How is it that most people can still overlook good information? My theory is that people know knowledge is good for them but they just can't seem to tolerate reading a book or digesting information in a boring way. It's clear that most people find it easier to absorb television, movies and computer animation than they do books or audio tapes. The more senses activated during an experience the more likely it is the experience will hold our attention. Attention is a vital component to absorbing knowledge. Why are you reading this right now? What's holding your attention? Are you just different from the majority of people who don't even take the time to read? Somewhere in your brain you've linked up pleasure with reading - or you've created a compelling enough reason to read this. Reading the words written here employs only one sense - your sense of sight. What are your other senses doing right now? What do your ears hear? What do you feel - sitting there in your chair? What is the temperature like? Are you eating anything? What does your mouth taste like? What do you smell right now? Now you've anchored more of the experience to this writing - but before you were somehow able to shut off your other senses while you focused on what I wrote here. One sense was able to over rule the other four. That's quite a challenge, and it doesn't stop there. Your brain is also trying to process what it sees written here, while at the same time entertaining thoughts. If you read this at a normal reading speed it's far too slow for your brain to remain entertained for long, so your brain begins to wander. You start thinking about what you have to do next or what your day was like. So now maintaining your attention isn't only a battle against the other senses, but it's also a matter of maintaining your physical sight over you mind's eye. Wow what a huge responsibility on the writer! If after all that I still have your attention long enough to read this in full - I've done my job. You can see why reading is an unpopular sport entertained by only a small circle of intellectuals. It really is unfortunate I can't jump out at you and make you use more of your senses while you read this. (Scratch and sniff anyone?) It's also unfortunate that the only books that seem to fully use imagination are fantasy or fictional novels with little real life value. THE LEARNING MEDIUMS I've compiled a list of learning mediums available to the average person today. I've assigned three main attributes to each learning medium. 1. Cost 2. Density 3. Ease of Understanding. I've included a chart here to make better use of your visual sense and give you a clearer idea on how these mediums break down. Of course keep in mind these are approximations and the value of a knowledge medium can vary depending on the source. COST There is a Time and Money investment in each learning medium. This should be taken into consideration when you evaluate the other attributes that help you learn best. Time is more heavily weighted than money. Meaning time gets a higher priority. Money is renewable, time is not. You can't buy back time. DENSITY Do you remember high school? Remember when you used to get homework and it seemed like you got a lot more stuff done by yourself than you did with a class room teacher? That's because the teacher had to make sure that 30 students understood the message and would repeat the same thing over and over again in different ways. You could probably get through more information in a book by yourself than you could with a teacher. That's because the book is denser with information than a classroom discussion. So in the same amount of reading time you could cover more topics than your teacher would be able to cover. This is the basis of information density. EASE OF UNDERSTANDING Going back to the high school example. What was nice about having a teacher, if you didn't understand what you read, the teacher could make it clear until you did. The book might try to explain things in more than one way but a teacher may be able to emphasize key points better than a book ever could just by tone, excitement or expression. So even though it took longer to cover the same number of topics, it was also easier to understand through the teacher than just going through your book. The teacher was able to employ your visual and auditory senses and do it in a congruent manner to help you understand the course material. The learning approaches that employ more of the senses, entertain or heighten our emotions make learning easier. The strategies that make learning easier are the basis for Ease of Understanding. See the chart below and identify which forms of learning are best for you. It may be one learning method or a combination. By at least analyzing the knowledge mediums you'll have a greater understanding on the best way for you to learn. This will help you improve your learning abilities in the future. You can't improve what you're not aware of. And if you want to achieve any level of success in this world there's no escape from learning. Superior information will always make the one who possesses it capable of superior action. Click here for a full view. Study the chart. Your goal is to determine the best ways for you to learn. And remember to choose your sources of knowledge carefully. Learning starts with the medium and ends with the source. If your source is poor it doesn't matter which medium you use. Our strategy for evaluating each learning method is based on personal experience and theory that seems to hold true for the greater majority. Your experiences may have been different. If you disagree with any method and challenge that perhaps any of these mediums are completely the opposite for you - bravo! At least you're able to evaluate your own learning methods and decide what works best for you. That is the main point here. SELF ANALYSIS Cost: Ranked 1st making it the least costly method of knowledge. Why? Considering the time and money that go into other forms of knowledge self analysis yields the most in the shortest amount of time. It's all in your head to begin with. The processing speeds of your mind are the most efficient method for learning in the world. Density: Ranked 1st in Density. Making it the densest form of knowledge. Why? It gets this rating because the knowledge depth, complexity and richness in your mind are far vaster than any other knowledge base. Ease of Understanding: Ranked 8th in Ease. Making this the most challenging method of learning. Why? Self analysis takes a great deal of thinking. It also requires breaking down walls. Going deep into your mind and understanding the knowledge can take a lifetime. CONVERSATION Cost: Ranked 2nd least expensive (Unless you buy expensive dinners. *smile*) Why? Conversation generally doesn't require any money. Remember the saying though, free advice is usually worth what it cost you. Density: Ranked 7th making it one of the least dense forms of knowledge. Why? A conversation can carry on for hours covering the same topic or going on tangents. It's challenge to rank this because conversations vary so much. Some conversations can be very deep and great new insights can be gained. In most cases however, conversation is the one of the least dense learning methods. Ease of Understanding: Ranked 3rd in Ease. Why? Because in a conversation you and another person or group are continuously giving each other feedback. This makes a conversation an effective way to learn. A conversation is very easy way to understand and be understood. Conversation is one source of knowledge you really have to evaluate for quality. Remember: ordinary people discuss people, above ordinary people discuss events and extraordinary people discuss ideas. Evaluate whether a conversation is worth your time and if it's not get out of there. BOOKS Cost: Ranked 3rd in cost. Why? Books are generally the cheapest medium relative to the knowledge inside. A twenty dollar investment could reveal a lifetime of work in a short period of time. Density: Ranked 2nd in Density. Making it one of the densest forms of knowledge. Why? A well written book contains a storage house of organized data for a reader. Within the confines of an average book a lot can be said. Ease of Understanding: Ranked 7th Why? Books don't use very many of the senses. Unless you learn how to effectively read and employ as many of the senses as possible, reading becomes a challenge of concentration. Books remain by far one of the best ways to acquire large amounts of new data in a short period of time. Books may also be substituted with some magazines and other periodicals. Again always consider the source when determining the value. Full Potential will do more for your future than Harry Potter. Fortunate magazine will do more for your future than The Enquirer. AUDIO Cost: Ranked 4th. Why? Audio programs generally cost more than books. That's because perhaps more money goes into their production, and the media costs slightly more than a book. Of course there are exceptions like downloadable audio programs, etc. Density: Ranked 3rd. Why? A good audio program is usually concise and fast paced. A lot of information has to go into a sellable program and a lot of information can be packed into one CD. The average talking time is less than the average reading time. Most book audio programs are abridged versions of the book, this mean's less information than the book. Ease of Understanding: Ranked 6th. Why? Audio programs employ the sense of sound. We remember less when we hear it than when we see it. You could be engaged in another activity and completely lose focus of what you were listening to. Audio programs unfold and you remain a passive listener. This makes focusing and learning challenging. Audio programs are a great way to change the learning tempo up if you've been reading all day. It serves as a fantastic learning tool in the car, an excellent alternative to the radio. It's also nice to relax, lie down at home and let the stereo do all the work. VIDEO Cost: Ranked 5th. Why? Generally a lot of money goes into video production and the media is more expensive to produce. Density: Ranked 5th. Why? When audio and visual are used producers generally employ more than one method to explain the same thing. The speaker may say it, then show it with a chart, and then express it again in another visual. Ease of Understanding: Ranked 4th easiest to understand. Why? Video uses both the visual and auditory senses. Although they may use more examples to explain something, this makes understanding easier. In some cases a video program is the best way to learn and grasp a new concept. A video program may also be significantly less than alternatives like a seminar. LECTURE Cost: Ranked 6th. Why? This medium is comparable to Seminars, but the differences are enough to warrant it being in its own category. College lectures can vary in price depending on the college you attend. Density: Ranked 4th. Why? A lecture doesn't allow for much of a feedback loop to be established - so it requires less time for more topics to be covered. Most lectures simply allow for note taking. A lecture in this way is very comparable to an audio program except the person giving a lecture may take time for questions or pause a few times to get feedback. Ease of Understanding: Ranked 5th. Why? A lecture is right in front of an audio program and right on the heels of a video program. A lecture provides stimulation of both the auditory and visual senses. But it lacks the exciting format of most video programs. Lectures can be a great way to grasp up to date knowledge from market leaders. If time sensitivity is an issue, production cycles for Video or Audio may not be as up to date as a live in-person lecture. Lectures may also be the only way to access knowledge from individuals who have never produced a program or have no desire to do seminars for the mass market. SEMINARS Cost: Ranked 7th in cost. Why? Seminars are usually hosted by the leaders that are in high demand. The most successful speakers can ask for thousands of dollars per ticket for a seminar that lasts just a few hours. Seminars may also offer additional optional purchases, increasing the cost of the seminar. Density: Ranked 6th in Density. Why? Most seminars are made to be fun and entertaining. Effective seminar speakers make sure everyone is involved. Much like the class room scenario this can mean spending a lot of time covering the same concept in different ways. Ease of Understanding: Ranked 2nd in Ease. Why? Because seminars are so action packed, entertaining and raises emotional levels - a lot of information is retained. A dynamic passionate speaker in person can actually help you remember more even if they give the same talk on an audio or video tape. It's the difference of seeing a football game on TV or seeing a football game live - you just get more excited close to the action. Excitement makes it easier to engage yourself in the material and understand it. EXPERIENCE Cost: Ranked 8th in cost. This is the most expensive form of learning. Why? Real life experience can consume many years and an entire fortune before a lesson is learned. The same lesson could have been learned by observation in self analysis, picking up a book or attending a seminar before a mistake was ever made. You can either learn by example or learn by mistake. Density: Ranked 8th in Density. Why? Because a serious amount of time and money can be invested into one lesson. The density of the lesson can be stretched over such a long period of time. Even if the lesson learned was a powerful one the message can be condensed into a single book. Amazing isn't it? Ease of Understanding: Ranked 1st in Ease. Why? Because an experience is first hand - every sense is engaged. The message can be so clear that some messages literally knock you in the head. Of course not all experiences can be observed or learned. Life is an experience. But in the case where a mistake could have been avoided with available knowledge - the mistake is a costly investment of resources. I'm sure you would agree for example- starting a business without taking advantage of the countless business and marketing resources available, resources developed by experts who have fought it out in the same trenches; would be an unnecessary investment at the school of hard knocks. Take advantage of the abundant sources of knowledge around you. Many of these sources were not possible 100 years ago. A CD was unheard of. A DVD sounded like a disease. Books were scarce. The only real way to get knowledge was directly from the person who had earned it - and highly successful people were in short supply. We live in a golden age of information. We are blessed with mass distribution in a variety of mediums. Seize the moment. Make constant learning a regular part of your life. |
