Friday, September 18, 2020

Strange But Productive Self-Improvement Exercises

 


To be done over any twelve-month period:

  • Pick a country, any country, but preferably one with a sizable literature. Over the next twelve months, read about its history, geography, economy, government structure, etc. Also watch its films, view its art, and listen to its music. Try out the cuisine. Studying the country's language is optional.
  • Pick a year from the past seven decades. Study the events that took place. Read that year's novels and non-fiction. Check out its fashions, art, architecture,  and music. Watch the films. Compare the quality of the political and cultural figures with their peers of today.
  • Any other similar projects?
Update: See Dan's ideas in the comments section. 

4 comments:

Dan in Philly said...

Similarly, pick a historical period, and read a history on it. Then read a different one, preferably written at least 50 years from the first. Then read a few biographies of leading characters from that era. Then watch some videos about the era. Get as many different perspectives of that period possible so you can get a 3 dimensional picture of it. It's a fun experience.

Michael Wade said...

Dan,

That is very wise.

Michael

Dan in Philly said...

The neat part is once you've done this for multiple eras, you start to get some resonance. I'm deep in the middle ages England right now, and having studied the English civil war and glorious revolution (as and outbranch of my American revolution study), it makes my previous understanding deeper, and issues with the Tudors are far more meaningful since I see how they affected later generations.

My hope to to someday understand everything that ever happened. Lofty? Maybe, but it motivates me like no one's business :)

Michael Wade said...

Dan,

Studying The Middle Ages alone would be fascinating but the others certainly add a lot of perspective. That's a great combination.

The more we learn, the more we realize what we don't know.

Michael