Teaching yourself, is it really possible?

russ_watters

I haven't followed the thread either, but just one little point:

The phrase "teaching yourself" really annoys me because it is an oxymoron. "Teaching" is when one person shows another person how to do something, so no it is not possible to "teach yourself".

"Self-learning" would be better because learning is something you do yourself, but that kinda makes it redundant.

Am I just being pedantic? No. My point is that if you want to learn via books or the internet, you are still learning from other people who created the content that you are trying to absorb. The question is: are you using that content effectively/as it was designed and can you lean successfully by using it in ways that may be different from how it was designed?

-Job-

There's a distinction to be made between memorizing facts and learning.

I've found that tackling a subject independently is challenging precisely because of the additional effort required in extracting key points and making the necessary connections, without the benefit of an instructor who can present the material for effective consumption - it's difficult and exhausting and IMHO does require extra critical thinking.

Whether self-taught students are more inclined to pursue fact memorization rather than actual learning, is a different question.

-Job-

I think you are being pedantic. In a sense, self-learning requires a student to take on part of the role of the instructor by:

1. Selecting the material to focus on.
2. Determining the order in which to process the material.
3. Extracting meaningful abstractions.
4. Formulating practice exercises.

To teach oneself.

ImaLooser

I think anyone smart enough to teach themselves physics would also be smart enough to get a scholarship to a good university.

Jimmy Snyder

Did anyone here watch the movie "A Beautiful Mind"? Here's a snippet from a review.
Hub Pages

gravenewworld

You can't learn many lab techniques in a textbook. Real science is done in a lab, not through homework problems or a written exam. It takes thousands of hours in lab to gain finesse and learn tricks you would never have figured out yourself if someone else didn't show you.

uperkurk

The reason why I ask is because I am not in a financial postion or educated enough at the moment to attend university. The sad fact is I most likely won't be able to attend university for a good amount of years. So self learning at home, getting a solid understanding so once I find myself in a position to attend university I should be in the best possible position.