A little help?
Jan. 13th, 2011 11:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lucoI have a question for you guys.
As most of you know, I never finished High School. I got to the middle of Grade 10 and then everything else became too overwhelming. And, even though I've gone to College, an Animation course is NOT your typical College experience.
Add that all to the fact that I've been lost in my own world for most of my life and well, I'm more then a little out of touch. It hadn't bothered me before, but lately, it has. There are books and plays and writers and musicians that I don't recognize. There are historical facts and events that are common to everyone else that I have no clue about. There are shows and myths and trends that escape me and don't even get me started in maths and sciences!
I've recently been wanting to basically teach myself all that I missed out on, but I don't even know where to begin! So, that's where you guys come in. Because all of you are intelligent, talented and thoughtful people. All of you have such strong opinions and you can't even begin to know how much I admire you for that. How young and childish I often feel...
So, I was wondering if you guys could help give me a direction. Can you name books you think should be read, or were asked to read. Plays and poetry, writers, history, myths, sciences, just ANYTHING! What were you guys taught? What would you consider common knowledge? And not just school-wise, but world-wise as well! I don't even know how to properly describe what I'm asking, but hopefully you guys can figure it out. I just need a good starting place. A list of something to work from because I'm tired of my own little world, but am not quite sure how to step outside.
And even if you're still in High School, please don't hesitate to add your own input. I wasn't able to be where you are now.
Thanks.
As most of you know, I never finished High School. I got to the middle of Grade 10 and then everything else became too overwhelming. And, even though I've gone to College, an Animation course is NOT your typical College experience.
Add that all to the fact that I've been lost in my own world for most of my life and well, I'm more then a little out of touch. It hadn't bothered me before, but lately, it has. There are books and plays and writers and musicians that I don't recognize. There are historical facts and events that are common to everyone else that I have no clue about. There are shows and myths and trends that escape me and don't even get me started in maths and sciences!
I've recently been wanting to basically teach myself all that I missed out on, but I don't even know where to begin! So, that's where you guys come in. Because all of you are intelligent, talented and thoughtful people. All of you have such strong opinions and you can't even begin to know how much I admire you for that. How young and childish I often feel...
So, I was wondering if you guys could help give me a direction. Can you name books you think should be read, or were asked to read. Plays and poetry, writers, history, myths, sciences, just ANYTHING! What were you guys taught? What would you consider common knowledge? And not just school-wise, but world-wise as well! I don't even know how to properly describe what I'm asking, but hopefully you guys can figure it out. I just need a good starting place. A list of something to work from because I'm tired of my own little world, but am not quite sure how to step outside.
And even if you're still in High School, please don't hesitate to add your own input. I wasn't able to be where you are now.
Thanks.
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no subject
Date: 2011-01-13 10:21 pm (UTC)I would go into this with the attitude that you're going to have fun -- because you are. This is all exploration and discovery in the highest degree!
Science is FUN. Yes to Mythbusters, and I recommend the show "Rough Science" (you can get it on DVD through Netflix and maybe elsewhere - A group of scientists with various specialties go out into wild/abandoned areas and perform assigned tasks -- using Science!).
For tougher subjects like physics, chemistry, and astronomy I recommend looking for books by Isaac Asimov. Asimov is known best for his science fiction (still damn good stuff after all these years), but he also wrote mysteries and nonfiction books, including lots of science books. Asimov is an excellent *storyteller*, so you get an entertaining read about real subjects, with some of the cool history behind many scientific discoveries and developments.
Astronomy -- the study of the planets, stars and space -- is awesome to me. Of course I geeked out VERY early in my life over Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, 'cause I managed to stay awake long enough to watch it happen on TV. (I was young enough to fall asleep before Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the moon ten minutes later!) Spaceweather.com is a great source of what is happening right now in our solar system, and really cool with lots of pics of the sun, auroras, eclipses and the planets as seen from Earth, and a link to a satellite finder page so you can watch when the International Space Station flies overhead at night. ^^
Physics can include optics -- the study of light and why it does what it does. I HIGHLY recommend the site "atmospheric optics" ( http://www.atoptics.co.uk/ ) -- you'll see stuff you want to see in real life and draw in your pictures! I could go through the halo section a million times and not get bored. (Okay, maybe just a thousand...)
Last for now (and not least at all), I recommend the book "Lies My Teacher Told Me", which sets a lot of American education's myths and fallacies straight. (I am fairly certain that a lot of these myths and fallacies are taught in Canadian schools as well... either way it's a kick-ass read!)
If you get the idea that I think knowledge for knowledge's sake is fun, you're right! ^____^ And you'll find that you end up using a lot of your knowledge in your art, one way or another. ♥