Dr. D’s Ideas for Keeping  Informed

 

Dr. D’s Ideas for Keeping Informed

By Wayne Danielson

J 395, May 17, 2004


Most people would agree that being informed is better than being uninformed. The question is – how to become informed, and how to stay that way in a rapidly changing world.  Here are a few start-up ideas. Read them, and then make your own list.


1.Read a book every week, not a textbook, but something else. Become a familiar figure at your bookstore and your public library. Make friends with reference librarians. They usually are wonderful people, and they know more about how to find hard-to-get information than you ever will.


2.Read in all fields, even ones that bore you at first. New fields become more interesting when you begin to understand what’s going on. Have you ever read a dictionary or encyclopedia before going to bed? Try it. You will fall asleep easily, but you are sure to learn something before you do.


3.Build a personal library of books that are important and useful to you.  I still have a battered copy of Louis Untermeyer’s “A Treasury of Great Poems” I won in a Time Current Affairs Knowledge Contest in 1948. No, I won’t part with it.


4.Always check the magazine racks. Notice what other people are reading. Keep up with what’s new. Buy generously.


5.In addition to reading a local newspaper every day, read a national paper such as The New York Times or The Washington Post, and at least one other paper preferably from far away. Online sites are fine for most large papers, but old-fashioned print on paper is faster and easier when you can get it.


6.Use radio and TV wisely. Many highly informative channels are now available on cable or via satellite. Skip the mind candy and look for the good programs. Listen to books on tape and public radio in your car.


7.Become an Internet expert. What is the best search engine right now? I say it’s Google. Aldous Huxley once remarked that he could write a magazine story on any subject after spending half an hour in the library. What would he have been able to do with the Internet?


8.Talk with a wide variety of people every day. Ask them what they’re doing. You will learn a lot. Keep in touch with friends using E-mail. Start up or join a discussion group. Taking part in a good discussion is one of the best ways of learning.


9.Write something every day, even if it’s only some thoughts for a personal journal. Writing helps you organize and remember what you know. Take notes whenever you can, even in dull meetings. Classify and store your knowledge. You’ll be surprised at how much you can get on a CD. 


10.Become familiar with Top 10 Lists for books, films, TV shows, music, science, etc. Remember that “becoming familiar” means reading the books, seeing the films, and listening to the music. You can accomplish a lot even with your busy schedule.