Skin in the Game and lectures
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Professors rambling on — Self-education and interest — Karl Popper was right
Professors rambling on
I have a confession to make: I can’t absorb content when it doesn’t interest me. I really hate it, but that’s the way it is. Lectures are useless, when they don’t allign with your interests at the moment.
Let me explain the concept. Let’s call it interest learning (for lack of a better word). I’ve applied it to book reading and learning in general. It has improved my learning tremendously. I had problems reading books, my mind shifted too quickly. I wanted to ‘escape’ to other books and content. The bored mind is horrible in a way, because when you’re bored, you don’t really absorb content. Power through it, that’s what you might say. But it isn’t efficient and makes you hate reading books. The best way to read books is to see them as reference works. Read a little bit and see if it sparks interest. It has to compell you to read more. The feeling is wonderful. I’ve been reading books for 1.5 years in that way and I can say there isn’t a better way.
The concept has to be applied to learning as well. Try to learn the harder concepts and the ones that spark interest. Always go for the newest content, to make sure that you’re not relearning boring stuff you already know. Don’t worry, all knowledge is connected, so if you’re doing it right, you’ll start seeing connections. Connections that aren’t explicitly written. The forming of these bigger connections give a deeply satisfying feeling. Your brain is strong enough to classify information in an efficient way. I can elaborate greatly upon the topic of science of learning (experimentation with learning techniques) and how I’ve applied it on myself, but that’s for another post.
Lectures are overrated. Why? Professors keep rambling on without a self-correcting system. If the stuff doesn’t interest you at the moment of lectures, you’re doomed, because the forgetting starts quickly, if it wanted to stick anyway. Further on the self-correcting system…
Professor lecturing don’t really see when they give good lectures. I’ve had quite a share of people that just wanted to give lectures, without seeing the value in giving them. When you explain concepts to people in the best way possible, that’s hard thinking. If you become proficient at this act, then the concepts will stick better. Most of the professors were really disinterested in giving lectures. The problem with them is that they’re so passive. Yes, you can take notes, but what’s the value in that? You learn best from talking to people when you have a problem.
A problem unsolved on which you have thought sticks the longest when solved. The professors don’t give you ways to think, they just give you knowledge. Maybe some concepts, but don’t give you their mindset. Words are one of the lower forms of communication (see one of my previous blog posts). Professors don’t have skin in the game. They give you the same lectures as everywhere else in the world, give a test and that’s it. Can knowledge really be reduced to a small, tiny, insignificant test (on which most people start learning the night before, so they surely will forget the knowledge in 3 days, if not earlier).
General education, made like the bed of procrustes, is useless. It deprives you of interests, interest-seeking (which is a skill in itself), time… I was considered a bad student, but after a lot of habit-relearning and interest-seeking I recovered. Now, I wouldn’t say I’m one of the best, but still I find my way. Mostly because I find the world fascinating and interesting and I actively seek for it.
The only real factors in passing a class are: previous knowledge, interest in topic and skills in test taking. So if you’re in a standard curriculum, forgot most of previous knowledge (because you studied the night before), hate the topic, you’re pretty much doomed.
Another rant on the education system, or as I would call it a philosophical discourse. There’s so much wrong with it, I’ve only touched the surface in this extremely short essay.
What can be improved according to you? How to give professors skin in the game?
