self-study

Workshop for improving your self-study skills.

• starting
  • motivation: Find your own motivations for learning something. Ideally, these motivations are aligned (to some degree) with your (perceived, felt, expressed) life purpose.
  • time: Set aside some time for learning and reflection. Be patient and relaxed throughout the learning process.
  • learning style: find your optimal learning styles: Visual, Auditory, Read-write, Kinesthetic (physical and emotional experiences). (VARK)

• research
  • breadth-then-depth: First research a topic broadly to get a clearer mental map, after that go deeper into specific areas of the topic.
  • notes: Make short notes of important facts and insights. This helps you build a mental map of complex structures.
  • reflection: Take time to absorb and reflect on the information.
  • association: Find interesting associations with your own expertise in other topics.
  • question: Ask critical, rhetorical questions (that come up while researching a topic) and try to find find good answers to those questions. If no good answers are found, make a note of that.
  • restructure: Correct any mental structures that are insufficient or flawed.

• produce: Be creative in your own way with the new insights.
  • discuss: Talk to other people about your understanding and insights regarding the topic. Be open for other viewpoints.
  • explain: Can you explain the nuances of the topic quickly and fluently to someone else now?
  • teach: If you know a lot about a certain topic, can you teach it clearly to someone? What is the most interesting part of the topic for others?
  • apply: Apply what you know in new creative ways.

• Japanese aesthetics
• human body language
• charismatic people
• emotional intelligence
• world population growth
• tree biology / cell biology
• video series: “the human brain” (neuroscience intro)
• human settlement structures and cultural ambiances around the world.
• study this article: “The Fever Effect”
• … choose your own topic!

• Tools:
  • Wikischool Explore app (more info) (work in progress)
  • browser adblocker
  • …

• mental model:
  • “How Mental Models Unlock Your Thinking”
  • Bloom's taxonomy
  • “top 12 mental models”
• video: “Be an Active Learner”
• video: “Unconscious programming”
• emotional learning (1)
• “Learning how to Learn” (Coursera course notes, see also: 1)
  • “Repeating something you already learnt or know very well is easy. It can bring the illusion of competence; that you’ve mastered the full material when you actually just know the easy stuff. Balance your studies and focus on the more difficult (deliberate practice). This sets the difference between a good student and a great student.”
• “Why you aren’t as productive as you want to be”
• 8 learning styles

• intro to the concept of “natural learning”
  • “In vain we build the city if we do not also build the man.” - Edward Markham

• “Mind is all there is. It has no limitations as to shape, size or volume, for these qualities are but appearances and have no real existence. Mind is limited, however, in its power, its knowledge and its imagination, the last of which is its creative force. ” - Walter Russell

• “We take the traditional organization of colleges so much for granted that we must step back and view them with Martian eyes, innocent of their history, to appreciate fully how outrageous their operation is (…)” - 1, 2

• Why you aren’t as productive as you want to be?
  • desire
  • purpose
  • knowledge
  • creative focus
    • “Instead of scheduling meetings and then finding time to work, flip the script. Schedule formal, dedicated time to focus on your highest priority items in your calendar, and then find times to have meetings around your work.” - 1, 2
  • creative relaxation

• the self-study process

• TODO: 1