I'm learning in public
& maybe you should, too?
A long time ago I read this article about learning in public.
It is one of the main reasons I started this newsletter — to get more comfortable writing about ideas in the humanities, connect with all of you, and have fun on the internet (maybe make some mistakes, but learn lots about the world along the way) — to make a habit of developing a “learning exhaust.”
The premise is in the title: learn in public. Instead of silently learning, taking in more and more alone in a dark room, put something back into the world. And learn as you do.
In practice:
copying/remaking things to learn how it is done (e.g. try to paint the Mona Lisa),
publishing collections of stuff you used to learn (e.g. YouTube playlists of videos you used to learn to code),
reaching out to the people that made stuff that helped you (e.g. sending appreciation emails to your favorite musician/writer/podcaster).
The idea is to “open source” the knowledge you have.
And sure, the author has noted on multiple occasions that not everything has to or should be learned in public. But either way most of us spend too little time learning in public, so this is a call to action to get started.
“The impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you.”
Thus, now I will be making silly little YouTube videos to get better at editing videos & graphic design.
I just launched my YouTube channel this week! If you haven’t seen my first video yet, here is a link!
I. Coffee Receipt Stories
This is a cool project all about drawing on coffee receipts. There are infographics, ideas, drawings, and more from around the world. If you need inspiration or want to scroll through something other than Instagram, this is the place to be. Explore here!
II. Museo
Museo is a cool search engine that connects to multiple museums around the world to let you search for images that are free to use. Collage, remix, and share (with caution, some are copyrighted, always check!). Start looking at art here!
III. A Brief History of OK by Ben Schwartz
This site hosts multiple cool editorials designed for a unique reading experience. An okay starting point is “A Brief History of OK,” which you can read here.
Signing off,
Zuza