No excuses

logos from various MOOCs

Many of you, especially in “developing” countries, are frustrated and upset at the difficulties you’re facing trying to get a formal education

The good news is that today, there are NO excuses for not getting an education…none!

Most of the knowledge you need is already available to you, either for free or at very low cost

You have instant access to orders-of-magnitude more knowledge than was ever available in the Great Library of Alexandria and the Beit Al-Hikma combined

So grab as much of it as you can

Get creative – think of how you like to learn, then do it!

Make up your own degree

Seriously, build a “portfolio” of various topics and disciplines, and your level of proficiency in each

Keep meticulous records, just like an official transcript

Be sure to include everything, not just the equivalent of traditional college semesters full of boring lectures and homework assignments

Show this to your employer or prospective employer – you’ll quickly learn if they are somebody for whom you would want to work or continue to work

Besides, blockchain-based education is coming, which is going to make many ultra-expensive college degree programs obsolete,

so you might as well get ahead of the game…

What knowledge explorers really want

(Updated 7/1/2019)

“As a knowledge explorer, I want to accomplish the following, quickly and easily, and have fun while doing it:

1. Access information from different sources and be able to go as deeply or as broadly as I want, for as long as I want, staying up-to-date as conditions change

2. Discover the deep, underlying laws and principles governing what’s happening on the surface

3. Organize and express what I know and what I don’t know

4. Share what I’ve learned

5. Experience the joy of seeking, discovering, and learning more

6. Belong to a group of like-minded individuals who share a passion to investigate, learn and improve

7. Belong to groups of individuals who vehemently disagree about certain topics

8. Make informed decisions, take action, and observe the results in order to keep improving.”

What would you add to this list?  Or change?