Abandon Academia. Become an Autodidact

...

Abandon Shitposting. Become An Hero.

>So you're telling us that instead of getting your degree, you just stayed home and read a bunch of books instead. Tell us, why should we hire you over someone who's actually proven herself to be learned and reliable?

Ok I will. In fact I will not abandon academia and continue to be an autodidact as well. Best knowledge gains.

It's the same kind of pie-in-the-sky thinking that brings about ham-fisted schlock like Good Will Hunting. Self-professed "autodidacts" think they're going to stumble upon an equation on a hallway chalkboard or some douche canoe in a bar and use the opportunity to really shine.

The great thing is that in real life the moment almost never comes and even when it does come, the autodidact does only just as adequately as the academic.

Too bad some ghostwriter isn't crafting your life to provide these fortuitous moments? And then making you excel beyond all reality when they do? I guess?

>I'm not sure how I got here to be honest. I'm not interested in whatever job it is you need people for, I already get paid for the mere act of being by the government. Have a nice day, good luck with finding your bee.

AHAHAH, THESE RETARDS THINK THE FUTURE EMPLOYERS WILL WANT DEGREES

LMAO

The guy on the right looks like an android

>future employers
Future cars would be able to drive themselves, but I'm not going to let the steering wheel go in traffic just yet.

Current cars*

All of the great students are more or less autodidacts. There's only so much you can learn in 1.5 hours of lectures a week, especially when the professor wastes half the class time on anecdotes, repetition, stumbling over words, "activities", etc.

kkeekk

AUTODIDACT FUNDAMENTALS READING LIST

>AUTODIDACT FUNDAMENTALS READING LIST

AUTODIDACT FUNDAMENTALS READING LIST

>AUTODIDACT FUNDAMENTALS READING LIST

-- -- -- -- --

>AUTODIDACT CORE:

How to Read a Book - Mortimer J. Adler
The Trivium - Sister Miriam Joseph

>AUTODIDACT CRITICAL THINKING:

Creative and Critical Thinking: W. Edgar Moore
Thinking, Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman
The Oxford Essential Guide to Writing - Thomas S. Kane

>AUTODIDACT LIBERAL ARTS:

The Art of Fiction - David Lodge
Pre-Calculus - C. Stitz & J. Zeager
Atlas of World History - Patrick O'Brien
Western Philosophy: An Anthology - John Cottingham

AUTODIDACT SOCIAL SKILLS:

Improve Your Social Skills - Daniel Wendler
How to Speak, How to Listen -- Mortimer J. Adler

AUTODIDACT SELF-IMPROVEMENT:

The Discourses - Epictetus
A Primer in Positive Psychology - Christopher Peterson

-- -- -- --

Once you're done with all of that, well, stop doubting yourself and start tackling dense material with your newfound analytical abilities.

>pic related: one of the various things that you'll be prepared for once you've mastered the AUTODIDACT READING LIST

Fucking this.

Grad school is pretty much self directed learning guided by the discipline that defines an independent learner or auto didactic

so what should i didact to my auto?

This. 90% of lectures are garbage. You can only learn so much by hearing the same superficial concepts being repeated over and over again without digging deep. And "group activities" are almost always terrible because none of the other students care to make a serious effort to discuss anything more than superficial trivialities in order to pass the assignment.

>that last book

Is that Rand Paul?

ACTUALLY PROVEN AHAHAHAH

Yes.

Terrible formatting. Give me a try.

-- -- -- -- --

>AUTODIDACT CORE:
How to Read a Book - Mortimer J. Adler
The Trivium - Sister Miriam Joseph

>AUTODIDACT CRITICAL THINKING:
Creative and Critical Thinking: W. Edgar Moore
Thinking, Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman
The Oxford Essential Guide to Writing - Thomas S. Kane

>AUTODIDACT LIBERAL ARTS:
The Art of Fiction - David Lodge
Pre-Calculus - C. Stitz & J. Zeager
Atlas of World History - Patrick O'Brien
Western Philosophy: An Anthology - John Cottingham

>AUTODIDACT SOCIAL SKILLS:
Improve Your Social Skills - Daniel Wendler
How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie
How to Speak, How to Listen -- Mortimer J. Adler

>AUTODIDACT SELF-IMPROVEMENT:
The Discourses - Epictetus
A Primer in Positive Psychology - Christopher Peterson

-- -- -- -- --

That would be my /autodidact/ basics.

Ok but which subject(s) should I learn? I still have trouble deciding whether I'd prefer to learn one thing very well or several things (relatively) superficially. As a result of this indecisiveness, I end up doing nothing but shitposting. I can't commit to anything because I don't have a plan.

That's the hardest part.

I'd go a mile wide and an inch deep to start... the top book by each famous author for a bit then if you like something, drill down. It's good to have a wide variety of knowledge, even if it's superficial, it's still more than most people.

See this list of books right here:

First, establish a routine where you 1) eat well; 2) exercise; 3) sleep well; 4) meditate; and 5) journal. Then you can begin learning productively.

Master these books, and then you'll be set to do anything you want. If you're struggling with one book, downgrade to something less complicated, and work your way to the final milestone.

>How to Read a Book - Mortimer J. Adler
Yes.

>Pre-Calculus - C. Stitz & J. Zeager
This is fine, but learning only pre-calculus doesn't give a good sense of what mathematics actually *is* - what mathematicians actually do. For an overview of mathematics for the general reader after learning pre-calculus I recommend "Mathematics - A Very Short Introduction" by Gowers, and maybe some of the first part of the "Princeton Companion to Mathematics"

>
Agree. Or any natural science, really.

>How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie
Not for everyone. I didn't like his rambly, repetitive anecdotes. But a good way to train your skimming/speed reading skills.

Maybe there should also be some sort of economics book on here?

I selected each book out of an attempt to maximize breadth and depth in the most parsimonious manner possible.

>This is fine, but learning only pre-calculus doesn't give a good sense of what mathematics actually *is* - what mathematicians actually do. For an overview of mathematics for the general reader after learning pre-calculus I recommend "Mathematics - A Very Short Introduction" by Gowers, and maybe some of the first part of the "Princeton Companion to Mathematics"

Stitz & Zeager is a free textbook that's more challenging than your standard high school pre-calculus textbook, and it provides good foundations in understanding the basics of functions, graphing, trigonometry, vectors, matrices, etc. You could probably start solving a few AIME questions after mastering it, and it provides you with the skills necessary to jump into calculus, linear algebra, discrete mathematics, probability theory & advanced statistics, or perhaps more advanced mathematics that involve proofing. For the last option, I would recommend "How to Think Like a Mathematician" - Kevin Houston. Your other suggestions are good, too.

>Agree. Or any natural science, really.

Keep it fundamental as possible, IMO. If there were more thorough integrated approaches to physics, chemistry, etc., aimed at the college leve, I would recommend that instead.

>Not for everyone. I didn't like his rambly, repetitive anecdotes. But a good way to train your skimming/speed reading skills.

I feel like there should be a book for improving relationships, leadership skills, and networking skills. It's not necessary, and the other two books are not fluffy whatsoever. I would also add No More Mister Nice Guy - Daniel Glover if you wanted to as well.

>Maybe there should also be some sort of economics book on here?

Principle of parsimony. Economics is not something you should have a brief overview of, and it's not a fundamental method or a "grounding" subject. You should aim to understand economics as thoroughly as possible after understanding mathematics (most important), history, and some philosophy, so you're familiar with the scope of the field, what it aims to do, and where to go forward.

Then again, I'm kind of weird, What do you think?

>Stitz & Zeager is a free textbook that's more challenging than your standard high school pre-calculus textbook, and it provides good foundations in understanding the basics of functions, graphing, trigonometry, vectors, matrices, etc. You could probably start solving a few AIME questions after mastering it, and it provides you with the skills necessary to jump into calculus, linear algebra, discrete mathematics, probability theory & advanced statistics, or perhaps more advanced mathematics that involve proofing. For the last option,
I agree that pre-calculus provides a good and necessary foundation for learning more math. But ideally, someone who follows this guide shouldn't come away with the impression that math is nothing more than computations. Ideally, there should be some exposure to proofs and logic; the latter is especially useful in e.g. philosophy. Though I haven't bothered to look at Stitz/Zeager... maybe they do address those issues. Yes, "How to Think Like a Mathematician" is a great book for becoming "mathematically cultured" so-to-speak; though maybe it's more directed to the aspiring mathematician than the general learner.

>Keep it fundamental as possible, IMO.
I see where you're coming from. I think that's appropriate for the purposes of the guide.

>Principle of parsimony. Economics is not something you should have a brief overview of, and it's not a fundamental method or a "grounding" subject. You should aim to understand economics as thoroughly as possible after understanding mathematics (most important), history, and some philosophy, so you're familiar with the scope of the field, what it aims to do, and where to go forward.
Point taken. Maybe there could be an "Audidact fundamentals part 2" for those things every autodidact *must* learn but should put off until they the proper fundamentals. That's assuming anyone would be autistic enough to go through such a thing, of course.

>I agree that pre-calculus provides a good and necessary foundation for learning more math. But ideally, someone who follows this guide shouldn't come away with the impression that math is nothing more than computations. Ideally, there should be some exposure to proofs and logic; the latter is especially useful in e.g. philosophy.

The Trivium by Sister Miriam Joseph extensively covers Aristotelian logic and other related topics.

>Though I haven't bothered to look at Stitz/Zeager... maybe they do address those issues.

Not necessarily. But I think at that point, you start to get a feel for the process, especially when you start learning about mathematical induction.

>Yes, "How to Think Like a Mathematician" is a great book for becoming "mathematically cultured" so-to-speak; though maybe it's more directed to the aspiring mathematician than the general learner.

Well, it's hard to do a book about proofs that is catered for entry-level people without an interest in mathematics. It's just a 200 page survey book, but I see what you're saying. This shouldn't be a final list by any means. Do you have any other recommendations? Your Princeton Companion to Mathematics book seemed way more intense.

>Maybe there could be an "Audidact fundamentals part 2" for those things every autodidact *must* learn but should put off until they the proper fundamentals. That's assuming anyone would be autistic enough to go through such a thing, of course.

"Autodidact 2: Electric Boogaloo" I wouldn't be against that, but at that point, it should be a list that can be satisfied with the reading charts that you find around Veeky Forums, Veeky Forums, Veeky Forums, etc.

>That's assuming anyone would be autistic enough to go through such a thing, of course.

If you need steady direction or want to understand the big picture, this is a helpful approach.