookstore or library. However, if you want to gain "insight" into thse works, you have to dig a bit deeper. Literary criticism is often harder to find and get into. What kind of stuff are you looking for?

I'm looking for anything and everything of quality, tbh. The feeling is pretty comparable to the naive ambition of exploring any new field of art in the sense that I want to take in as much as possible as quickly as possible (sort of like getting into metal). I'm sure my own preferences will develop and mature as level of exposure increases, but the initial step that I've been trying to get over for almost a year now is still pretty daunting. I've got a textbook on aesthetics that I'm sure will be extremely helpful in pointing me in the right direction in terms of things to keep a look out for when evaluating written word. Some random authors I enjoy now are Poe, Shakespeare, Tolkien, Dickens, Hawthorne, Steinbeck, etc.

I'm more concerned with being able to gain insight into philosophical/acedemic writings. I've read a few works by Hume, Kant, Plato, etc. and I'm sure most of the content flies right over my head, as most of the stuff seems like finely articulated common sense.

 

[mutantllama]

I wish I knew music theory, and how to use the knowledge to make songs.

I wish I knew more about programing.

 

[King Richard]

You don't need to know anything about music theory to create songs.

 

[Einherjar86]

That is true, but sometimes it helps to understand how certain chord progressions/scales/riffs will blend with one another.

 

[mutantllama]

Yeah, that's what I mostly meant.

I usually accomplish something when I'm just messing around, then trying to use cords, scales etc.

 

[arg]

how to make intelligent conversation with real-life women without either 1) perving on them and thus grossing them out or 2) boring them to tears.