#it's like we aren't all reading the same books and some of you conveniently forget that he literally justifies slavery and tyranny

[jjoelswatch]

Always amuses me (read: exhausts me) when people are surprised and angry when Star Wars creators refer to Thrawn as a villain and act like it’s the end of the world because the creators don’t “get” the character.

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Great Hunt! Chapter 39: Flight from the White Tower

Yeah, we spent a book and a half getting here, but it's already time to get going again. That's the problem with fantasy novels. You never get a chance to appreciate the scenery of anything. The best lodgings you can hope for are the same inns that all the other tourists (most of them in ominous black cloaks that hide their features) are staying at. You never get a chance to find the little restaurants the locals go to or find the attractions no one's even heard about. You don't even get a chance to avoid spoilers like I'm giving you here by saying this post spoils the whole damn Wheel of Time series. Don't keep reading if you don't want that.

We have the Ogier symbol again, because now it's the girls' turn to go through the Waygates.

Even a few men had come with petitions, standing by themselves, looking unsure about being in the White Tower, and eyeing everyone else uneasily.

Not gonna lie, if I ever had to visit the White Tower I'd spend the whole time worrying that I was a male channeler who just didn't know it yet and that at any minute the Amyrlin and the whole of the Red Ajah would descend upon me like locusts.

“This would do better for a turn in some lord’s park than a ride to Toman Head,” Nynaeve had said dryly as Egwene helped her with the buttons of a gray silk with thread-of-gold work and pearled flowers across the bosom and down the sleeves, “but it may allow us to leave unnoticed.”

People joke about Jordan's fashion obsession, but note here that these details are only important as part of the jarring contrast to the uniforms the girls were wearing previously.

Min had kept her breeches and baggy man’s shirt under a boy’s brown cloak and coat, with an old, wide-brimmed hat pulled down over her short hair. “One of us has to be the servant,” she had said, laughing.

That's not a convenient excuse at all, Min. You clearly just like men's clothes. It's a shame you forget that later because even if we just assume it's a personal preference as opposed to anything genderqueer, it's still a hell of a standout trait.

The Aes Sedai had not seen them yet, but Egwene recognized her; Takima, of the Brown Ajah, who taught the history of the White Tower and Aes Sedai, and who could recognize one of her pupils at a hundred paces.

The in-universe stereotype of the Browns as too wrapped up in their reading to notice the world is demonstrated to be false yet again. It's almost a surprise it catches on at all, with Takima likely being so many women's first introduction to the Ajah.

Also note how decayed the White Tower is that a Sitter, who by all rights should be quite busy with her job, is also a teacher, which should be another full-time job.

She found it hard to think that there had been a time when she had been eager to have an adventure, to do something dangerous and exciting like the people in stories. Now she thought the exciting part was what you remembered when you looked back, and the stories left out a good deal of unpleasantness.

Remember when Rand was convinced until Shadar Logoth that Egwene was having a great time and didn't have a care in the world? Remember when Perrin was grumbling about how she was obsessed with dancing with Aram? Those POVs sure are unreliable, aren't they

The man blinked at Nynaeve’s ring, then at her. “I was told two,” he said at last, sounding unimpressed.

Plan B failing to work here, it naturally graduates to Plan A for all three of these ladies going forward.

As they were riding out, Elayne tossed him a coin and murmured, “For your trouble, goodman. You have done well.” Outside, she caught Egwene’s eye and smiled. “Mother says a stick and honey always work better than a stick alone.”

I think Machiavelli said something like that too, though he also said the stick alone was better than the honey alone and I'm not convinced. Nynaeve of course is much too used to having to fight her way to get anything to remember that honey is an option.

By the outer side of the wall, carriages, carts, and people bustled along a street, while inside lay a wilderness of sorts. The grove had neither the tame look of a park nor the complete haphazardness of the forest depths. Rather, it seemed to be the ideal of nature, as if this were the perfect woods, the most beautiful forest that could be.

No doubt the Ogier laid it all out for the optimal growth of everything inside, a pattern that nature tries to use but is always forced away from by terrain and weather.

“Forgive us, Liandrin Sedai. They did not tell us; we overheard. We did not mean to listen to anything we should not have, but we did overhear. And we want to help Rand al’Thor, too. And the other boys, of course,” she added quickly.

"I think their names are Map and Terrin?"

Do you not think there are those who would question you when they are found to be gone? Do you believe the Black Ajah would be gentle with you just because you are heir to a throne? Had you remained in the White Tower, you might not have lived the night.

Note that at no point does Liandrin say that she did anything to stop such a thing, which would have been false but a lot more reassuring.

“You do not have to come,” Liandrin said. “You can wait here for me, safely enclosed by the fence until I come for you. Or perhaps the Black Ajah will find you before anyone else.” Her smile was not pleasant.

Then Liandrin started cackling and after she recovered began to mutter to herself about how she'd show "them", she'd show them all!

And none of the girls were the least bit suspicious. I can get Elayne (too used to Elaida) and Egwene (too eager to be the best) not getting it but Nynaeve and Min should be ashamed.

Time seemed to stretch out, as if the cold crept over her by the width of one hair at a time, and every hair took minutes.

Really it's a miracle any person or animal can cross this kind of threshold at all. It must do terrible things to your blood pressure. (Have I already said that? I should look back but I'm not going to! Suck it, readers!)

“As long as you know you deserved to,” she murmured, “then you didn’t deserve to.” Suddenly she chuckled. “Sometimes I think it was sayings like that more than anything else that created the title of Wisdom. Well, here’s another. You break your neck, and I’ll see it mended just so I can break it again.”

1. Yeah, Egwene definitely has humility at times. Haters forget that.

2. Nynaeve absolutely would. I imagine she never finds out about Rand's post-series situation because if she did she'd kill him and raise him again just for leaving everyone in the lurch like that.

“Elaida taught me a little about the Ways. She would not say much. Not enough,” she added glumly. “Or maybe too much.”

You know, considering that pre-series Elaida isn't a powermad fool corrupted by a source of evil so foul it violently reacts with actual evil, I don't think we give her enough credit for how miserable it must have been being Elayne's tutor. "What are the Ways? What's a sa'angreal? How many people can I link with? What if I did X to a ter'angreal instead of Y? Is there a weave to cure all of the injured animals I found in the last three months?"

“Elaida says the rules of nature do not hold in the Ways. At least, not the way they do outside.”

I feel like we had this infodump before. Frankly, I actually find it kinda realistic that Egwene has absolutely no memory of it now though (Ha! Now my poor memory has a point! Suck it again, readers!).

Somehow, she had thought the Shadow’s taint on the Ways would hide it from her. She could sense that taint, after a fashion. It was faint and had nothing to do with saidar, but she was sure that reaching for the True Source here would be like baring her arm to foul, greasy smoke in order to reach a clean cup.

I feel like this was probably meant to hint at some aspect of the metaphysics that came to play when cleansing the taint or maybe using Callandor, but it never quite went anywhere. It is good confirmation at least that what's gone wrong with saidin isn't something unique to men.

“Moiraine does not know so much as she thinks.” She popped the cheese into her mouth with a smile.

Liandrin isn't as right as she thinks, I suspect, but I do enjoy the smugness. What tools might she have to deal with the Black Wind herself? I doubt very much that the Forsaken have any expertise or tools for this kind of scenario, so if she does have a method, it's something the Third Age Aes Sedai came up with.

Egwene, what if, after all you are going through for him, Rand doesn’t marry you? What if he marries some woman you’ve never seen before, or Elayne, or me? What then?

Min is using the inclusive or, naturally.

Egwene made herself go along with it, saying if she did become a Green she would have ten Warders.

Well, she's one-seventh Green and one seventh of ten is one and some, which is basically the total number of Warders Egwene takes. Completely accidental non-foreshadowing arrived at through dumb math tricks and either acknowledging that Egeanin isn't much of a Warder or, more popularly with the fandom, suggesting that Gawyn is a fraction of a person - and a smaller fraction at that.

She would not let anyone glimpse the parchment she compared to the Guidings, stuffing it away with a curt, “It is nothing you would understand,” when Nynaeve asked.

Considering Liandrin's track record, we must assume that she's actually being at least Aes Sedai honest here and that Nynaeve wouldn't understand what she's seeing. So either it's very esoteric or it's at least a subtle affirmation of Liandrin's being evil and not a glaring sign of one.

“We are here,” Liandrin said, smiling. “I have brought you at last to where you must go.”

Speaking of glaring signs...

Oh wait, we're at the end of the chapter. I'm not going to talk about anything now. Next time: Damane.

[nokingsonlyfooles]

That Hits Me Where I Used to Live...

We're not talking about some book to be read to children, like Heather Has Two Mommies and One is Black. They have gotten rid of the most recent version of a book that I had when I was learning how to teach preschool. It's a book put out by the National Association for the Education of Young Children - which I was a member of until my broken body got in the way of my simple ambition to teach small humans who need to be carried sometimes. The NAEYC accredits teachers and preschools and sets standards. They have thrown out what is essentially the OSHA handbook of best practices for educating your young children.

And why have they done this?

...Because it tells teachers to treat kids with queer parents with equality, dignity and worth, and that they should try to keep systemic racism out of the classroom.

Developmentally Appropriate Practice (we just say DAP) has been the foundation of preschool education in the States for almost as long as I've been alive. The deal is that children are not just smaller, dumber adults. Their brains and bodies are growing, so you want to serve them appropriate activities as they change. They're not all going to go at the same pace, but kids of a given age will be about ready for certain concepts - some may need a little more help and some a little less.

This concept should not be political or controversial. They always say they're so goddamn concerned with biology, so you'd think conservatives wouldn't be freaked out by the idea that children grow up.

Young kids have tremendous anxiety about being safe and accepted in school. When they hit preschool, a lot of them have never been away from their caregivers, certainly not all day. Some of 'em get so scared they just stop talking. There will be kids who don't trust you enough to communicate that they need to use the bathroom, and then they will detonate on the floor. They will hide the fact that they're sick with 100+ degree fevers, or in pain, or bleeding. If you don't make your classroom a safe place for young kids, they won't just be miserable, they will be biohazards, okay?

But, oh, my god, the evil book acknowledged the reality that children come from all kinds of families, and systemic bias can hurt them.

Listen, forget marginalized minorities for a sec. BOYS get shitty treatment in preschool, okay? Most of the teachers are women, and when boys roll up with their loud, active, and sometimes aggressive gendered socialization, a person who grew up female can get very confused and impatient with it. They're trying to get more male preschool teachers, so there's someone in the room with context, but the job is low status, low paying and gendered female, so there still aren't that many.

If gender alone can make a teacher treat a kid unfairly, culture and ethnicity can do it too. The book of standards and practices would like your child's teacher to be aware of this, and try to self-police. That's all. And conservatives can't handle it. The book says you have to be respectful of people's differences? BURN IT!

This thing where they're coming after trans people is cover. It's loud and obvious and horrifying, and it makes it harder to see the smaller horrifying things that aren't getting as much media attention. Conservatives do not care whether trans people live or die, they're just a convenient excuse right now. This book isn't a book for keeping trans kids safe, it's a book for keeping all kids safe. Like, minimal standards of safety. And in Alabama, it's gone. All they had to do was say "it's woke." Poof. No more nationally-accepted standards and practices for preschoolers. Like magic.

God fucking damn it. We can't sleep on this. I don't know what to do about it, but it is NOT OKAY. I knew that the best we could do was slow it down and give people more time to get safe. I knew that. Intellectually, I knew that. But they're knocking out the safety rails that make it harder to hurt the smallest kids. What's next?

[cherryhanji]

rain and you

bulleted scenario. skz x reader

genre: pure fluff (coz i'm feelin soft af), high school au

words: 2.5k

warning(s): none

description: a not so nice weather is approaching and sadly, you didn't bring an umbrella with you.

➤bang chan

• "i'll walk you home, the weather's not good"

• you lift your gaze to the sky, and he isn't wrong, but the fact that chan, your high school senior and also your /crush/ offers to walk you home, shyness enveloped in your whole being making you refuse to his offer.

• "no, oppa. it's okay. our house is just nearby. I can run though."

• "are you sure? you brought an umbrella with you?"

• smiling sheepishly, you shook your head

• "it's okay, oppa. I promise. But, I need to go home now."

• you bid your goodbyes to chan and he did the same before you head to the direction of your home.

• but being the unluckiest human being you are, the strong rain pour making you slightly damped.

• you ran to the nearest convenience store and decided to stay there until the rain stop pouring.

• while waiting for the rain to stop, you turn your gaze to the store's entrance and saw chan, who immediately found you sitting, hair sticking to your forehead and damped uniform thanks to the rain.

• shaking his head, he went near you putting his umbrella at the side.

• "what did I tell you? The weather's not good."

• he grabbed something inside his bag, a big jacket and hand it to you.

• "wh-what will I do with this oppa?"

• "maybe put it inside your bag? Haha! Just kidding! Wear that first and let me take you home. No more buts."

• you just nodded and try to stay calm while your heart is now drumming inside your chest. Your crush, /your crush/ will walk you home. Maybe not bringing an umbrella isn't that bad.

***

➤minho/lee know

• this day maybe the worst day you ever had in your life

• flopping the math exams because you didn't copy the notes you supposed to be reviewing, not able to pass the activity on time. Procrastination sucks, but you still do it. (like mate, stop procrastinating)

• and not bringing an umbrella in this bad weather. seriously?

• stomping your feet because of your stubbornness, you wait for the rain to stop at the school's waiting area.

• you keep on checking the time on your phone when a voice called you.

• you lift your gaze to find the direction of the voice to see Minho, your classmate aka mortal enemy(aka again, your crush) waving at you. Your heart skip a beat but tried to composed an annoyed face. You just furrowed your eyebrows as he went to you.

• "what now minho?"

• "looks like your lonely at the middle of this sad weather. Don't have an umbrella?"

• you grunted at his annoying manner

• "shut up, i'm not in the mood."

• "i think that means no. want me to walk you home?" He said and winked at you and you swear, your cheeks are like tomatoes because of its redness.

• "n-no need! I can go home by myself, i just need to wait for this to stop."

• minho just furrowed his eyebrows and tutted at you.

• "looks like this rain will keep on pouring for hours. Are you sure you'll wait for it to stop?"

• you look at the sky, dark clouds welcomed you and you contemplated to retort because he isn't lying.

• minho chuckled and raised his eyebrows at you.

• you just puffed your cheeks and let out the air in it to calm your insides. Minho is just looking at you.

• "fine!" You just gave up making Minho chuckle and put his arms on your shoulder making you jump at the sudden contact.

• "you can't resist my charms, don't you?"

• you just huffed and rolled your eyes at him

• "shut up! it's, it's just that I didn't have an umbrella with me!"

• he just shrugged and opened his umbrella, "okay! If you say so!"

***

➤changbin

• you and your classmate changbin went to the convenience store after your classes to buy some food when the rain suddenly poured making you frown

• "screw me for being forgetful dude, i forgot my umbrella."

• changbin turned to you and chuckled as he knew that you were a forgetful human being

• "i'm not surprised y/n. you even forgot our assignment in biology a while ago."

• "yeah, okay. poor me. i guess i'll stay here until the rain stops"

• changbin smiled and tapped your shoulder making you look at him.

• "don't be sulky. I can walk you home you know." he winked and showed you his umbrella.

• "hey, is it okay? I mean we don't have the same way going home."

• "it's okay. I can't just leave you here alone waiting for the rain to stop."

• "you can wait for the rain to stop too.." you said matter-of-factly

• changbin stayed silent for a while, realizing you were not wrong.

• "w-why? you don't like me to walk you home?"

• "I didn't say anything."

• "good, now let's go."

• changbin grabbed his bag and yours making you gasp slightly.

• "hey you don't ha--"

• "it's okay. let's go"

• "Uh... The umbrella is not that big, so..."

• changbin wrapped his arms on your shoulders making you moved closer to him.

• "stay closer so you won't get wet."

• you just nodded while your heart is already thudding in your chest.

***

➤hyunjin

• after watching Hyunjin's basketbball practice, you decided to go home now.

• You have a huge crush on the school's varsity player so you won't let the opportunity of watching him play go to waste.

• even if the weather is not that nice since noon and you didn't bring an umbrella with you..

• You just sighed and decided to run to the bus stop even if the rain is already pouring hard.

• you were preparing to run when a guy's voice called you making you stop at what you're planning to do.

• you turn your head and saw hyunjin smiling at you.

• because of how flustered you are, you turned your back at him to hide your blushing face.

• "hey. you're y/n, right? are you going home now?" you eyes widen when you heard his voice near you.

• you slowly turn your head to him and smile sheepishly.

• "ah yes. I'll just run to the bus stop, tho."

• "I'm also going to the bus stop. As I can see, you don't have an umbrella with you. do you mind if I walk with you there?"

• hyunjin offered you as he showed his umbrella with him.

• you just stayed silent as the fact that you're crush is offering you to walk with him at the bus stop.

• "uh, y/n. still there?"

• you shook your head going back to reality and looked at him.

• "uh, sorry. What is it again?"

• "I asked you if it's okay if I walk with you at the bus stop. Since you don't have an umbrella and it's getting darker now."

• you look at the time on your phone showing that it's already 6:30 pm.

• you just accepted his offer even of your heart almost jump out of your chest because of the fact that you're near, and walking with your crush.

• the cold weather is contrasting with the warm feeling that is now lingering on your cheeks.

• "let's go?"

• you nodded and just shed yourself under hyunjin's umbrella.

***

➤jisung/han

• you bid your goodbyes to your friend as you separate ways going home

• but it seems like the weather is not on your side today.

• rain is already falling but you forgot to bring your umbrella with you.

• frowning, you just wait for the rain to stop.

• "y/n!"

• you lift your gaze to the guy who called you who turns out to be jisung, your classmate.

• "h-hey, jisung... why are you still here? dance practice?"

• he nodded and sit beside you. you just hummed and turn your attention to your phone. awkwardness start to envelop between you.

• all your classmates knew that jisung likes you, a lot. Little did they know, you also feel the same, making this situation awkward for you.

• "aren't you going home yet?"

• "not yet, the rain is still pouring, i guess i need to wait for it to stop."

• "uh... i have an umbrella here. i can walk you home if you like."

• your eyes widen out of shock. you felt your heart skip a beat. is this even happening???

• "oh, i... is it okay? i mean are we having the same way home?"

• he just nodded at you and smile sheepishly as the thought of walking his crush home, which is you, makes his heart do somersaults

• "oh, okay... if you say so. thank you..."

• "no prob. i guess you're friend already went home."

• "yeah, because i thought i can go home with no problem. but the weather is quite mean to me."

• "let's go? Before it gets any stronger."

• jisung scooted you closer to him so you can't make yourself wet.

• you slightly jumped at how his hands are warm and soft making your heart again jump.

• jisung is quite shocked because of his newfound confidence but he just brushed it off so it won't make the situation more awkward.

• "thank you, jisung."

• "you're welcome."

***

➤felix

• you are calmly waiting for the rain to stop inside the library.

• you were stucked there for almost 2 hours, because your groupmate already went home. Luckily you have some books there to avoid the seeping boredom in you.

• "y/n?"

• you stopped reading ang lift your gaze, seeing Felix. You smiled at him as he went near you.

• "hey, still studying?"

• "nah, just to kill boredom. I'm waiting for the rain to stop. I can't go home under the rain."

• felix just shook his head as his arms are propped on the table while resting his chin on his palms.

• he straighten his seat as an idea popped into his head.

• hey y/n! i can walk you home. I have an umbrella with me."

• a smile appeared on your face after he said that.

• "really? you're a lifesaver, lix! but, is that okay?"

• "of course! Why not?"

• "i mean, your house is far from ours. You might come home late."

• "it's okay. I'll just tell mom that I helped out a friend."

• "thank you lixie!"

• "come on, while it's still early."

***

➤seungmin

• "that's all. don't forget to bring the stuffs tomorrow okay? so we can prepare earlier for the fair."

• seungmin, your student council president finally dismissed the meetinng for the preparation for the school fair next week.

• "y/n, don't forget to bring the curtains for the stage design, okay? gotta go, my mom is already outside"

• you just bid your goodbyes to yeji and fixed your things, it's already 5 pm and the thought of hearing your mom scold you for coming home late makes you frown.

• but as you take a look at the window outside the room, strong rain greeted you.

• you opened your bag to check if you bring your umbrella with you but you saw nothing.

• "urgh! why does it have to be today??"

• "hey, y/n? is there any problem?"

• seungmin approached you as he heard you groaned

• you thought you're the only one left inside so you were quite shocked to hear seungmin's voice.

• "uh... uhm yeah. I forgot my umbrella. And it's raining outside. but i cannot wait for it to stop, my mom will scold me if i go home late again."

• you blurted out while seungmin is intently listening to you.

• you just sighed and sit down on the chair near you.

• "hey, want me to walk you home? i have a quite big umbrella with me. I think we can fit in here."

• seungmin offered to you showing his umbrella.

• you looked at seungmin for a while, registering what he said to you.

• seungmin is the type of student who is quiet, and has the looks of a smart, intimidating student, that's why you really admire him. and he's also the reason why you joined the student council. In that way, you can have at least some interactions with him.

• seungmin is not the type to talk to people casually especially if he's not really close with them. So him, offering to walk you home, makes you shock and makes your heart flutter.

• "a-are you sure? I mean i can just wait here. I'll just tell my mom I had to wait for the rain to stop."

• he just sighed and grab your bag.

• "come on, i just can't leave you here. And besides, we're on the same way home."

• seungmin said making your eyes wide.

• "really?? how did you know?"

• "it's because I saw you one time. I just didn't call your name because... because I'm shy..."

• he said and you can't be wrong. you just saw his cheeks slightly turned red making you chuckle. he's so /cute/.

• "you know what? Let's go."

• you just nodded and head out of the room.

***

➤jeongin/i.n

• you just finished doing your project and you're getting ready to go home.

• when you heard the loud pouring of rain outside your classroom window.

• you grunted as you realized that you forgot to bring your umbrella with you..

• jeongin stopped at what his doing as he saw your mini tantrums.

• "hey, y/n. you look like you lost from a game. What happened?"

• "i forgot to bring my umbrella with me! And it's raining outside."

• you just slumped yourself at your seat and closed your bag.

• "i'll just need to wait for it to stop."

• "uh, y/n. i think the condition of the sky says no. Look, it's quite dark outside."

• you turn your eyes to the window to check the sky, and jeongin isn't lying.

• "i think i need to run to the bus stop while raining."

• you huffed out of frustration and leaned on the chair.

• "i'll walk you there, perhaps i want to go home too now."

• you straighten up your seat and looked at jeongin.

• "really?"

• he nodded at you and stand up.

• "come on, i badly want to go home now."

• you just nodded at him and grabbed your bag and head out of the room.

• "thank you, innie."

• "no prob, princess."

______

it's been a lifetime since i posted a bulleted type of scenarios and all i can say is-- none. Yeah, anyways this fic was made a long time ago. but i just got the courage to post it today after lots of edits ajd rereadings. I hope u like it and thank u!

--

Special thanks to my forever vivi @peaches-writes for helping me with my struggles. u the best girl💖

[trendingnewsb]

Why We Know More Stuff but Aren't Getting Any Smarter

When you scroll through Facebook, you can see posts about simple stretches to relieve back pain, how to make a s’mores, and how to be single and happy. Or maybe you’re more like a Youtube person, watching gurus talk about makeup tips, or some Youtubers teaching guitar. I’m sure you read and watch some of these every day.

Technology has brought a surplus of information to our fingertips, but has it made us smarter? How often do you try those stretching exercises? Do you really know how to make a s’mores? Are you making yourself happy being single? Are you good at doing makeup now? Or can you play guitar better?

If more information made us smarter, we’d all be geniuses at this point. But mere exposure to data doesn’t make us better thinkers and learners.

The fact is, we’ve never learned how to learn properly.

No matter how many articles you’ve skimmed through, you are not getting smarter.

How many times have you caught yourself scrolling through Facebook, watching video after video on Youtube, or digging through blog posts? On average, we’re spending 50 minutes per day on Facebook alone.[1] Being exposed to information is not the same as internalizing and adapting the knowledge to make it relevant to us. Even during our formal education, turning what we learn into wisdom that we can apply throughout our lives is uncommon. At school, we acquire knowledge quickly to write papers and take exams.

Our conventional systems of knowledge acquisition fail to make use of the brain’s potential.[2] We don’t often get the chance to apply what we’ve learned.

Instead of trying to grasp tidbits of information from the vast amounts online, you can hack your brain to learn in an authentic way. Unless we use that information, we’re bound to forget it.

The thing is, how we apply knowledge today is too different from that in the past.

The way that we apply knowledge is different today because we are exposed to so much information every day. Traditional learning styles often involved apprenticeship or immediate active application of skills.[3]

If you were trying to learn to ski before the Information Age, you’d likely start by finding an instructor. The experienced skier would help you understand the equipment and act as a guide while you learned the mechanics of the activity. You’d constantly work to apply what you learned by practicing on your own time, the bulk of your learning was done on the slopes. Eventually, you wouldn’t need your instructor, and you’d consider yourself a competent and confident skier.

Today, when you decide that you want to learn to ski, you spend hours perusing the internet for every blog post and article about skiing. You watch videos of people skiing, research the best gear, and join a Facebook group for winter sports enthusiasts.You may feel like an expert in all things ski-related after you dig into these resources, but have you actually learned to ski? There’s a big difference between reading about putting on skis and actually hitting the slopes.

When we learn now, we have to deal with so much more interference from an overabundance of information.

Today, we have sacrificed the quality of the knowledge for quantity.

There’s an imbalance between the knowledge we take in and the information that we use.[4] Your brain is working as quickly as it can to send data from your working memory to your long-term memory, but it can’t retain everything.[5]

We’re also thrilled by the chase for more information. Our desire to keep up sends us scrolling through social media on a frequent basis. We are plagued by our own fear of missing out (FOMO) to the detriment of authentic learning.[6] We are up to date on sensational stories, and we’re sharing like mad on Facebook and WhatsApp, but convenient access to knowledge is no replacement for deep learning through effort and concentration. How much of that easily-accessed information do you apply?

While it’d be perfect to absorb and apply 100% of the information, it’s not quite possible.

Perhaps there are a few hyper-productive individuals who can achieve this level of success. But most of us aren’t Albert Einstein, and we’re pressed for time. We have to be pragmatic about how we approach information if we want it to stick.

If you want to hang onto information for the long-haul, you’ll need to be selective about what you choose to absorb. Without a plan, getting information from the internet is like trying to eat the entire buffet in one sitting. Break the overabundance of resources into easily digestible pieces so that you can give the information time to become meaningful to you.

If we can’t take in everything anyway, how can we really learn?

1. Get your brain a filter — filter out information that won’t improve you.

Scrolling through the internet is a passive form of knowledge acquisition. When we waste time skimming through the latest trends, our FOMO supersedes our drive to acquire knowledge in a meaningful way.

The amount of information that we can access is always going to be more than we can process. To filter the information you take in, focus on what you need to improve. What must you learn to be successful? Taking this simple step enables you to pass over unrelated and tangentially-related information.

As you continue to grow your knowledge and skills, you can update the parameters of your filter.

If you return to the skiing example, you establish your filter by deciding what you need to learn about skiing right now. Are you trying to figure out how to put on the skis properly? Do you know how to stop when you’re heading down a slope? If you are working on the fundamentals, it won’t be valuable to spend time learning about advanced tricks. After you’re proficient in the basics, modify your filter so that you continue to grow your skills.

2. Take information into the real world — do what you’ve read to confirm your learning.

You know that reading about something once doesn’t guarantee that the information is yours to recall at will. Knowledge isn’t useful until you can apply it. If you are trying to learn a new skill, you’ll have to do the things that you’ve read about in your research. Until you’ve made multiple attempts to master the ski-trick you saw on Youtube, you haven’t internalized it. When you can land the trick without thinking or recall information without struggling, it is yours.

It isn’t always easy to take information from your computer screen into the real world. There’s a fair chance that you are going to fail the first time you attempt something.

When you are learning to ski, you are going to fall. You’ll probably fail to execute a smooth turn, and even when you do succeed, you’ll undoubtedly compare yourself to all the other skiers on the slope that day. Giving up when you fall or allowing your brain to spin a self-defeating narrative keeps you from learning. Making mistakes is a potent part of the learning process.[7]

Practice, get feedback; and practice, and get feedback.

Getting into the habit of applying what you’ve learned is excellent, but there is only so much that you can do on your own. You need the input of others to take your skills to the next level.

You can initiate a feedback loop by performing a self-assessment to take stock of where you are in the learning process, but if you want to make more growth, seek feedback from others.[8]

It is easy to stop at the self-assessment stage and convince yourself that you are doing everything well, but you don’t know what you don’t know. Insights from others can help you determine where you should focus your learning efforts next so that you are always improving.

When you start to build new skills, you may be able to process instructions in the moment, but if you don’t continue to practice, you won’t internalize the knowledge. You’ll have to repeat your actions or process until it becomes second-nature.

For example, when you learn a new word, you have to go through the slow process of looking it up, repeating the definition, and using it in a sentence several times. If you don’t use the word, you will forget it, but if you use it enough, it comes to mind with ease.

3. Stay alert to what to learn next — avoid wasting time on unnecessary information.

You can’t take in every bit of information at once, but you can choose to learn more about things you’d like to improve. You’ll retain more information when you target your searches as opposed to mindlessly scrolling.

Take opportunities to reflect on what you have learned along the way. You’ll not only feel better about your progress, but you’ll be able to make use of what you already know when you take on a different challenge.

To refer to our skiing example for a final time, imagine that you’ve mastered the basics of movement. You can turn smoothly and stop when you need to. What do you need to learn next? How will the things that you already know about skiing impact the way that you approach new techniques and challenges?

To get smarter, it’s not about how much you’ve known but how much you’ve brought into play.

To know something deeply, you’ll have to engage with it on a consistent basis while giving yourself plenty of opportunities for self-reflection and objective feedback. Knowledge is cumulative. The greatest minds and most skilled athletes of our time didn’t become that way by scouring social media or reading books — they put in the time to make meaning of their the data that was relevant to their studies.

True learning is not always easy. You’ll experience struggles as you tackle new challenges and wade through the ephemera of the Digital Age. If you can focus your efforts and make deliberate choices about your learning, you can navigate the abundance of resources to make meaningful gains in your life.

Reference

[1]^New York Times: Facebook Has 50 Minutes of Your Time Each Day. It Wants More.[2]^Scientific American: What is the Memory Capacity of the Human Brain?[3]^The Atlantic: Why Germany Is So Much Better at Training Its Workers[4]^Huffpost: The Internet May Be Changing Your Brain in Ways You Never Imagined[5]^National Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience: How is Information Transferred Into Long-Term Memory[6]^HuffPost: Social Media, FOMO, and the Perfect Storm for the Quarter-Life Crisis[7]^Teach Thought: 10 Ways to Honor Mistakes in the Learning Process[8]^Fast Company: Why You Hate Getting Feedback but Still Need More of It

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Why We Know More Stuff but Aren't Getting Any Smarter

When you scroll through Facebook, you can see posts about simple stretches to relieve back pain, how to make a s’mores, and how to be single and happy. Or maybe you’re more like a Youtube person, watching gurus talk about makeup tips, or some Youtubers teaching guitar. I’m sure you read and watch some of these every day.

Technology has brought a surplus of information to our fingertips, but has it made us smarter? How often do you try those stretching exercises? Do you really know how to make a s’mores? Are you making yourself happy being single? Are you good at doing makeup now? Or can you play guitar better?

If more information made us smarter, we’d all be geniuses at this point. But mere exposure to data doesn’t make us better thinkers and learners.

The fact is, we’ve never learned how to learn properly.

No matter how many articles you’ve skimmed through, you are not getting smarter.

How many times have you caught yourself scrolling through Facebook, watching video after video on Youtube, or digging through blog posts? On average, we’re spending 50 minutes per day on Facebook alone.[1] Being exposed to information is not the same as internalizing and adapting the knowledge to make it relevant to us. Even during our formal education, turning what we learn into wisdom that we can apply throughout our lives is uncommon. At school, we acquire knowledge quickly to write papers and take exams.

Our conventional systems of knowledge acquisition fail to make use of the brain’s potential.[2] We don’t often get the chance to apply what we’ve learned.

Instead of trying to grasp tidbits of information from the vast amounts online, you can hack your brain to learn in an authentic way. Unless we use that information, we’re bound to forget it.

The thing is, how we apply knowledge today is too different from that in the past.

The way that we apply knowledge is different today because we are exposed to so much information every day. Traditional learning styles often involved apprenticeship or immediate active application of skills.[3]

If you were trying to learn to ski before the Information Age, you’d likely start by finding an instructor. The experienced skier would help you understand the equipment and act as a guide while you learned the mechanics of the activity. You’d constantly work to apply what you learned by practicing on your own time, the bulk of your learning was done on the slopes. Eventually, you wouldn’t need your instructor, and you’d consider yourself a competent and confident skier.

Today, when you decide that you want to learn to ski, you spend hours perusing the internet for every blog post and article about skiing. You watch videos of people skiing, research the best gear, and join a Facebook group for winter sports enthusiasts.You may feel like an expert in all things ski-related after you dig into these resources, but have you actually learned to ski? There’s a big difference between reading about putting on skis and actually hitting the slopes.

When we learn now, we have to deal with so much more interference from an overabundance of information.

Today, we have sacrificed the quality of the knowledge for quantity.

There’s an imbalance between the knowledge we take in and the information that we use.[4] Your brain is working as quickly as it can to send data from your working memory to your long-term memory, but it can’t retain everything.[5]

We’re also thrilled by the chase for more information. Our desire to keep up sends us scrolling through social media on a frequent basis. We are plagued by our own fear of missing out (FOMO) to the detriment of authentic learning.[6] We are up to date on sensational stories, and we’re sharing like mad on Facebook and WhatsApp, but convenient access to knowledge is no replacement for deep learning through effort and concentration. How much of that easily-accessed information do you apply?

While it’d be perfect to absorb and apply 100% of the information, it’s not quite possible.

Perhaps there are a few hyper-productive individuals who can achieve this level of success. But most of us aren’t Albert Einstein, and we’re pressed for time. We have to be pragmatic about how we approach information if we want it to stick.

If you want to hang onto information for the long-haul, you’ll need to be selective about what you choose to absorb. Without a plan, getting information from the internet is like trying to eat the entire buffet in one sitting. Break the overabundance of resources into easily digestible pieces so that you can give the information time to become meaningful to you.

If we can’t take in everything anyway, how can we really learn?

1. Get your brain a filter — filter out information that won’t improve you.

Scrolling through the internet is a passive form of knowledge acquisition. When we waste time skimming through the latest trends, our FOMO supersedes our drive to acquire knowledge in a meaningful way.

The amount of information that we can access is always going to be more than we can process. To filter the information you take in, focus on what you need to improve. What must you learn to be successful? Taking this simple step enables you to pass over unrelated and tangentially-related information.

As you continue to grow your knowledge and skills, you can update the parameters of your filter.

If you return to the skiing example, you establish your filter by deciding what you need to learn about skiing right now. Are you trying to figure out how to put on the skis properly? Do you know how to stop when you’re heading down a slope? If you are working on the fundamentals, it won’t be valuable to spend time learning about advanced tricks. After you’re proficient in the basics, modify your filter so that you continue to grow your skills.

2. Take information into the real world — do what you’ve read to confirm your learning.

You know that reading about something once doesn’t guarantee that the information is yours to recall at will. Knowledge isn’t useful until you can apply it. If you are trying to learn a new skill, you’ll have to do the things that you’ve read about in your research. Until you’ve made multiple attempts to master the ski-trick you saw on Youtube, you haven’t internalized it. When you can land the trick without thinking or recall information without struggling, it is yours.

It isn’t always easy to take information from your computer screen into the real world. There’s a fair chance that you are going to fail the first time you attempt something.

When you are learning to ski, you are going to fall. You’ll probably fail to execute a smooth turn, and even when you do succeed, you’ll undoubtedly compare yourself to all the other skiers on the slope that day. Giving up when you fall or allowing your brain to spin a self-defeating narrative keeps you from learning. Making mistakes is a potent part of the learning process.[7]

Practice, get feedback; and practice, and get feedback.

Getting into the habit of applying what you’ve learned is excellent, but there is only so much that you can do on your own. You need the input of others to take your skills to the next level.

You can initiate a feedback loop by performing a self-assessment to take stock of where you are in the learning process, but if you want to make more growth, seek feedback from others.[8]

It is easy to stop at the self-assessment stage and convince yourself that you are doing everything well, but you don’t know what you don’t know. Insights from others can help you determine where you should focus your learning efforts next so that you are always improving.

When you start to build new skills, you may be able to process instructions in the moment, but if you don’t continue to practice, you won’t internalize the knowledge. You’ll have to repeat your actions or process until it becomes second-nature.

For example, when you learn a new word, you have to go through the slow process of looking it up, repeating the definition, and using it in a sentence several times. If you don’t use the word, you will forget it, but if you use it enough, it comes to mind with ease.

3. Stay alert to what to learn next — avoid wasting time on unnecessary information.

You can’t take in every bit of information at once, but you can choose to learn more about things you’d like to improve. You’ll retain more information when you target your searches as opposed to mindlessly scrolling.

Take opportunities to reflect on what you have learned along the way. You’ll not only feel better about your progress, but you’ll be able to make use of what you already know when you take on a different challenge.

To refer to our skiing example for a final time, imagine that you’ve mastered the basics of movement. You can turn smoothly and stop when you need to. What do you need to learn next? How will the things that you already know about skiing impact the way that you approach new techniques and challenges?

To get smarter, it’s not about how much you’ve known but how much you’ve brought into play.

To know something deeply, you’ll have to engage with it on a consistent basis while giving yourself plenty of opportunities for self-reflection and objective feedback. Knowledge is cumulative. The greatest minds and most skilled athletes of our time didn’t become that way by scouring social media or reading books — they put in the time to make meaning of their the data that was relevant to their studies.

True learning is not always easy. You’ll experience struggles as you tackle new challenges and wade through the ephemera of the Digital Age. If you can focus your efforts and make deliberate choices about your learning, you can navigate the abundance of resources to make meaningful gains in your life.

Reference

[1]^New York Times: Facebook Has 50 Minutes of Your Time Each Day. It Wants More.[2]^Scientific American: What is the Memory Capacity of the Human Brain?[3]^The Atlantic: Why Germany Is So Much Better at Training Its Workers[4]^Huffpost: The Internet May Be Changing Your Brain in Ways You Never Imagined[5]^National Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience: How is Information Transferred Into Long-Term Memory[6]^HuffPost: Social Media, FOMO, and the Perfect Storm for the Quarter-Life Crisis[7]^Teach Thought: 10 Ways to Honor Mistakes in the Learning Process[8]^Fast Company: Why You Hate Getting Feedback but Still Need More of It

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