How Do You Manage Learning Overload?

  • Thread starter Thread starter z.js
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Time
Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
13 replies · 4K views
z.js
Messages
57
Reaction score
0
So much to learn, so little time! Don't you just feel the same? I mean, just LOOK at all the stuff on this forum!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
one thing at a time
 
Yeah, there's so much I want to do. I have gigabytes worth of ebooks that I'd like to read, but just don't have the time. If I read all the history books I have, I could probably become a history professor. I'd like to learn some new languages, but that's really time consuming also.
Actually, I have plenty of time to do these things, just not enough motivation.
 
I get the same feeling any time I walk through a library. Stacks upon stacks of knowledge and all I'm ever going to have time to read in my life time is a maybe one measly rack.
 
lambda90 said:
I get the same feeling any time I walk through a library. Stacks upon stacks of knowledge and all I'm ever going to have time to read in my life time is a maybe one measly rack.

And how much of that rack will you retain in your head? Not much.
 
There are so many things to study out there that I don't even know where to start.
The problem with the sea of information on the internet is that it is hard to relax and choose one thing to read. You want to read everyting at the same time and you end up reading nothing

cb
 
I just stare at stuff until it makes sense :smile:
 
Yanick said:
I just stare at stuff until it makes sense :smile:

Trust me, that doesn't work. You aren't actually learning or understand things that way. You just think you know because that is psychologically satisfying for your brain. I say that from experience.I used to leave youtube videos about science playing in the background while I did other stuff, so I would learn not in a conscious way.

cb
 
Cosmobrain said:
Trust me, that doesn't work. You aren't actually learning or understand things that way. You just think you know because that is psychologically satisfying for your brain. I say that from experience.I used to leave youtube videos about science playing in the background while I did other stuff, so I would learn not in a conscious way.

cb

I don't know, I'd imagine it depends on what you want to learn. I've used it to figure out topics varying from congestive heart failure symptoms to cyclohexane chair flips to deriving the general solution for second order homogenous differential equations with complex roots.

Each of those particular details of a topic I can teach cold.
 
Yanick said:
I don't know, I'd imagine it depends on what you want to learn. I've used it to figure out topics varying from congestive heart failure symptoms to cyclohexane chair flips to deriving the general solution for second order homogenous differential equations with complex roots.

Each of those particular details of a topic I can teach cold.

I still say it is better to study these topics better, rather than just staring at the text. However, gazing at the texts is better than nothing

cb
 
Cosmobrain said:
I still say it is better to study these topics better

Well, I certainly can't argue with that logic! :smile:
 
Greg Bernhardt said:
lendav_rott is right. Don't look too far ahead. Focus on learning what is in front of you. After awhile you'll be surprised how much you've built up.

Well, I remember when I was cramming away at Grade 1 stuff, now I'm on Grade 11!
Wow, Thanks for the new perspective!
D'ye hear that lambda90? Just borrow 2 books a week and in 1 year, you'll have been through 730 books... think of that!:biggrin:
 
Yanick said:
I don't know, I'd imagine it depends on what you want to learn. I've used it to figure out topics varying from congestive heart failure symptoms to cyclohexane chair flips to deriving the general solution for second order homogenous differential equations with complex roots.

Each of those particular details of a topic I can teach cold.

OOH that's frustrating!
I just did a first aid course by Red Cross a few days ago.
Oh wow, that really must crack your head!