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What are you learning about these days?

Jamshyd

Jamshyd

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Aug 26, 2003
Messages
15,492
Which subjects are you actively trying to expand your knowledge about? Be that for school or for any other reason, even for pleasure. I'm interested in hearing what people are learning about.

I'll post mine later in fears of appearing too geeky ;).
 
Psycholinguistics...language and the brain...trying to get a Linguistics degree at the moment
 
I've been on a psychology and philosophy kick for a good long while now.

...currently reading:

Will To Meaning by Victor E. Frankl


...rereading:

Narcissism and Character Transformation by Nathan Schwartz-Salant

I'll probably also get back to The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain.




I usually become dedicated to a subject after trying to understand something from a fresh perspective.

I prefer non-fiction at the moment. A lot of fiction just doesn't hold my interest long enough to get through even a hundred pages.

:)
 
^ I always prefer nonfiction :)

Currently I seem to be obsessively into the following (in order of most intense first):
- Gemmology
- Travel literature and practicalities - contemporary and historical
- Perfumery
- Oriental rugs/silk/textiles
- Languages (French, Thai, Japanese, Latin, Hebrew, Pali - at differing paces in that order)
- History and Politics (with focus on SE Asia, of course)

So much to learn, so little time :)
 
Psychoanalysis, Fromm atm. Also psychology more generally. Schizophrenia, nmda receptor antagonists (k, pcp, mk801) as models. Also a little on Ket as anti-depressant.
Baking, cookie recipes. I am making a cookie spreadsheet so i can analyse flour:fat:sugar:egg ratios in recipes in order to clone my favourite, ben's cookies.
Neuroscience. Attending some journal clubs on it. Trying to brush up on things i don't understand in the talks in between.
Bike maintenance. I am a fairly competent home mtb fettler, but attending a bike collective is really exposing me to many more bike types.
Philosophy and maths. Mainly by listening to in our time pod casts.
I feel like i ought to learn a language, but not currently pursuing.

All gonna change when i start my job!
 
American Law, more law and more law.

It's my whole life nowadays.
 
cool thread idea jam. :D

conciousness. ive been interested in it before (and have taken a class about it) but havent read up in a few years, and now im starting to get back into learning more.

im also thinking about getting more information about behavioral analysis, as i dont know much about it, aside from watching criminal minds. :)

i am always learning about current events and politics, as well as history.

so much to learn, so little time...very very true.
 
Health, always health. I have celiac disease so I'm constantly educating myself about that. My life depends on it!

Travel! Trying to understand Visa's in south east asia has been a frustrating challenge for sure. But it's a learning process.

Writing. Writing my book has been one of the best learning experiences of my life so far, and it's far from over.
 
Poetics, metaphors and poetic forms. Re-reading Julian Jaynes's book because it deals a lot with human consciousness and the nature of metaphors. Also finally getting around to reading what Borges had to say about poetry. Now that I have more time to write I find myself examining all of this with the intention that it'll help me approach the craft from a fresher perspective.

Also trying to instill in myself a firm grasp of the Thoth Tarot so I can get more comfortable with doing readings and, by proximity, deepen my understanding of Thelema and the Hermetic Qabalah.

Lately I've been thinking that I'd like to review chemistry fundamentals and then move on to orgo and psychopharm. I just want to become more familiar with structures and receptor activity, so maybe I don't need access to a lab or anything at this point. I do have access to textbooks on all of this, so that's a start. :)
 
The technical side of art. Just drawing at this point, but I may try my hand at painting in a few months. Also, I've been learning to play the flute (and I'm getting pretty decent at it too :) ), and I'm brushing up on compression algorithms, the birthday paradox, and recursive programming in preparation of some freelance work with a software startup.
 
--World War II (always, always, always...current interest is the Yugoslav Partisans. Ivan's War is shortlisted next.).

--World War I (reading Guns of August, Nicholas and Alexandra, and just finished All Quiet on the Western Front)

--Economics and economic theory; I'll admit that this current crisis has greatly stimulated my interest in a formerly boring area. McElvaine's The Great Depression and Heilbroner's classic The Worldly Philosphers are also high on my to-do list.
 
Also, I've been learning to play the flute (and I'm getting pretty decent at it too )
Click to expand...

Awesome! I grew up playing the flute and took lessons all throughout my teen years! It's such a beautiful instrument. :) I miss it, I should try and get back into it one day but I'm just too busy with other stuff I want to learn. Oh to have infinite time...
 
STILL trying to teach myself how to knit. I'll get there...
 
i have been very interested in creatures that were once thought extinct, but have been found recently like this lil' guy.......

_wp-content_uploads_2007_08_tarsier.jpg


the tarsiers primate
 
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(i swear i replied to this thread already)

Breastfeeding! Its actually more complicated than I thought it would be! Not quite as complicated as law or psychoanalysis lol but it seems I could have encountered a lot of problems had I not picked up a book to study it

I'm also learning from my peers and family members about their birthing experiences. And of course watching every "baby" show on tv ("bringing home baby," "a baby story," etc) I feel like the more I educate myself the more I will be prepared.

Great thread Jam <3
 
LoveAlways said:
(i swear i replied to this thread already)

Breastfeeding! Its actually more complicated than I thought it would be! Not quite as complicated as law or psychoanalysis lol but it seems I could have encountered a lot of problems had I not picked up a book to study it

I'm also learning from my peers and family members about their birthing experiences. And of course watching every "baby" show on tv ("bringing home baby," "a baby story," etc) I feel like the more I educate myself the more I will be prepared.

Great thread Jam <3
Click to expand...

good luck girly....it is way harder than you would expect.....i always thought it would just come naturally, but it takes a lot of work for both mama and baby.....get informed and get a lactation consultant...that helped me for the few months i had until my milk dried up.....(that does not happen to most women btw)....
 
Currently reading about the laws of thermodynamics.

Was reading about Multiple Universe Interpretation before.

Before that I was reading about meta-references (meta-data, meta-joke and meta-fiction and the idea of the breaking down of the 'Fourth Wall').

And Alan Watts on the Nature of Consciousness before that.
 
for school i study mostly european topics (i have a special interest in tribal migration during the formation of early europe,) and political theory. outside of school i'm absorbed in engine-related thermodynamics and automobile-related aerodynamics.
 
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