A friend of mine mentioned recently that he was beginning to doubt his fathers old saying, “you can't learn less”.
He was referring to a recent news article about a Farleigh
Dickinson University study that found
people who relied solely on Fox News (and MSNBC) for their information
faired worse on a news quiz than did New York Times readers, NPR listeners, and
even people who cited the Daily Show as their primary news source. My friend mused
that perhaps Fox viewers were learning less than nothing.
Curious about the origin of the saying “you can't learn
less”, I went to the source of all “learning”, Google. There, I found that the
saying is attributed to R. Buckminster Fuller, the visionary architect of the
mid 20th century. This made perfect sense to me. Bucky Fuller is, coincidentally, a personal
hero of mine. Although some of his techno-utopian visions of the future seem
somewhat dated now, his basic ideas about mimicking the highly organized
systems of nature still make a lot of sense to me. It didn't surprise me that
the quote was from Fuller- his books can be wordy and sometimes difficult to
read, but they always full of highly quotable ideas. “Education by choice, with
its marvelous motivating psychology of desire for truth, will make life ever
cleaner and happier, more rhythmical and artistic,” Fuller wrote in his 1928
book, 4D Timelock .
Fuller, who died in 1983, believed very strongly in the
potential of television and radio as tools of learning. What would Bucky Fuller
think of the current state of mass media as teacher? How would he have felt
about 24 hour cable “news”, or more importantly, the internet, with it's vast
store of quasi-facts and disinformation?
The Fairleigh Dickinson report stated that: “People who
report reading a national newspaper like The New York Times or USA Today are
12-points more likely to know that Egyptians have overthrown their government
than those who have not looked at any news source. And those who listen to the
non-profit NPR radio network are 11-points more likely to know the outcome of
the revolt against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. However, the best informed
respondents are those that watched Sunday morning news programs: leading to a 16-
point increase in the likelihood of knowing what happened in Egypt and an
8-point increase in the likelihood of knowing what happened in Syria.” Of course, another great American
thinker, Mark Twain once wrote “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned
lies and statistics.” Interestingly, Fox News attempted to deflect the
criticism by attacking Fairleigh Dickinson's academic record rather than
calling into question the study's methodology. ““Considering FDU’s
undergraduate school is ranked as one of the worst in the country, we suggest
the school invest in improving its weak academic program instead of spending
money on frivolous polling – their student body does not deserve to be so
ill-informed.”
This pissing match between academia and the media is nothing
new, but it does clearly illustrate the current state of “knowledge” and
“learning”. Academic research is in large part funded by corporations and the
“scientific polls” used endlessly by the media are designed specifically to
stir controversy and advance political agendas rather than advance
truth-seeking. These bastions of academic learning and institutions of news and
information gathering have gradually devolved into production facilities for
politically driven disinformation.
It would seem that my friend might be right -people may
actually be learning less, or more accurately un-learning- shucking meaty and
troublesome “big thoughts” in favor of pre-chewed intellectual pablum. In times
of economic uncertainty and social unrest, it may just be easier to accept this
un-learning process. Dealing with climate change seems an insurmountable
problem, so it's simply easier to deny it's existence than to study the
research. It's easier to accept the “fact” that America is the greatest nation
on the planet rather than to study different political systems objectively.
It's easier to search for bible quotes on the internet that support your
predetermined position than it is to read the entire book and study the
historical context in which it was written.
In the current
“information age” it seems to be more difficult than ever to achieve Fuller's
vision of a self-motivated seeking of truth. Looking for the needle of truth in
the haystack of corporate propaganda is made even more daunting when the
internet offers nearly infinite haystacks to search through. Still, there are
opportunities out there. Education by Choice can still be achieved without
incurring a lifetime of student debt or giving up and handing your brain over
to talk radio hosts. The Free Skool, unschooling and maker movements, Citizen
Science, open source technology, online forums and yes- the good old public
library are all available to aid self-guided learning. Education by Choice is a
subjective process, though, and can easily digress into the ghettoization of
knowledge that occurs when people don't look outside of their own echo chamber
for information. A good spectrum is necessary. Religious fanatics are an
example of people who may be highly educated, but lack a full spectrum of learning.
So to are plant geneticists who can't think outside the industrial agriculture
paradigm and believe that only increased yields can solve hunger. Learning in a
vacuum, where subjective information is mistaken for truth, can take one “down
the rabbit hole” in a hurry- conspiracy theorists and even some environmental
activists can begin to parrot factoids culled from other like-minded amateur
researchers, rather than doing the reading, or even better, having a first-hand
experience for themselves. As the wonderful writer/philosopher/humorist Robert Anton Wilson once put it:
“Is", "is." "is" — the idiocy of the word haunts me.
If it were abolished, human thought might begin to make sense. I don't know
what anything "is"; I only know how it seems to me at this moment...”
Ultimately, learning is the life-long process of decorating
one's own reality tunnel. You can choose to paint it one color, or paper it
with one pattern, or you can make it a bulletin board- a dynamic collage of
constantly updated and improved tidbits, which hopefully, eventually become a
pattern that offers you a life that is
“...ever cleaner and happier, more rhythmical and artistic.”
The information is all out there, in those haystacks. To
begin the search for the kernels of truth, you need the tools to winnow away
some of the chaff.
Here are five suggestions for beginning your own trip down
the road to Education by Choice :
Five Suggestions
for Learning More, Not Less
1. Learn to learn/think/express yourself
There have been a lot of studies done about how people
learn, and it's worth finding and reading some articles about how people learn.
Experts on learning often break learners down into three groups- visual,
auditory and tactile- and discuss how different people learn best using these
types of cues. Which type are you? I suggest trying/using all three. A lot of
recent books and websites call these “mind-hacks” or “brain-hacks”, and offer
fun exercises for organizing information and learning habits.
It's also important to learn to express yourself accurately,
and avoid semantic laziness. Because of the rapid standardization of
communication due to digital technology, written text shorthand cliches like
“IMHO” take the place of more complex expressions, and spoken cliches like “at
the end of the day” or “literally...” offer lazy thinkers definitive statements
to stop further examination of a given topic.
An interesting exercise is to read about and explore “E
Prime”. Invented by Alfred Korzybski, the father of general semantics, E Prime
is a style of english that does not use any form of the verb “to be”. Using E
Prime helps avoid definitive proclamations and bases statements on the speaker
or writer's actual experiences.
Try going a day without using the words “am, are, is, was, were, be,
been or being...” for example, don't simply pronounce “this coffee is good!”
Say “I really like the flavor of this coffee!”
2. Read real books
This is not some sort of Luddite judgement call- I love the
internet as a research and communication tool, and an ebook reader can
definitely offer great possibilities for taking a lot of information along when
you are on the go. However, researchers have found that information retention
is still better among those who read physical books. Books offer a physical and tactile experience that helps the
brain retain information. More importantly, books do not offer the distractions
available on an e-reader of computer. There are no hyperlinks to chase, no
email or facebook to check. I suggest reading a book, making physical notes as
you go, and when you are finished, re-visit those notes and do additional
research online.
Also- explore old books. There are endless great ideas in
them that may have not found their way into the digital realm. Also, the process
of going to the library, or to a used bookstore, will bring you into close
physical proximity with other “book people”. They might be older people, or
simply people with a different set of life experiences from those of your
friends, roommates, work colleagues, etc.
3. Work with your hands
Learning doesn't happen solely in your mind. Exercising your
body and honing your manual dexterity are important to the learning process. I
could never understand math as a high school student, but a few years as a carpenter
brought into clear focus the reality of geometry and algebra.
Work is exercise, and not the meaningless vanity-driven
exercise of the stair-master. Digging, planting, harvesting, chopping, carving,
building, repairing, cleaning, all can build the muscles and skills, clear the
mind and offering real-life lessons. A broad range of physical and intellectual
experience is critical to how you think and learn. Robert Heinlein wrote: “A
human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog,
conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall,
set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone,
solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook
a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
“
4. Be a teacher and a student
I love online forums, hackspaces and free skools. I love any place that I can interact
with other people of similar interests, share information and experiences, and
learn from each others successes and mistakes. It's a great feeling to reach a
level where you have something to share and you can take on the role of
teacher. It's a great way to put your ideas and knowledge to the test. An
education needs to be a shared experience.
I also love hands-on workshops and other opportunities to
interact with people who are a knowledge level or two above me and my fellow
citizen scientists.It's important not to be comfortable with the level you are
at in the learning process, and to remember that there is always more to learn.
Face-to-face interactions with good teachers are critical, and that doesn't
have to happen in a classroom.
5. Write/draw every day
My father wrote in his journals every day that I can
remember. He processed those thoughts into great poetry. I, on the other hand,
am a lousy journal writer. I understand, though, that ideas stagnate and
dwindle if they are not stored, re-examined and refined. Try to find a system
that works for you- a journal, a sketchbook, a camera or voice recorder-
whatever fits your style. If you are a social media user, think of it as
Tweeting to your future brain.
My way of addressing this need is to use some of the
techniques of Lion Kimbro from his book How to Make a Complete Map of Every
Thought you Think (which can be downloaded
for free online.) Basically I keep a notebook or “catch” to grab my ideas- I
scribble down a subject idea and a hint. Sometimes I'll scribble in some
sketches, or tape in a scrap of paper or clipping. Then, later in the day, or
at the end of the week, I'll go
back through and flesh out some of the ideas when I have more time.
