Learning is fun!
Hello you guilty pleasure.
EXCITING TIMES IN PLATYPUS LAND! On Wednesday, I started an in-person workshop program at the Centre for Social Enterprise Development to learn about how to build a social enterprise. I got Global HERizons into their Pre-Accelerator program, and am thrilled to be playing around with the new (to me) concepts and theories around building a mission-driven business. It is not yet clear to me what I am going to do with this new body of knowledge, but I am thrilled at the potential.
As I was sitting in this first workshop in the series, I also found myself reflecting on how long it had been since I sat in a classroom as a student-- between grade school and depending on one's post-secondary education path, we can spend 20 years or more of our lives in a classroom. I had forgotten how familiar and exciting it feels to be a classroom student--- the collective energy, the confusion of grasping a new concept, the rush as things start to click into the place, the thrill of thinking about how you can turn ideas into reality #geek4life
In short, this week I was reminded of the joy of learning something new-- and how to practice life-long learning in general-- and so I am thinking about the ways I can cultivate learning in my life and how to hold on to this fresh feeling of building understanding and creating potential.
As someone who dabbles in a wide variety of life's smorgasboard, I feel like I am in a low-level but constant state of learning (and also failing, which is a big part of learning too). However, sitting in a classroom and being taught by someone is not something I have done in decades. Most of the learning I do nowadays is a solo endeavour, achieved mainly through reading, researching and/or personal experimentation. Because of this, I don't really have a formal technique for learning new things-- however, I do tend to approach learning something new with a spirit of fun.
Fun? Really?! That's right, people-- I have grown into a full-blown adult! Learning is fun! My teenage self would be deeply unimpressed.
Learning something completely new is also a great way to shake things up when you are bored with your routine or you want to create a fresh start. Frankly, I am LOVING the fresh, sparkling coolness and spring-like vibes of launching into a brand new field of study-- it feels like such a delightful way to dance into April after the frozen slog of winter.
So, who wants to join in on the learning fun this spring? While I have been inspired this week with this social enterprise course, I understand that most people don't have the time to take on a new commitment like this. That said, one can always have fun dabbling in the esoteric, going down rabbit holes and generally being curious about the world. Reading articles and books and listening to podcasts are some of the ways I seek out the new. But in my day-to-day quest for enlightenment, I will also scratch my life-long-learner itch on YouTube (surprise surprise). You can learn virtually ANYTHING (good and bad) on that platform, so I thought I would share some of my go-to learning channels, if interested.
There are so many rabbit holes to go down--- here are some of my faves to get you warmed up:
For an all around great place to get an accessible and interesting overview on a wide array of different topics-- from theatre to the history of science to economics to ecology-- Crash Course is a great resource to start getting a handle on your latest curiosity
For more person-related learning, School of Life has a really broad collection of videos on how to be a fully-realized human being, tackling some of the challenges and hurdles we all face-- from vulnerability to how to be angry to how to be a good friend to why some people annoy us. Frankly I don't love everything they do, but there are some gems in here that I have found really insightful
SciShow Space is one of my absolute favourite places to get updates on all of the weird and wacky research and discoveries we are making about the universe-- hooray!
And speaking of the universe, I also really like Minute Physics for some of the theoretical underpinnings of physics-- ASAP Science is also great for short, pithy but super interesting answers to a myriad of science-related questions
Veritasium is another science/ physics channel that I follow and always watch their new uploads--- really interesting, and explained with such joy and accessibility
This will appeal to a VERY small number of people, but I have learned a ton from Earspasm's videos about playing and maintaining my bass clarinet (plus he is an amazing player-- check out his music vids!)
As you might have expected, I watch several cooking channels, but the one that I have used the most for inspiration is Food Wishes--- Chef John is a character, but his recipes are always spot on!
The other I would highly recommend checking out is Maangchi --- she is the queen of korean cooking on YouTube. I love learning about Korean cuisine generally, and enjoy her quirky approach to cooking and video making
For quilting, I have learned a lot from the time-saving techniques (and eye candy) of the Midnight Quilt Show
Speaking of sewing, I am not big into making clothes, but have been really impressed and learned a lot about design from Angela Clayton, who focuses specifically on costumes and period pieces. Really interesting to watch her technique
I have yet to take a class in woodworking/woodturning, but am planning too-- and Peter Brown's channel has been a lot of fun in terms of watching someone experiment in the shop
Finally, I am not a big film buff generally, but I really like Nerdwriter's longform video essays on different cinematic techniques-- I feel like I have learned a ton about the subtleties and craft of film making, and it has increased my enjoyment of watching movies
But perhaps this is all a bit too much information for one dispatch... in this case, please check out this video of a parrot playing peekaboo with a cat
From one eternally curious person to another, I am glad that we can marinate in the joy of learning from each other and from the world. I hope you enjoyed this dispatch, and have a brain-filling week!
Until next Sunday,
The Earnest Platypus