How To Learn Anything in 4 Simple Steps
I have been desperately trying to master a myriad of different things, such as writing, programming, sports, or even playing a computer game like Starcraft II, and while doing this, I realized that learning anything can be broken down into four simple steps. Follow these steps, and be amazed at your progress!
The Learning Process:
Step 1) Attempt something new in a given field
Step 2) Identify problems
Step 3) Work on each problem, one at a time, until they are fixed
Step 4) Rinse and Repeat
Is this a joke?
No! Never! Now this may seem a bit obvious to most people, but I think that it is in fact too obvious! People become so obsessed with perfecting a plan, that they stop trying to perfect the skill that the plan was made for.
Don't take this the wrong way, and think to yourself that the best technique to learning anything is to mindlessly do it over an over, because then you'll just get stuck in a rut at some point and stop improving, even though you are still putting in a ton of effort.
Don't get stuck in a rut.
- This may be how you feel!
You've simplified it too much!
Have I? Really? Well, then let me give you an example or two.
Example 1: You are trying to teach yourself how to program a game, and you keep running into a wall. You are so frustrated, you aren't getting any results, and you are stuck in the metaphorical rut. No problem! Just follow the four simple steps.
Step 1) You try to implement some form of collision detection in your game. Pretty basic in theory, but oh no! It's way harder then you imagined. You repeatedly bash your head into the wall, then you have an idea.
Step 2) You either have your own idea or find one online. You implement it, but it's buggy, so very buggy. You sigh, you cry, you think "I'll fix it tomorrow", and then never touch it again.
DON'T DO THAT! Learning something new is hard work, but it pays off eventually. Don't worry if it doesn't work right away.
Step 3) You analyze the bugs, test, test, test, and finally it works! If it doesn't, try a different solution. Don't be afraid to go back to the drawing board.
Step 4) Your collision detection finally works! Now all you have to do is handle the collisions...
Not a programmer? Not to worry! Read on, for example 2.
Example 2: You want to learn a new language! Completely different from all that technical programming stuff. Not really!
Step 1) You hop on the PC and go to a website where you can chat with native speakers. You greet them successfully, and full of elation, you await their reply.
Step 2) It arrives, and you are filled with a cold dread. What did they say?? you think to yourself as you begin to have a nervous breakdown. Once again, you just want to sleep.
DON'T!
Step 3) All you have to do, is open up a translator and translate every word until you know what they are saying, simple!
Step 4) Suddenly, you realize your grammar is terrible, so you look up a few rules that you will try to implement in a future conversation.
I never said it would be easy, I never even said it would be fun, at least in the beginning, but eventually (yes! eventually), if you work hard enough, and don't stop rinsing and repeating in a meaningful way, it will become fun, because of all the crazy stuff you will be able to accomplish!
The most important thing, that everyone forgets, or is too depressed or lazy to do, is to NEVER STOP TRYING! Even if you feel like a total idiot, you will get over it.
Trust me, it's worth it.
P.S. Check out http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2588 for some nifty free pics. XSXGHG3D2HYD
Alone in a Cell
Here I sit, all alone in my cell.
Amongst chattering vermin must I dwell.
The darkness sucks the warmth from my bones,
As I lay in my filth, alone, on the stones.
The turnkey comes to bring me "food",
The likes of which only worsens my mood.
His torch's light sears my darting eyes,
As I prepare in my mind a nasty surprise.
These men who have taken everything from me,
From home, to work, to family,
Deserve only the worst for what they've done,
To me, bringer of truth and harmer of none.
A producer I am and always shall be,
Despite the nonsense they always decree.
For I rule my soul, my mind, my me,
Not you, the mass that fails to see.
And so I sit, and wait, and sharpen my blade.
With my life, my time, my heart have I paid.
And so shall you, you scum of the earth,
You mindless vessels that have no worth.
Remember this when you preach sacrifice,
For in no person can be found a greater vice.
Every human you strike down, each one you oppose,
Will never surrender to his irrational foes.
No, rather, he will bide his time, alone in a cell,
Until one day he will all of you fell.
Not with the gun, nor the whip, nor the sword,
But with an idea, with the truth, will he end your horde.
My Life No Longer Up to You
Vividly I now see things,
As if my mind has just grown wings.
The world ahead an exciting view,
My life no longer up to you.
Dependency has run it's course,
And I have yet to feel remorse.
Things to be the way I choose,
My life no longer up to you.
But fear not for me friend,
As now your equal I you append,
For I am not yet with living through,
My life no longer up to you.
With haste I rush towards my fate,
But my head is clear, a clean slate.
There are so many things that one can do!
My life no longer up to you.
With this one message I leave you now,
Heart and Soul bound to no vow.
The morning is fresh with sparkling dew,
My life no longer up to you.
Man! Oh how I envy thee
A poem inspired by David Kaspar Friedrich's "Dorflandschaft Bei Morgenbeleuchtung"
Inspiration for the poem
How boring it is to be a tree,
With a sea of green surrounding me,
The sky above a foggy blue,
The mountains in the distance too.
The sheep and man annoy me,
But at least I won't be lonely,
As I always am in this empty space,
Oh how I wish to be of the human race.
They really do have everything,
A mind to think, a voice to sing,
Legs to move and eyes to see,
Man! Oh how I envy thee.
World/Society Building
There are many great articles online that talk about World Building for fantasy/sci-fi books and stories, but I wanted to share my approach with everyone.
Where to start:
There are many different approaches one can take to "world-building". They include:
Character Based: Basically what this approach is, is where you think up a character and build the world around him/her.
Example: Say you have a character named George. You want him to be a bald farmer with a tattoo of a snake on his arm.
Things to ask yourself: Using our example: Why is he bald? Does he have a shaved head or is it from old age? If it's from old age, you could start thinking about the life-expectancy of people in his society. From that you can ask yourself: How advanced is their medicine? How did they get advanced medicine if they have it? Do they use technology to make it, or some specific "magic"? You can keep going with that chain of questions until you have a lot of details ready to use in your story.
If you can't think about anything else to ask in that chain, then focus on another attribute of your character. How common is farming in his society? Is it a centralized society, with big cities, or more decentralized with smaller towns spread out? If there are cities, is there a lot of poverty, or does everyone have roughly the same income? Then you could start thinking about rights. Again, keep this chain going as long as you can. It is handy to have a lot of details thought-out before you start writing to make it flow better. The better it flows, the more time you save, the more fun it is, and the better your writing usually is.
Geographically Based: You guessed it! This is where you start with an idea of the landscape or climate and build the society/characters from there.
Example: A northern, wintery climate.
Things to ask yourself: What lives there (flora and fauna)? Where to the people live? In caves? In wooden cabins? How do they stay warm? How does the flora/fauna affect their diet? What clothes do they wear? What kinds of resources are available to them for tools and other things? How long are their days? What about hygiene? Do they bathe? If so, where, and is it warm enough? What can your character's jobs be? Do they even work?
Ask yourself as many of these questions as you can think of. The more, the better. Some people even prefer to start a story by drawing some squiggly lines and turning them into a map. I've tried it before and it helps to use ink for fountain pens, let them dry and then trace the outsides, it makes it look very natural.
Just be creative!
Organization Based: I also like to call this one sociologically based, because you focus on social structures, hierarchies, and different overall groups. These may include religions, governments, or even businesses(depending on your setting). This one tends to be more difficult (for me).
Example: The Empire of [insert name here].
Things to ask yourself: What kind of government does it have? Are the citizens happy? What kind of technology do they have? What is everyday life like(big question)? Where is it located? Does it have any neighboring countries? Are they at war, or peaceful?
Once you start filling in the blanks about what your nation is like, it's easy to come up with things about your world. Overall, it helps you get a way better picture, even if you don't explicitly tell everything to the readers.
What it boils down to:
- Think of something, anything about your world.
- Describe something about it.
- Follow your train of thought while writing everything you can down. (Tip: It helps a lot if you base some part of your societies on a human one somewhere along history. This would require a little bit of learning about them of course, which may not be for everyone.)
- Keep thinking about things you might have missed, and write those down too.
- You have a living, breathing world!