Taking Classes From Yale

I love learning new things and I have an eclectic range of interests. Over the weekend, I spent some time exploring iTunes U and found some classes from Yale that sounded interesting. The one that grabbed my interest the most was titled Epidemics in Western Society since 1600. First up was the bubonic plague.

I learned something right off the bat. While I knew the plague had hit Europe more than once in the middle ages, I didn't realize that plague had continued beyond that. In fact, there were outbreaks right up to the 20th century, IIRC.

The class comes in an audio version and a video version. I was using the audio version, but the third lecture on the bubonic plague involved artwork of the time and depictions revolving around the plague, so I'll have to go back and watch the video in order to see the paintings that the professor is talking about.

The plague is a particularly fascinating epidemic to me--I'm not sure why--but I've watched a number of television shows about it. The best of the lot was one I saw on PBS about how a certain gene helped the people who survived.

Waiting in the wings are about three or four more Yale courses. I love that the internet has given me (and anyone else who has access) the opportunity to take classes from universities across the world, especially one like Yale. In the past, I've found other classes online like the class on earthquakes from Berkeley and the ones on geography from Stanford.

The best part? I don't have to do the papers or take the tests. I can just learn without pressure. Seriously cool!

Brain Aerobics

I was listening to an audio book last week that talked about mental acuity and how it declines after we're out of school. The fall off is gradual, and people who've attended for college delay the issue for about a decade, but it happens with subjects you don't use. Like algebra.

I did notice the math decline, but I guess I really don't care much about that. Math was never my best subject and I had to work my tail off to get As in that class. In high school. I never took any math in college.

This is something I hadn't read about before, but I knew it happened. When I considered going back to college I decided against it both times because I didn't think I could study like I did while I was still in school.

(The first time I considered going back was to get a second degree. This was a few years after I finished college. The second time, I considered going back for a masters degree, maybe about five years ago. I ruled that out partly because of fiction writing and partly because they didn't have a part time program in the masters I was looking at.)

But I felt better about all of this when I realized how much learning I continue to do. The audio books I listen to are nearly all non-fiction. There's all the research required as a writer. I've read up on all kinds of things including nanotechnology and M Theory (physics) to name just two topics.

Then there's my decision to take Spanish lessons and I've signed up for Excel classes. Through iTunes U I've taken multiple geography classes from Stanford and an earthquake class from Berkeley. I'm listening to podcasts on the history of English and I have some science podcasts up next in queue. Then there's my constant computer geekiness and how I troubleshoot everything myself--both at home and at work.

I don't do any of these things because I'm worried about my brain atrophying. I do them because I really am a geek. I love learning and I always have. I'm also pretty anal about getting facts right in my books. I figure with these things in my favor, I don't have to worry too much about losing mental acuity. Unless the Spanish Ser form of To Be makes my head explode. And it might.

Education Never Stops

On Tuesday I talked about learning Spanish and it made me think of learning in general. One of my very favorite parts of being a writer is having the opportunity to learn something different with every book. There are things my heroes and heroines do or know that I don't know anything about.

Like my hero and heroine who speak fluent Spanish. :-)

I complain about some of the things I need to research--some of my h/h are into some stuff that doesn't interest me at all--but in the end, I'm always glad I learned it.

Among the things I need to research for ideas I have have percolating now are: geology, South America, surfing, also professional surfing, Hawaii, Post Concussion Syndrome, archaeology, reverse engineering of technology, espionage, computer viruses, and jungle survival. Just to name a few. Some of these topics are in the same story, BTW. It isn't one topic per book.

I'll confess to having zero interest in surfing, but that hasn't stopped me from pinning a bunch of surfing pictures on Pinterest.

If you remember Tuesday's post, I mentioned that I pick up my characters' interests. Believe me, that hugely helps me research the things I'm not personally interested in. It's a blessing...until I start buying things because of this interest. Still, it's better than having to research a topic I find really dry (geology, engineering) with nothing to alleviate the pain.