remainders – Page 15 – Patrick Rhone

Tools For Daily Learning

In my post yesterday about making note of at least one new thing you have learned each day, I did point to one or two suggestions for ensuring you have at least one thing to write down. That said, I wanted to give folks a nice list of my own that one could copy for such reference:

Random page on Wikipedia â€” Just what it says on the tin. Click on this link and it will take you to a random page on Wikipedia. Chances are, you’ll land on something you did not know before 99% of the time. I just learned about mathematician Artemas Martin (best known for his puzzle columns in ious periodicals) while testing this link for you.
Merriam-Webster Online Word Of The Day â€” Today’s word (as I write this) is inchmeal. An adverb that means gradually.
Wonders & Marvels â€” A Community for Curious Minds who love History, its Odd Stories, and Good Reads â€” A wonderful history blog with a bent towards historical literature. I learn something new with every post.
Random Facts | Fun Trivia | Interesting Insight â€” I sometimes have to check Snopes for verification because some of these facts seem unbelievable. No gotcha moments yet.
Caesura Letters â€” I know I have said this before but I will say it again, every morning, this arrives in my email inbox and I always, always, learn something new. These are daily reflections wrapped in huge, delicious, doses of knowledge.
Now I Know â€” A free daily newsletter;
you’ll learn something new every day. Suggested by K.H. Schumann

Now, my bet is that there are many more I don’t know about. I’ve only mentioned a few that I use personally. That said, I always welcome even more sources of knowledge and learning. Feel free to suggest them to me on App.net or Twitter. Perhaps I’ll even update this post with some of them to share them with others.

Iâ€™m a writer. Writing is how I make this world better, friendlier, stronger place. If these words improved your day, please let me know by contributing here.

Something I Learned Today

A practice I have been doing often for the past couple of years is to write down at least one new thing I learned every day. I sometimes fail or forget but mostly hit the mark. That said, when I get to the end of the year and review all of the things I learned, it makes me pretty darn proud. It is a great reminder that, no matter how old I get, there is always the capacity to learn and grow.

Sometimes, the one thing I learn comes from reading. Sometimes, it comes from observation. Sometimes, it comes from conversation. Sometimes, when I get to the end of the day and can’t think of anything new that I learned, I go to a random page on Wikipedia and learn something for the sake of learning.

There is no wrong way to capture this stuff. A paper notebook works well. The Levenger Five Year Journal is almost tailor made for it. Day One, with its quick entry menu item is fast and near frictionless.

The point is to note something in a way that is so simple and painless you won’t forget and it will become habit. Because, if you can make the capturing of your brain’s travels habit then, by association, learning something new every day will become habit too.

I’m a writer. Writing is how I make this world better, friendlier, stronger place. If these words improved your day, please let me know by contributing here.

Hiding In Plain Sight

We like to believe that the Internet is this open public place. This place where everyone shares everything (even to a fault). Where if someone is struggling, they will surely share it on their blog or tweet it or post it on some wall. That you will have some chance to reach out and offer real help.

In fact, quite the opposite is more often true. The Internet is the perfect place to hide in plain sight. One can appear to be a part of this world while, in spirit, they left it a long time ago. We can put a good face on our otherwise anonymous lives and never mention the darkness that envelops and consumes us. We can focus public attention on our work and not our person. We can disappear for a whole year and then come back as if nothing has happened and most people won’t even notice. (“Oh, yeah. I guess you haven’t posted in a while.”)

It is far more difficult to hide such things in person. There are too many other cues that give our disposition away. Body language or a look in the eye or even a lack of skip in an otherwise skip filled step. Those who watch closely enough, especially those who we are closest too, can often tell the signs of the suffering. Such intimacy, for this reason, is always measured in distance.

I think, for many of us, we notice these things because we have seen them in our selves. As one who, far too often, has such darkness looming, thankfully untouchably, before him, I see it well in others. I’ve seen it’s face just behind my eyes when I have looked the mirror. Therefore, if I can be face-to-face with someone, I can almost always spot it.

Can’t do that, yet, on the Internet.

I only wish I knew the words and tools I use to keep it at bay well enough to impart to others no matter where and when it is made known to me. Such skills are often unique, individual, and mostly non-transferable. I barely manage myself most days. Most often all I can do for others is offer to let them know they do not suffer alone.

If that is you, hiding such suffering in plain sight, know that you are not alone and are welcome to reach out to me, in person or through the Internet, anytime.

Iâ€™m a writer. Writing is how I make this world better, friendlier, stronger place. If these words improved your day, please let me know by contributing here.