6PAK/TALL CANS: GET EDUCATED

The Basics for a solid education --all of this assumes a basic high school education, to the point where you can read and write and function as a literate adult:

---English lit: Read lots of novels, especially the classics. There are hundreds of sites out there that purport to list the Western Canon, browse a few and just start reading. It gives you a base from which to work and to understand the world. Almost all culture is based on previous culture--you cannot hope to understand modern media without experiencing the base it is built on. And don't just focus on the obvious ones like Shakespeare and Chaucer; there are a lot of writers on the margins of the canon who are just as good. A few things to remember:
1. If you don't understand something, don't just quit. Shakespeare is hard to get through without the guidance of someone who can place it in context for you and help you wade through the language. Some things you need to take in a classroom setting, but if thats impossible, don't be afraid to use a study aid or read a critical essay. It does not make you stup1d to ask for help; quite the contrary, knowing your limits is very wise. But at the same time, just because something is in the canon, doesn't automatically make it good. For instance, I think James Joyce is pretty sh1tty.
2. This is not easy. It's not supposed to be.

---Econ: Economics is not about numbers; modern economics is more about a way of looking at the world. Everyone and their mother is reading the book Freakonomics now, but that is just the first work that popularized what the University of Chicago has been doing for decades: Appyling rigorous analytical tools to understanding complex problems. The fact is, the ideas that people like Milton Friendman, George Stigler, Ronald Coase, Gary Becker, Richard Posner and other Chicago School economists developed and propagated are now very much the ideas that guide the world. To not know them is to cr1pple your understanding of the world we live in.

To be continued...

---Bio: Science as the candle in the dark is a very powerful idea, and one of the best ways to help yourself succeed in a confusing world is to understand how your body and the environment around you functions. A few basic bio courses are very powerful, and should not be left out of any educational foundation.

---Math: I HATED math. Hated it with a passion. But I forced myself to acquire a good understanding of the basics, because, in one form or another, numbers run the world. They are the objective basis of discussion that all educated people use to communicate in business, and you must at least have a basic understanding of how they work, or you will be at a severe disadvantage to those who do.

The cool stuff:

---Complexity/Chaos studies: This field has produced some of the best new knowledge and advancements in understanding of reality in the past few decades. I am not talking about complex sh1t; chaos theory has contributed heavily to understanding econ, behavior, psychology, art, and just about everything else. For background, I'd start with James Gleiks book, Chaos, but then move quickly on, the field has advanced light years since he wrote that.

---Evolutionary Psychology: There is no better way to understand the human brain than stuyding this field. Fellas, you want to know how I am so good at reading people and at dealing with broads? The foundation of the answer lies in what I learned as an undergrad absorbing everything I could from this field. Start with The Adapted Mind by Cosmides and Toby, and then just go from there.

To be continued....

---Game theory/Strategy studies: The world is a cold, hard place, full of people who want to get the best of you. The way to fight them? Know the game, and nothing teaches you the game like studying game and strategy theory. I would actually not recommend you go to the primary sources for this--John Nash and John Maynard Smith are very dense and mathematical. Unless you know your sh1t, read the beginners stuff and the pure theory stuff, it will be just as useful. And of course, I can't talk about strategy without pimping Robert Greene. Trust me on this--I have read all the primary sources, Sun Tzu, Thucydides, Marcus Aurelius, Machiavelli--and they are all good, but I honestly think Robert Greene does as good a job writing about strategy as anyone ever. That is not a small statement I just made. You are always better off reading more than less, and I recommend reading all the primary sources he cites in his bibliography, but if you just read Greene, you are going to be fine.

---Behavioral economics: This is a relatively new field that combines evpsych, complexity theory and econ. It is only two decades old or so, but there is some cool stuff going on there.

---Cognitive psychology: The most famous practictioner of CogPsych is Dr Phil, and fu.ck all the haters, he is awesome. If you have serious brain issues, CogPsych is not for you. But if you are like most people and just have low level emotional stuff to work out, CogPsych is an extremely powerful tool for making your life right. (The basic idea behind it is to avoid all the bullsh1t of laying on couch and talking about bullsh1t, and instead to immediately get down to the specific thought processes and ideas you use in your life, and see which ones help and which ones hurt. It works really, really well.)

---Rhetoric: Some may think that it is only used when you give formal speeches and maybe in corporate meetings, but it can be used anywhere. You can either read the classic works way back from the Greeks and Romans, or also read books on all the small things that make what you say much more powerful and convincing. In the same way you also learn to call other peoples sh1t out, you understand for example why some people always get their way or why a commercial can affect you. But try to stay away from things like ¡§the Beginners guide¡¨ or ¡§for dummies¡¨, try to at least find something written a bit more serious.

---Classic history: This part of learning is often classified as useless by, to me, politically correct hippies, and social history is rated as much more modern and useful. Even though it also is good, you have to know the history to be able to understand the future. Invasions, religious turmoil and respected and disrespected leaders will always exist within a civilization. To prove my point, just read this "power, seduction and war article:"

http://www.powerseductionandwar.com/archives/the_iraq_war_an.phtml

The writer impresses me a lot with his knowledge from WW2 and Soviet Union, which helps me accept his new ideas about the current time. This is also a kind of rhetorical technique, a very good one if you ask me. I really liked that article, well enough with the @ss kissing. Learn your history, but not only the American.

To be continued...

--U.S. HISTORY: I recommend that any educated American be very familiar with the Constitution of the United States before exploring other facts or discources on american history.

Why? Well, the plain and simple fact is that someone who wants to "get educated fast" is probably doing it so that he can take part in some higher-brow conversation with smarter people. Many of those conversations are going to revolve around politics or current events. Having a passable working knowledge of what's in the Constitution -- and conversely, what is not-- should be a prerequisite before most people open their mouths.

Practically speaking, I would recommend someone first read the damn thing. It's written in English that even a high school kid can understand, not Shakespearean gibberish. Secondly, I would recommend browsing online Wikipedia articles to get a feel for the ways the Constitution has evolved over its existence, and what roles the Supreme Court, Congress, and the States play in changing it.

I don't expect anyone who is not a law student or a constitutional scholar to be able to cite case decisions off the top of their heads, but it does get annoying when someone says something ignorant like "The Constitution guarantees the separation of church and state!" when it absolutely doesn't. I wish more people would simply read the First Amendment before trying to argue about it.

Bottom line, having some general knowledge about the Constitution before talking about law, politics, government, etc... is as fundamental as knowing how many players are supposed to be on the line of scrimmage before complaining about a penalty while watching Monday Night Football. You gotta know the rules before you can criticize the game.

To be continued...

---Logic/Debate: Know how to formulate an argument and express it verbally in a manner that is both succinct and clear to your audience. The ability to cut through the rhetoric of an opponent's statement and formulate a concise counterargument is essential to "smart" communication.

No matter your field of study, you'll have to explain complex issues to someone without the requisite background to completely comprehend what you are talking about. Knowledge is only as good as your ability to communicate it to others.

---Discrete Math: Being forced to take a class on discrete math --mostly logic, set theory, permutations, number theory--in college was one of the best things to happen to me. The topic seemed to help me think differently about all problems in life, not just programming. While working on problems, I found myself to examine my surroundings and see connections between things which I would not have seen prior. Seeing those connections allow me to make better decisions based on the information that is available to me at the time. Overall, your analytic skills will be greatly improved.

---Bible: Every intelligent person should read, or at least be familiar with the Bible. I'm not saying you have to buy into it, in fact, it's best that you don't and keep an objective mind at all times. But it is one of the most influential and widely read books in the history of mankind. Millions of people have committed both good deeds and murder for it. It contains the foundation of the world's three major monotheistic religions, which a majority of the world's inhabitants claim to ascribe to. There are allusions to the Bible in countless major works of literature, art, film--to name a few.

---English Dictionary: Just go Malcolm X on that sh1t and read the Dictionary completely. Having a grasp and recognition of every word in the English language is definitely a plus. Now you can finally join the ranks of budding black Muslim leaders and Scrabble champions in being masters of word and verse.

---Philosophy: For a starting point in philosophy, I recommend Bertrand Russell¡¦s The History of Western Philosophy. From there, I¡¦d recommend reading the work of whoever strikes your interest in that book. Machiavelli is probably a decent next step; his work is interesting, thought provoking, readable, and actually useful in and of itself.

---Music: Developing an appreciation of music, studying musical theory or learning an instrument are some of the most powerful ways of expanding your horizons as a human being.

Also, listen to diverse types of music - plow through that sh1t and find some great art. If you're a devout "noerteno/ranchero" head, grab some classical, if you like hip-hop go get some jazz and vice versa. There is only 2 types of music; good and bad, so don't be afraid of trying new things.

We are in a unique position in history where the endless catalogue of human musical history is at our fingertips... FOR FREE! Don't waste it!
An appreciation for and a love of music will enrich your life exponentially.

My last word on getting educated:

Once you start, allow yourself to be taken down the rabbit hole. I was 12 when i first read The Autobiography of Malcom X. Completely changed my life that book, and to this day Malcolm X is one of my personal heroes. Another thing that book did was start me on my personal quest for knowledge--in it, Malcolm taught me two things:

1. Never skip over a word. Read with a dictionary next to you, and always look everything up. I did that for a decade, until I stopped finding words I didn't know.

2. Follow the trail. He listed a bunch of books that he read, so I went and checked them all out. Some I liked, some I didn't, but each one led me to other books, some I liked, some I didn't, etc, etc, on and on, until the next thing I knew I was immersed in learning and knowledge. If you let yourself, once you start down that path, you can keep going forever. Almost all knowledge is intertwined if you follow the links--like all things, everything is related and has evolved from one source to another.

http://www.ia-forum.org/
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/
http://diplomacymonitor.com/stu/dm.nsf/opener?OpenForm
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/
http://www.fpif.org/
http://www.pinr.com/
http://www.csis.org/
http://www.rand.org/
http://www.cfr.org/
http://drudgereport.com/
http://newsmax.com/
http://rawstory.com/
http://realclearpolitics.com/
http://wnd.com/
http://dailykos.com/
http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer
http://www.economist.com/index.html
http://www.theonion.com/content/index
http://slashdot.org/
http://www.globalsecurity.org/
http://ace.mu.nu/
http://www.townhall.com/
http://www.weeklystandard.com/
http://www.forbes.com/
http://www.businessweek.com/
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/
http://www.inc.com/welcome.html
http://www.brain-terminal.com/
http://www.howstuffworks.com/

I have more....

Did you enroll at Riverside Community College?