i want to know everything

[asofel]

Not in a "I know more about X than anyone else" way, but more than just casual knowledge.

Random things I'd love to be knowledgeable about:

wine
scotch
coffee
web services
omaha
7-stud
cooking (italian,thai,french,vietnamese,and more)
low level networking protocols
archeology
philosophy
the math behind a black hole
what Joyce was thinking when he wrote Finnegans Wake

I could go on, but this is a decent starting list.

Knowing some of these things would improve my life, most in a small way. A decent knowledge of wine and other alcohol is something fun and enjoyable in various ways, but its not something I really want to know in a "better myself" sort of way.

Philosophy on the other hand is something that I can get really into for a bit, and then get really bored (depending on the topic, the person I'm talking/debating with, etc). Its more of an intellectual pleasure, and gives my brain some exercise.

The complex math inherent in quantum physics is something I'll never be familiar with, and yet I want to know it just because....well, it seems interesting, the fact that its incredibly challenging draws me to it...but, this is something that I'll likely never know firsthand.

So, in a variety of ways, spanning a lot of topics, I just want to know things...I feel like I had that "thirst" for knowledge most when I was younger, perhaps around high school and even pre high school times. Through college though that desire was mostly overtaken by having fun, trying to maintain some decent grades, and trying to make some money. Now that I'm beyond those needs I can feel some of the old curiosities rising.

Recently I purchased a wok. Why? Well, I thought it would be fun, interesting, and maybe I could make some great food. (turns out its not too hard and the stir-fry was quite good). I can feel myself searching out other things, reading more, like I used to, and just trying to educate myself more in general.

I'm curious if others have had similar thoughts and feelings, and when you had them. I think part of this is that I'm naturally a curious person, and I really want a large knowledge base across lots of different topics...and who knows, part of it might be a QLC issue!

Anyway, I'm I'd like to see what others have to say. Anyone NOT curious about much? Is that good/bad/etc?

[lapoker17]

i just read a lot. seems to work.

[guids]

Read, thats about all you can do for most stuff. what I did is make an excel spreadsheet, label each sheet a different day, and try to schedule times every day to study whatever you are interested about. Mondays = tcp/ip illustrated, Tuesdays = scotch book etc. I also d/l podcasts or streaming radio links and listen to them while driving. Also, if you spend a little bit of time figuring out which resources are the best resources, you will waste a lot less time. Im an artist of using my downtime to read, anytime Im on the computer, im reading something, or listening to something that Im interested in, I have an axim w/ e-books that I read when Im waiting in line, or whatever.


My question is this:

I can read and read, but I feel that on more practical subjects (specifically programming, computer protocols etc), I can explain the theory all day long, but when asked to say, write a buffer overflow, I have a lot of trouble. What is the best way to get better at the practical side of what you are studying?

[MagicNinja]

The key is just to have lots of knowledgable friends and hang out often smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee.

[keikiwai]

reading is good like lap said

and for history (also wine and such), and some science (generally not involving math).... light science, i guess.... audio books are great, esp. if you have a long commute, or times at work when you're doing brainless stuff and can listen to audio while you work

[MagicNinja]

Guids,
You just have to do lots of exercises that are repetative and boring until you rote learn that thing; I suck at doing this. EG for physics or math in school you just have to do lots and lots and lots of problems even if you grasp the core mechanics of the subject pretty easily. I had this problem all through school...

[keikiwai]

[ QUOTE ]
What is the best way to get better at the practical side of what you are studying?

[/ QUOTE ]

Application - so practice makes perfect. So not reading, but actually doing the programming or whatever. Also, if you can't do that, talking about with others, where they are asking you question and you are asking them questions helps.... basically practice and problem solving in a group will get stuff to stick like glue.

Also if you review what you read 1 week after, it'll help you digest better. Buzan has a good book on memory that talks about how to best get info you read to stay.

[kidcolin]

asofel,

Out of curiosity, how old are you?

[suzzer99]

[ QUOTE ]
My question is this:

I can read and read, but I feel that on more practical subjects (specifically programming, computer protocols etc), I can explain the theory all day long, but when asked to say, write a buffer overflow, I have a lot of trouble. What is the best way to get better at the practical side of what you are studying?

[/ QUOTE ]

Get a job or real project doing it.

[suzzer99]

Best thing about having 247 channels - almost endless documentaries. I am fascinated by anything I've heard of, but don't know about. Every few months I scan through literally every show (A-Z) with the Tivo search function, looking for interesting new stuff. It takes 2-3 hours and for the first couple weeks I can barely keep up with the documentaries, but I've found a lot of great stuff that way.

IE - Lately I've been getting into this really in-depth series of documentaries on early American history called Shaping America. They're pretty dry and I think intended for classrooms. But to me it's absolutely fascinating hearing the detailed stories and analysis behind all that crap that we learned in grade school, and hardly ever studied again.

As far as pratical stuff like wine, fishtank, plants, etc. I try to get a good book and just learn by trial and error (at the expense of my poor plants and fish). Maybe take a class for something more complicated like Photography. But it remains to be seen if I'll actually have the gumption to do that.