Philosophy
Philosophy (from Greek φιλοσοφία, philosophia, literally “love of wisdom”) is the study of general and fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophia has been called The Mother of All Sciences.
Education Systems
Sir Ken Robinson, in his “How to escape education’s death valley” states that the more successful Alternative Education Systems should become the norm, because they are clearly more successful.
How to escape education's death valley by Sir Ken Robinson
Extreme Ownership
I think that some day we maybe able to find great schools, and people like Sir Robinson will help that day come. But it will be too little too late, certainly for us. In this final chapter I will ask you to take Extreme Ownership of Your Education, and here is Jocko Willink explaining the gravity of the words Extreme Ownership.
Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink
Extreme Ownership
Extreme Ownership of Your Education, simply means Self Education. It means learning at your own pace, by your own means, in a sequence that matches you the best. This is also the meaning of the opening quote by Sun Tzu “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”
Education is not about GPA, diploma, or career. It is about growing up, it is about being healthy, and strong. Regardless of where you are headed, whether or not that direction includes Medical School, or a University. You need to Self Educate before sitting down in those classrooms. A classroom may not be the place where you find knowledge, not always, not reliably.
Setting off on an endless Audiobook Adventure, to last you many years, or even decades, is probably the most illustrative example I can fit in a sentence. Astra Taylor, the woman behind the unacceptable Zizek!, Examined Life, and now Democracy further explains, and I think serves as an example of what it means to Self Educate.
Astra Taylor on the Unschooled Life
Science Popularizers
The beginning of self education starts with a class of teachers often called Science Popularizers. They don’t just teach science, but also restore the connecting lines between all the Daughters of Philosophia, lines lost due to the bleaching effect that categorization of knowledge, standardization of sequence of learning, and standardized testing causes.
The Storytelling of Science is a good overview of who these teachers are, how they think, of their energy and class.
The Great Debate: THE STORYTELLING OF SCIENCE, part 1 of 2
The Great Debate: THE STORYTELLING OF SCIENCEi, part 2 of 2
Self Education
Education is simply too important to be put in someone else’s hands. It is your mind, your life, your growing up, your own responsibility. Above all, your body of knowledge has massive infuence over your private decision-making, over your freedom of choice, over your freedom of will. Decision-making is one of the most sacred things in life, and only you should have control over that.
I urge you to forget the idea that you must be taught to learn. I urge you to accept that great responsibility yourself. You must take extreme ownership of your own Self Education.
We Are All Connected
Bill Bryson
Talking Science: Bill Bryson on A Short History of Nearly Everything
Bill Bryson
A Short History of Nearly Everything Audiobook. The Body (His latest book). All of Bryson’s Audiobooks.
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn: A People's History of the United States (1999)
A People’s History
Audiobook version of A People’s History of the United States is 34 hrs and 8 mins long.
Abridged version (8 hrs and 44 mins ) read by Matt Damon is here: A People’s History of the United States
Stoicism
The philosophy of Stoicism by Massimo Pigliucci
