What is the importance of social learning in education?

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mikeng
Hi i decided to join this great forum cause i realize the social aspect to learning is the most important one, and its allot more fun too. When i was 20 i went to university studied technical physics, first year i managed ok, but then it was a disaster, i then tried to move into mathematics, again major failure. I am 26 now and working as a system developer. I have no idea why i want to learn mathematics, computer science, physics and allot of other engineering and scientific disciplines. I just return to them year in and year out.
My biggest problem is that i can't learn anything if i don't have interest in it at the moment, so traditional learning style of spending years to learn foundations to use later does not suit me well, i tried so many times.

The problem is when i lose interest it can go months before i return to a subject, and then i start by doing same things again, like linear algebra or calc 1, even if i looked at the material millions of times. Its cause i tell myself i forgot during that time. I realize i will get nowhere doing this, so my new approach is to realize i know enough of the major basic knowledge to know if i am lacking later on, that i should just go study courses online that intresset me and if i need a refresher i can do it when i need it.
I think this approach suits me better cause nothing kills my interest like doing stuff i done so many times, enough of the basics.

I think what everything boils down to is that i want to understand this stochastic world enough to be able to invent and build stuff, want to prove things nobody has proven, just have fun with knowledge and apply it to make life better. I have no plans to work in academia but want the skills and knowledge. In the end i want to be able to build anything if i had the resources and money. I realize we live in the age of specialization, but that's not for me, i get bored far to quickly, but at the same time, i don't want shallow knowledge either. I realize there is not time to learn it all, but there is time to learn multiple major disciplines that is key for most things. Mathematics, Physics, Computer science, Electrical Engineering. And who knows maybe mechanical engineering, chemistry and allot of other things.

So as you can see my goal is real iffy, and not really well definierad, its true i really don't know what i want but i return to these subject so many times i can't let them go.
So back on focus i am here to have fun, learn allot, give knowledge back when i can, and really stop doing this alone and actually do something worth while, that can only happen if i engage socially with this. I will first learn the equivalent of undergraduate using moocs, books, opencourseware etc. Then i will learn equavalent of graduate this part needs the social element much more, and by that time i think befriending a few professors could not hurt. But for now i will focus on the basics. Right now i have knowledge that covers first 2 years in technical physics, or just 1 year pure math. I have a long way to go, but will be so fun.
Le me end with one of my recent passions is virtual reality, so that might be one area i am intressted in specializing in the future, maybe.
Anyway thanks for reading my mind today and hello all :)
 
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Welcome to PF Mike!
 
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