This is very similar approach to what I like to follow to gain knowledge about a field that I'm not familiar with. If you think about how vast amount of people in any specialist field have gained their knowledge, it is through university education. So the university curriculum gives you a best way to get the fundamental knowledge about the field of your interest. I would say that once you read some intro course books for the field of interest then you can get very good idea about the field and then use google & youtube as a resource to read up on some of the advance course topics by looking at the curriculum. Using internet for advance course topics will not get you in depth knowledge, but it will expand your horizon and you'll be able to put the knowledge in context of the field at the high level. A lot of the elite colleges has put up some of their intro courses online so this is a great way to gain knowledge. Here are some resources on internet: http://www.ted.com/ http://www.khanacademy.org/ --a lot of math stuff, but some finance & science stuff as well. http://videolectures.net/ http://www.youtube.com/user/StanfordUniversity http://www.youtube.com/user/MIT http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm http://www.jimmyr.com/blog/1_Top_10_Universities_With_Free_Courses_Online.php
I have found if someone is talking about something I do not understand or have no knowledge about, the way to seem sophisticated and smart is to say: "Ahhh yes, fasinating ... indeed it reminds me of that summer I spent in Borneo." In all seriousness, the key in my opinion is to be interesting, and typically people that are interesting are well rounded people that have done and experienced a wide variety of things... that does not mean just reading encyclopedia's or history books.... it can be sci-fi, even pop novels.... but have a variety and push yourself to try new things. Also, the more things you try (it is okay to hate them after you give it a try), the more confident you will become and the more you will really know yourself.
It depends on what you are trying to do or know about. Your definition of sophisticated might be different than mine.. For current events and unusual links www.fark.com www.popurls.com www.nytimes.com Are you trying to get laid or be student of all?
take some online classes (gov,history,humanit). I wouldnt do fanatasy novels, those people fall off the real street world. I was doing an intern at a hospital and right away wanted to try out nuke med, ultrasound... **** other than my path and I felt I rubbed them the wrong way for being too hungry. The next day the tech told me he too was looking for other modalities $$
Oh yea.. For some reason that channel got blocked for me... oh well... I only watch the food network and sometimes discovery or travel
There is knowledge in everything. Everything you experience is knowledge. If you're saying "what should I learn?", then you're already limiting yourself. I try to gain knowledge in everything I do. Something I watch on "Deadliest Catch" makes me want to learn something about ships or ship building, I want to buy a car, so I research the hell out of cars in general, I see a show like "Pawn Stars" and it immediately makes me research small antique shops and I discover the antique/picking "industry". If a CNBC show talks about the evolution of the fast food industry, I want to know more about it. When I heard about Central Texas BBQ, I wanted to visit various BBQ spots in Texas, Arkansas, Memphis, and Oklahoma on road trips. When I saw Morey doing his stats-based player evaluations, I researched what others were doing in the industry or online. Shows about Egyptology and ancient mega-builders always intrigue me, so I buy books and read websites about the topic as soon as I see something on tv about them. Hell, I'm sitting here watching Star Trek : First Contact on SyFy and I'm starting to wonder about interstellar travel, something I was interested in when I was in jr. high. Back then, I remember reading about interstellar ramjets and "solar sails" being possibilities. What about now? I guess what I'm saying is, I don't look for something to learn - it comes to me, and I try to learn more about it. You just have to have initiative and.... time. The biggest issue for many will be time.
I could never worry about this sort of stuff. Being well-rounded? Pursuing knowledge? Give me a break. I try to come up with my own approach to life. I'd rather be an individual than a composite of accepted theory. When I read something I challenge it rather than it challenging me, and if I agree then I suppose I've changed. Asking for a path to knowledge is so disgustingly group think that it makes me cringe. Do disrespect to the OP. This is how I see things.
If you want to truly free yourself, you must clear your mind and soul of the demons that plague you. I suggest a book called Dianetics which has helped over 85 million people reach their maximum potential. It is a great book based on proven scientific theory and many famous, powerful people have embraced this pursuit of scientific freedom. You can find a copy of this life changing book on Amazon.com and many other popular bookstores. First you must free your mind, then only will you be able to free your body and soul.
Then you can embrace Xenu as your Lord and Savior and get in on that sweet tax scheme with Tommy and Johnny and Beck.
That's why you are Mr. Brightside. Cause you are shining the truth down. I call L. Ron my God. Big G!
This. I can't recommend this enough. All the other advice in this thread, while well-intentioned, is most certainly rendered moot by this suggestion. Oh, and I was obviously joking about country music thing ealier...
It's their bible. If you read it from the right prospective it may be interesting. They are the one of the biggest cults in the world for a reason. I've read a lot about L Ron and the Org and it was pretty interesting stuff. The guy was a POS, but lead a pretty eventful(and disgusting, if you believe his son) life.
