Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with knowledge

Developing excellent academic general knowledge.

ekpyrotic — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:46:35 -0800

Developing excellent academic general knowledge. Hey guys. I have reasonable general knowledge, I use to compete nationally. If human knowledge were a map I would know all the counties/states and big cities. I know the top three guys in linguistics, the basic ideas behind all the major world religions, I've read the canon...

Has anyone reached the next level? Gotten both broad and deep knowledge. How was the transition?

References to books in pill form?

Devoidoid — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 11:34:42 -0800

Desperately seeking references to books in pill form. Or liquid form. Or as a tasty spread. My memory and Google-fu have both grown weak with age. O mighty MeFi, can you give me the titles of any works in any form, books, articles, tv shows, comedy sketches, cartoons, whatever, that contain mentions of or references to books in pill form, or even any sort of acquisition of knowledge through physical ingestion?

Help me update my PC / Windows literacy for the 21st Century

KMH — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:26:02 -0800

I used to feel pretty confident with computers / IT in general (80s child). Now I need a boost to get back up to speed, especially digging around in the OS / filesystem. Recommend me a good book / website / hands-on project? I want to improve my general PC knowledge, focussing on the real "under-the-hood" day-to-day stuff, like managing my Windows configuration, playing around with files, building my own website on my own domain etc.

The background is that back in the day (15 years ago!) I felt I knew more than average about computers; I had an Amiga back when they were more cutting edge and could play around with the set-up, etc. I could learn all I needed from Amiga Format and fellow geeky kids.

At university I did Physics, and we learned C++ and basically built a very, very simple memory unit and so forth, so I'm sure I have the "smarts" for this stuff. Plus I passed ECDL with no problems, I work with IT all the time, just not "under the hood".

It just seems the computer world has moved on a bit, and while I'm sure I could handle the ins and outs of Windows / DOS / etc etc, I feel I've missed the boat and there's way too much detail.

I own a fairly decent Inspiron laptop, but is it my imagination or is Windows just not self explanatory? Where is the manual? PC magazines don't seem to help much either.

Can anyone recommend a couple of books, websites, (cheap/free) online courses or whatever to get me back up to speed with this stuff???

Insights gained via one's career

Earl the Polliwog — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:27:36 -0800

What have you learned through your career, major, or specialization that you wish the general public knew? I'm mostly curious about short and sweet things - stuff like "As a dentist, I've learned that you really should floss", or "It's worth it to understand the Fundamental Theorems of Calculus, even if you don't like math".

It's what's inside that counts.

elektrotechnicus — Fri, 29 May 2009 19:53:29 -0800

I just had an MRI and MRA in response to these issues, and the radiologist's report should be relayed to me in a day or two. I've already had one normal CT scan. I received a copy of all the images from this scan - should I look at them? On the one hand, I have no medical training and if I'm not sure what if anything I could glean from looking. On the other hand, there is a ton of reference material on the web and I feel like I could at least reassure myself that there are no gross structural defects or abnormalities. Then again, if there were anything "obvious" it would have been seen on the CT, right?

If I do decide to look, what should I look for?

Looking for indepth online.

adamvasco — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:48:00 -0800

Looking for indepth online. Where do you go for indepth analysis and information? The online versions of most Current Affairs print magazines are known to me. I want more Glenn Greenwald, Daily Beast; Andrew Sullivan or Informed Comment. What are the best blogs out there for political and international analysis; not neccessarily UScentric? For instance where do I find out more about the convoluted craziness of Iran or Eritrea? There are a lot of highly intelligent, inquiisitive people around these parts; where do you go to find out what the informed opinion for your interests are? Please don't limit this to just political or current affairs; the best of anything is always worth reading.

Alternatives to the mainstream scientific method that have generated real, practical output.

ajp — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:47:28 -0800

Alternatives to the mainstream scientific method that have generated real, practical output. Hi all. I appreciate this is a wide-ranging question, and simply asking the question introduces a lot of points en-route that might provoke debate. The overall question, though, is whether any real, tangible, practical output has come from modern alternatives -- or complements -- to the "scientific method".

A debate about the value of the scientific method is probably out of place here -- whether it represents a pinnacle of achievement; if it's a "good" or "bad" thing; etc -- these are conversations that don't fit MeFi's purposes. Ditto the nature of truth, experience, and so on. All valuable stuff, but I'm looking for something specific, for now. I'll be investigating epistemology in my own time.

Both proponents of, and opponents to, the scientific method recognise that it has limitations. But are there any alternatives that have provided as much? I know of very few places to look. Goethean science seems interesting, in its acknowledgement of both the subjective and objective. But how many Goethean scientists have cured a disease?

If we consider the scientific method to be a "gold standard" (and I appreciate that some do not) then we'd recognise that it grew from a distinctly non-scientific background. Proponents would consider it as a pinnacle of sorts, emerging as increasing clarity from confusion. I'm less interested in the tangential off-shoots from this process, more interested in parallel or independent systems of thought -- if that makes sense.

Measuring the "value" of the outputs of any alternative system is tricky, if we're not to use the yardsticks of the scientific method itself, so perhaps that's a sub-question here! But, back to the main thrust: what are the alternative systems, and what is the value of their output?

I appreciate that by asking the question, I'm taking a rationalist approach; but every journey starts somewhere.

I want to be smart so I can write clever Askme Headlines

Bageena — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:45:34 -0800

What are some easy, relatively quick ways to learn to write better, think clearer, and express myself better? There are a thousand reasons that I'd like to learn more about everything, not that anyone should need a reason to want that. Basically, when I'm writing on Mefi or on my blog, I keep finding myself grasping for words to express myself and coming up short. I know my grammer stinks as well. I want books, movies, and other means and mediums by which I can raise my intelligence quota a little. I'm interested in not just learning to write better, but learning to think clearer, argue my beliefs and values better, and feel more enlightened all-around. Extra points for pointing the way to free and/or 'fun' (ie: Nintendo DS games) paths to enlightenment.

Know any good intellecutal websites or thought-provoking reads? Post them here.

meta.mark — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 02:37:02 -0800

What are some other "intellectual" or though-provoking websites like: TED.com BigThink.org Fora.tv Also, what are, in your opinion, some of the best books in the following topics: -economics -investing -psychology -design -religion -self-help I am a senior in high school this year - I am extremely curious and I want to explore and learn as much as I can. I ask for though-provoking books and websites in an attempt to satisfy my thirst for resources and knowledge and also to create a sort-of resources for others to use.

Saying filter

Black_Umbrella — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 11:10:29 -0800

Quote/saying: Old grass on new green? Old knowledge on new grass? I can't remember! I dont even know if its an actual quote or just something a professor was making a statement about in class.

It was something like Old grass on new green? Old knowledge on new grass? I can't remember!

It was about the professors at ivy league schools take students under there wing. They would pass on knowledge and help shape the younger one while also supplying the younger one with political, business, etc contacts. I think he said this was linked back to the Greek societies where it was common also (with an extra pa verse side to it)

Is there an actual saying for this or not?

How Do I Get Good At What I Do?

gadha — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 07:56:08 -0800

How can I gain in-depth knowledge and experience in technical fields? My question is specifically related to computer science but could broadly be applied to just about any field, so I welcome input from all.

I've been in academia all my life, and my primary method for obtaining information is reading from technical manuals, papers, etc. However, this is often very slow; there is a lot of written work and some of it is pretty dense. I have often found when working in fields that I don't really gain a proper feel for the problems, tradeoffs, etc until I do some actual work on them -- it's all a little abstract till I'm writing code, or hacking on it etc.

My interaction with industry shows me that there are a lot of engineers who have very very deep knowledge of aspects of computer science and/or engineering; how do they (you!) achieve this? Do you just learn more as problems come up that need solving or do you go away and read about the theory or as much as you can of the subject? How do you develop yourself and push yourself further? Is it a case of interaction with people or just doing more and more?

I ask this question because I literally am at a point where I find myself living, breathing and eating my work. I spend all day and all evening on it but I can't seem to make good, proper progress. Life isn't meant to be like this and I certainly don't see the same thing with other people I interact. So either I can't hack it/am not good at it, or I'm doing something wrong. I'd like to find out which so that I can take forward steps to fix this.

Is it possible to be a polymath these days?

dcrocha — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 18:20:40 -0800

Is it possible for somebody to be a true Renaissance Man these days, or has hyperspecialization taken us all as hostages forever?

Documentary equivelants of informative history/science books?

the other side — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:10:01 -0800

Looking for good documentaries that are truly informative (i.e. a kind of textbook in movie format). What are the best documentaries you've seen that left you much more informed about basic history and human knowledge? I'm talking about really good, but also highly informative documentaries somewhat (or perhaps exactly if you were lucky) like the ones you'd watch in school. Kind of like a history or science* book condensed into a movie format.

What I'm not looking for are documentaries like Wordplay, Spellbound, or other "human interest" kind of movies, or documentaries with an excessively esoteric subject matter. I'd also like to avoid movies that try really hard to push a specific agenda.

*Note: I say history/science, though this could include things like economics, law, art, etc. (as long as it's sufficiently informative and not too esoteric).

I want to know how to select fruit and veggies at the store!

k7lim — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:33:47 -0800

How can I learn to select produce at the store? I would like to eat healthier, and enjoy the abundance of great produce here in Northern CA. But I have limited knowledge of picking fruit, and even identifying what some of the rare ones are, let alone what they taste like and how to choose them.

I would love an immersive guide book, or a good web resource would do too. Google didn't turn up anything too compelling, and it's been a while since this http://ask.metafilter.com/4178/

educational mp3s - speeches/radioshows/lectures

figTree — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:46:51 -0800

looking for social science lectures and/or radioshow interviews Im looking for mp3s i can download do make me smarter while on the bus. Im looking to get informative mp3s on

-economics
-psychology
-technology/the future
-human geography
-philosophy

amoung other areas. Preferably im looking for something that is not just under a broad "science" banner if its a radioshow, since i would like to know more or less what sorts of topics to exactly expect, but a radioshow would be great as its likely more entertaining/pleasurable to listen to.

For example, i am interested in the theories of macro economics, itd be great to have an interesting set of mp3s that are enjoyable to listen to and dont rely on me having a video of the lecture (when they are writing stuff down). Im not sure if many such "podcast lectures" exist?

thank you!

How can I quickly learn as much general knowledge as possible?

so_necessary — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:12:53 -0800

How would you go about cramming for a general knowledge quiz? Let's say you're going to participate in a quiz, on your own. The questions are general knowledge, multiple choice (specifically three choices) and of moderate difficulty - the kind of question 6 out of 10 people know the answer to, and one individual probably knows the answer to 6 out of 10 questions. That said, you don't have access to an extensive corpus of previously asked questions, although you expect a mix of current & recentish affairs, history, science and nature, sport, and popular culture (both recent and less recent.)

But you want to do as well as possible.

You have two weeks to cram - how do you do it? In what savvy way do you start clicking through Wikipedia? In any given field, what's the "most obvious" stuff? How generally would you absorb a fairly disconnected bucketload of information?

as far from Shopping Mall State as possible

brandnew — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:55:08 -0800

What are some of the more radical, yet reputable, universities in the United States? What are some universities in United States that encourage a culture of radical intellectualism? To be precise, I mean ones that promote or even encourage research and development of ideas that are unconventional, potential controversial, and likely to be found no where else.

I'm looking for those places of education that attract the most pure thinkers - educators and students that thrive by living on the edge of knowledge, uninterested in contemplating the usual paths. Although they may be fearless and provocative, they still employ rigorous and credible standards of research.

Of course this is an ideal portrait, and likely non-existent. But which universities even come close?

Shoot the Messenger? Cult of Personality?

divabat — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:11:26 -0800

Which causes or ideas have become more about the messenger than the message? I remember, for a while after "An Inconvenient Truth" came out, there was a lot of fuss given on Al Gore personally alongside (and sometimes more than) the attention on climate change. Now Al Gore's fame has quelled a little, but I was wondering if there have been any other social causes or new ideas that are now only remembered because of the presenter - or even if those ideas have fallen by the wayside in favour of the presenter's personality.

While Princess Diana brought landmines to greater public attention, it wasn't the cause of her fame, and the landmines cause hasn't diminished just because of her. Similarly, there isn't one clear person that can be credited for the gay rights movement or the feminist movement.

However, how many people would understand Albert Einstein's Theory or Relativity or how it's relevant to today's world? How about Stephen Hawking's work on astrophysics? Has their "celebrity" overshadowed understanding of their work on a mass level?

Also, has there been any studies or research done in this area? Is there a name for this phenomena?

cliff's notes for college?

gcat — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:31:26 -0800

i want something sort of like this, only more to my liking. recommendations, please. for the last few years i have been slowly collecting a few textbooks here and there. i have been wanting to beef up (review) my knowledge of subjects such as algebra, calculus, world history, american history, physics, biology, chemistry, and some others. with many of these subjects, i have basically had high school classes and some lower-level college classes. and, except for a few calc and music courses i took a couple years ago, its been 6 or 7 years since any of my college courses.

anyway, i have maybe 8 or 10 good texts amassed, but in the few years ive been doing this, i have yet to sit down with any of the texts and study. i eventually get to most of the other books i buy, but the texts seem kinda overwhelming.

so what im looking for is a really good series that would basically be like a cliffs notes for each of these subjects, a sort of summary. for example, i have a calc text that i like. i was imagining what if someone took out each chapter summary, and then beefed it up with some of the chapter content. it wouldnt be quite as concise as a textbook chapter summary, but would be much more concise than a chapter.

obviously, as with cliffs notes, i think not much value would come from this summary being your only source of information on the subjects (except perhaps as an introductory stepping stone - as in the OUP series).

so anyway i did find this series of books mentioned in this thread, and it actually looks awesome, but i was really hoping there was something out there that might be better suited to my needs.

for example, that series has only one book on math. sounds like a great book, but i would also want a few more specific ones.

i realize wikipedia is a decent source for some of this knowledge, but man, i get lost in all those links.

some subjects i would love to read up on:

logic
philosophy
trig
advanced calculus
economics
sociology
anthropology
humanities
art
color
design
geometry
electrical theory
basic electronic theory
basic mechanical engineering
environmental science
information science
networks
cognitive science

and, as mentioned above:

algebra
calculus
world history
american history
physics
biology
chemistry

any recommendations on a great series of books will be much appreciated. Thanks!

People who live under a rock

sixcolors — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:26:18 -0800

How do people become stupid? Or, shall I say "How do people STAY ignorant?" We all came into the world ignorant about how life works. Some wisen up, others stay in the dark. What is it that separate those two kinds of people?

With the information explosion (internet, wikipedia, tons of tv stations/shows, the news) that we had within the last decade, how can anyone remain uneducated about basic things?

Some examples:
*I know a MAN who is 55 years old and does not know what testosterone is. But, he watches tons of educational TV like the discovery channel, TLC, history channel, KDNL, etc.
*I know people who are in COLLEGE, who think Africa is a country. I know several people who don't know how to ride a bike. Some college kids think a woman will not get pregnant or an STD if he "pulls out".
*I am in grad school and my mom's a teacher, I didn't know what tenure was until it came up in classroom discussion during my first semester. I also had no knowledge of what was a flagship university.

The existence of my own ignorance is the most alarming. Furthermore, is that I don't know HOW I became ignorant and what to do about it. I watch the news, I browse metafilter and wikipedia to learn new stuff, I watch educational TV shows, I went to college, my mother went to college, I'm getting my Master's in May, I like to read non-fiction, I am curious about the world...yet I feel that I am still very naive.

The more you know

Orange Pamplemousse — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:18:08 -0800

How has our understanding of Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, etc. changed in the last five years? When I first started university I heard a lot of tales on how an education doesn't really instill 'facts', but instead improves a student's overall thinking ability. The key point in a lot of these lectures was that by the time I was five years past graduation most of what I had learned during my degree would be proven wrong, or at least incomplete.

So, fast forward a bit, and I'm wondering. How has our understanding of the world/ourselves really changed in the last five years?

The Best Gift of All!

doorsfan — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:49:46 -0800

My son is almost 1.5 – I’d like to make him a life book I’d like to compile book (hard copy book, electronic file, blog) for my toddler about life - experiences he may never know (because of advances in our lives), anecdotes, general tips about life. I’d like to share it with him (and future offspring) when he is in his young teens (or maybe a wedding present) to hopefully provide written insight from his old man.

I come to you for your insight. Dig deep, share your wisdom and thoughts. Hopefully we’ll get a lot of responses from this one.

Anecdotes, life tips, “if I knew then what I know now…”, When I was in school we didn’t have cell phones…the sky's the limit!

No, Molvania is not a country

markovich — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:08:49 -0800

What books give an overview of the countries or some countries of the world - but are not boring fact spewers? I'm interested in geography. I like to find out about different countries, languages and customs. When people say they come from Cabinda or Basque or Micronesia or Suriname, I like knowing a bit about the history, location and economy of the country. However, if you try to find out about most countries, what you see are just boring books that just tell the facts about these countries. Most books about countries read like the Lonely Planet.

What recommendations do you have for small (no huge books, too many countries to spend too much time on a single huge book) books that tell stories and anecdotes about a country or a group of countries? Things that will give me a geographical, historical and cultural overview of the country without being a boring abstract guidebook? You know - interesting books!

I'm more interested in the more obscure countries like Gabon, Turkmenistan, Cape Verde rather than well known countries like France or the United States.

What do you call it when you don't really know something until you've experienced it?

mausburger — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 12:04:52 -0800

I'm looking for labels for ways of knowing, in particular, the kind of knowledge that you won't understand until you've experienced it. There are certain kinds of knowledge that people can be told, but not really understand until they've experienced it. A good example is: you can be told that your life is going to change when you have kids, but you don't really understand until you've had kids. Is there a name for this? Is there a discipline that studies this?

My undergraduate psychology text book talks about different ways of knowing (tenacity, authority, reason, common sense, and science). This is headed in the right direction, but I'm looking for a more sophisticated treatment.

Maybe something on the nature of experience as a teacher might be helpful? I'm wondering if I should look at Howard Gardner's work on multiple intelligences.

Also, there was a previous ask mefi question on tacit knowledge in Greek philosophy. It pointed me at some useful material from Aristotle and The Nicomachean Ethics.
Phronesis and techne are tantalizingly close, but Aristotle didn't hold them in high regard.

Are there better terms that I can use or cite?

Is there a word or phrase that describes the experience of learning there is an established academic definition for an idea you thought was yours alone?

Lownotes — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:37:53 -0800

Is there a word or phrase that describes the experience of learning there is an established academic definition for an idea you thought was yours alone? I often have an epiphany or long-held viewpoint about a subject and thought it was all my own, but when I go online to research it, I find my epiphany is decades old and by now is well-researched and established.

Is there a term for this sort of ignorance? Has anyone written about this in detail?