Your learning style?

Great discussion!

I've never been good at reading books. I get too impatient / antsy and often feel like there are other "more important things" I should be doing. I learned I could only focus time on a long book when I was forced to. When I was commuting 1 hour each way to my day job using public transportation I went through TONS of books. When I was community 1.5 hours each way by car to my day job I went through TONS of audio books. Most of the time I read / listened to business, finance, educational stuff (Thomas Friedman, Malcolm Gladwell, Michael Gerber, etc.)

What's weird is that I can spend all day, literally 18 hours a day, at my computer reading the same type of stuff. I can also spend hours watching educational videos, for example: just now I spend 2 hours learning about rocket mass stoves, solar water heaters, etc.

Maybe all the time I spent during my childhood in front of the TV has trained me to have a short attention span and be better at and enjoy video education more than reading / audio only. Audio alone is the hardest for me, but video can get into my brain and stick like crazy. I watch a lot of video on CNN and every episode of 60 Minutes and it's amazing how much that stuff permeates into what I think about throughout the week.

I just had an experience a few days ago that made me recognize another way of learning - what I'd maybe call "learning on the sly" or "surreptitious learning".

I was watching a guy that has a lot of skills, and he was changing the way the air lines for the pneumatic tools in a shop were routed and set up, lines that were bringing compressed air to a work bench. He's sort of a man of few words, who is kind of shy and has little patience for teaching anyone things. But being able to stand there and watch him was great, because I had a background of experience with that sort of thing. So I could pick up on his ideas (design approach, some of the hardware he was using).

So, let's see... there's learning by trial and error, there's learning by being taught by someone, and learning from books or magazines, and learning from videos, and learning on the sly.

I really REALLY enjoy watching people who are masters of their trade or skilled in a specific area. Whether it is a programmer coding in C++, a machinist using a metal lathe to turn something cool, a gamer taking on the ultimate boss on level 16, or an electrician wiring up a new service main panel on a house... I love watching people do what they are good at doing.

my learning style. i learn best by try out the things i have seen, heard, read, been taught or gleaned. as i burn through the project i will spotcheck my work vs, all available info then proceed if all is well. reckless with a slice of caution.

"Surreptitious learning" rocks! I love doing that, once I have the basics down.
When I'm newer at a process, what works is to make a list of all the steps and check them off till I can do it by habit. I'm not good at remembering lists of stuff so writing it really helps me.

I often look at things on other people's places such as buildings, fencing, feeders, gardens and such to glean ideas....and then I think of how I can improve on that idea or method. So, I guess you could say I am learning part of that process on the sly from others but improving it on my own from ideas of how it would work better for me if I change this or that to suit my place or livestock needs.

I thought I'd revive this, as we have some new members here these days.

I learn my own way. I think a mentor is wonderful. There's nothing like watching a true craftsman at work. Videos are ok, but I have trouble putting my own "curve" on them. Books are ok for getting an idea what I'm getting into.

My way is to get an idea of what I'm supposed to do (by whatever means) then just jump in and do it. If I really want to learn, I have to just "do it". Once my hands get the feel of something, whether it is milking a cow, building a barn, or fixing a piece of equipment... Then it "clicks" in my head.

I'm just weird I guess.

I am a read, read, read, research, research research and then do it. Most of the odd stuff I wanna learn there just isn't anyone around to teach.. But I was also the repair shop trouble shooter as I am a puzzle solver. I guess I look at things a bit different than other people.
so far there really hasn't been anything that I've wanted to do and read about and researched that I couldn't do myself. (oh.. does not being able to remove the nuts and bolts on my motorcycle count? had to have hubs muscle them puppies off).
There are times where I have turned to DVDs or youtube videos but not too often.
I just have a good imagination and can picture things in my head.
I have also looked at other peoples things and have "borrowed" their idea and either made it or made it and made changes to it. I think that is how things should be. Always trying to improve some things.
then there are somethings that I just like to know about that do not come in my instructions.. like what speeds to do certain things with my kitchenaid mixer.. But I know where to come for the answers!

For those who enjoy and benefit from watching how-to videos, this is something I just discovered... and I may be an ignorant dummy for not having discoverd it a year or two ago, I dunno.

This is a search engine made specifically for rounding up videos on a specific topic. It's called Veengle. You define the topic by putting in keywords in the little window at the top of the page (under the words "Video mingle engine". Then you click the little magnifying-glass icon to the right, and then Veengle gathers many relevant vids very quickly. You often wind up with many options.

http://www.veengle.com/

You can try it with terms like starting seedlings indoors or homebuilt machine or knitting sweater. Or whatever you're interested in.

I find it collects the vids more efficiently, in better order, and easier to preview than Youtube - even though it sources a lot of the vids from Youtube. There are instructions for making your own compilations of videos, too.