Question of the Day, 4/12/10 - Learning

[Tangerine]

Today's Question:

If there is a subject that you always wanted to learn about, but never made a real attempt to learn about? If so, what is this subject, and why are you interested in learning more? What brought you to be interested in this subject? What would you gain from it? What would it cost to learn?



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[rbygsc kid 251]

In all honesty, literature.

I'm a math and social studies major, but I had a general studies world literature course in my 2nd year of college (it was so good that I am currently auditing it, meaning I'm only taking it for fun in my 4th year), that really opened some eyes. I'm positive that it was the professor (he was simply an adjunct), but he showed us how to take the stories we were reading and apply them to real life. Most of the stuff he had was amazing (the only story I never really liked was Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, but he even made that bareable).

It would probably only cost me mostly in time to pursue this subject, as most books are cheap and you can find them all over the place. Plus, if a book is rare, I would probably just not read it and find something else.

I would probably gain a LOT from all of the reading as perhaps I can do the same thing that my English professor was able to do, and apply it to real life. More specifically, I'm a huge Shakespeare fan, but I have difficulty reading that old text, so I am always better off with the modern English translation that you can find on cliffnotes, sparknotes, etc.


EDIT: I'm also very interested in learning how to speak Spanish, because i really enjoy Central american history, and I'd love to check out of the culture. I have already been to Honduras, and even though I can't speak Spanish i still had a blast.

 

[Forbidden To Starve]

ive always wanted to learn Arabic.

 

[cim]

If I want to learn about something, I learn about it. Learning is one of my main motivations for existing, so if I have a passionate interest in a field, I would be doing myself a disservice if I did not pursue it.

 

[TerryPEE]

I always wanted to learn an Asian language, such as Korean or Chinese. I'm interested in this because I've always been interested in the Asian culture, being Vietnamese I've been to Vietnam before and loved the whole idea of this is where my family is from and the fact that everyone else around me is Asian. I guess it also has to do with where i live as well, i live in a suburban town where mostly Caucasians live, and there's like 5 Asian kids that to my high school, so that stimulated my desire to learn more about Asian culture.

I would probably gain more confidence speaking another language I would learn from scratch, and would even have to chance to study aboard there.

 

[Optimusje]

I've always wanted to learn more about the human psyche. The way people thing and in what structure. I have always wondered about how the human mind works in terms of processing emotional events in a persons life. The fact everyone does this differently is what I find really interesting. What I am currently going to study is far away from this subject, so chances are I'll never really get to it on school, but I might still do a course about it or something, not sure what (:

 

[BIG loven]

Ehhhh I don't enjoy learning very much. But I am interested in biology, Its interesting to learn about animals and how we are made. And some history, mainly just the history of places and people that interest me.

 

[WeGotTheJazz]

History, particularly the Middle Ages and 20th century. No particularly reason why; I guess the Middle Ages always stood out to me thanks to games like Age of Empires and the two World Wars have had such a big impact on the modern world, they would be hard to miss.

Also being a history buff would probably make me look smarter, and I'm all for looking clever. What would it cost to learn? Not much, actually. There's a decent public library within walking distance and I have gallons of free time, even with exams looming ever closer.

 

[Alan]

I've always wanted to learn how to speak German, but they didn't offer it at my High School and Rosetta Stone is like 400 dollars. :|

I took programming and networking back in high school, but I never payed attention (same with Chemistry) and now I wish I did, because looking back it's really cool shit.

I love literature, and I actually payed attention in that, despite how I hate reading, conflict of interests yes, but some of the classic books are actually really good in retrospect, so I re-read them and I actually enjoyed them.

Medicine is one thing I really want to learn. Like really, really badly. But unfortunately, I probably won't be able to afford the money for medical school and its really not worth learning about it unless I become a doctor, which can't happen for the above stated reasons, so I will forever desire to learn that.

 

[Forbidden To Starve]

since when did you need Rosetta Stone to learn a foreign language. just buy a book in a foreign language, and look up integral parts of grammar. that isnt really very hard or costly

 

[xBLUEx]

I've always wanted to learn about Japanese history. I guess what brought interest to me was probably video games and manga/anime. I liked them so much that I wanted to know the background of the country where they originated from.

 

[Electrode]

First of all, I want to learn how to play the piano. I've wanted to learn piano for a few years now, but money has been tigher and I haven't been able to get lessons. I feel that piano is a must for me, seeing as I want to be a music major. There are music writing programs out there, but I wouldn't feel that great about myself if I used a scoring program instead of the classic piano, paper, and mind. Other things would come much more naturally if I knew the piano, such as notation and theory. It's just a good idea for me to eventually get some piano lessons.

One of the other things I've wanted to learn was how to play the bassoon. There's no higher reason here other than me liking the way the bassoon sounds. I think that it's such a cool instrument, and the range of sounds and emotions it can produce is pretty limitless.

EDIT: I've also wanted to learn the Russian language, just for the coolness factor.

 

[Luminary]

I highly enjoy learning; I am interested in so many things: Bronze Age history, literature, theology, debating. I' have some interest in a second language, though I have to be honest and say that I am too fickle in this to make it a reality.
But I'm still in High School. I will have the opportunity to be educated in most of these subjects. Most of my learning is yet ahead of me.
However, I have not taken the opportunity to pick up an instrument. This is something I could start, even before the summer. It would involve saving up a bit, or getting a better job. I would also have to find a teacher. Are advanced violinists particularly rare?

 

[Broth3r]

Astronomy.

Lately, I've gotten intrested in all the mysterious objects being discovered in the Kuiper Belt (belt of bodies beyond Neptune, Pluto is in it for example), which are quite intresting. Or at least, mysterious enough to spark my attention.
For example, theres a planet (Sedna, technically a dwarf planet after 2006's revision which downgraded Pluto), which particularly intrests me for how distant it is.

It's distance to the sun just amazes me.



Plus if I knew a bit more, I might have been able to keep Pluto as a planet. Oh well :(

 

[The 1 and Only Lady Gaga]

Astronomy, very interested in it.

P.S: Tangerine got BANNED?! Wtf? He has like 5 badges. Wonder what happened...

 

[BinarySolo]

I would like to continue learning Japanese someday, partly just for fun and also because it would be handy if I ever travelled to Japan. Unfortunately it's got a low priority as a subject than visual communication, art and IT so I just couldn't continue with it. Plus, boatloads if homework, so all the more reason so learn it after uni or whatever.