Lifelong learning

I have been interested in learning my whole life. I was learning officially in school for about half of my life and now I am in a career that requires learning new facts and techniques daily. This is the exciting part of the job for me and probably what keeps me in this profession. In addition to learning things for work, I learn about things to enrich my after-work life. My interests are almost unbounded - from technology to the arts; from history to the spiritual nature of existence.

The internet has really allowed me to develop this interest into a near-obsession. I can't explain to you how pleasing it is to me to have a question in mind and be able to find an answer through a quick google search. I sometimes jump up from table to search for an answer to a question that has arisen in our dinner conversation. For more indepth study I use books, journals, and magazines. My favorite places are libraries and bookstores. But perhaps what is most fulfilling about this hobby is how coincidence and interconnections manifest themselves in the process. Often when I am interested in a topic there will be something about it on NPR, then I'll see something related in one of my emails, or a friend will mention something she read. It's like fishing, or the more vegetarian pursuit of birdwatching. When I have the interest, the bytes of information come to me as I pursue them and lead me into other domains in the interconnecting landscape of science, culture and spirit.

Some resources I have found useful in my learning quest:

Autodidactic Press
Charles Hayes, the founder, has a similar perspective on learning as I do and writes essays based on his own interests and reading. His quarterly newsletter features book reviews, at least one essay and other learning resources. It is a great place to get sparks.

UTNE Magazine and Cafe
I really like this magazine not only because it is interesting and has unusual, beyond the mainstream articles but also because, somehow, it has a big influence in my life. The timing of the articles just seems to fit with the timing of events in my life. When I needed a new car, an article about hybrids convinced me to buy one. When I was struggling with questions about why I didn't feel as comfortable as I felt other people did, either in my childhood hometown or in my current environment, I read an article about straddling the boundaries between blue collar and white collar society. (I plan to make this the topic of a future entry)

NPR
I think few people would argue with the statement that NPR is a great source of interesting tidbits worth pursuing further. And not just regarding foreign affairs or politics but more mundane but also very life enriching topics like popular music. It was due to a short piece on Johnny Cash that I got several of his CD's from the library and spent many enjoyable hours listening to them. The interview with Cash combined with his music also piqued an interest in the connection between spirit and sound - how can two version of the same song give such a different emotional expression to a song? Is it just mechanics? Or does something of the person, some form of energy, get transferred from the musician to the listener via the performance?

There are many more and I am sure this topic will resurface in this blog often.