Quarterlife Crisis? - what THE!

I read this article today: http://www.eyeweekly.com/article/55882


This was exactly the phenomenon I was talking about a few blogs ago on how many young, well-educated people these days struggle to make life decisions. 


Have a read of it - it's quite interesting. 

My Thoughts on The Great Courses / The Teaching Company

Readers of my blogs would notice my past reviews of some courses from The Teaching Company or TTC (The Great Courses). Yes, I am a huge fan of these courses. Geez - I am probably one of their most devout customers! (I am currently the 'Top 50' reviewer of their courses - I started as 'Top 1000', then 'Top 500', 'Top 100' for a while, and now 'Top 50' (next step is 'Top 10')).

I first heard about them from Bill Gates' blog (www.gatesnotes.com) just before I got married in January 2010. Since then, I have listened to and learnt from more than 25 courses. Since each of these courses could take on average 12 hours plus the readings of the texts / guide books, I have spent more than 350 hours intensely going through these courses in the past year and a half or so. 

So what have I learnt from these courses? What are my favourites? and What are the courses I am going to go through next?

I have learnt a lot from these courses. I found that I am a very curious soul - but in a very detailed way. I also want to observe various phenomena from various angles. For instance, what happened in ancient history (BC) or middle-ages history from the points of view of the Greeks, the Romans, the Persians, the Vikings etc. I found these combinations of ideas (or 'synthesis') interesting. 

I also found the synthesis among various topics (not just history) exciting & exhilarating. For instance, what are the links between music, maths, science, ancient history, big history from the big bang, religion, linguistics, geology & economics? You wouldn't think there would be much linkages among those, but I learnt linkages such as:

- how past geology influenced movements of ancient humans (e.g., the mini ige age and the reversal of it around 7000 BC or so that created the 'flooding' of the Black Sea) 

- how the spread of proto-indo-european language gave another model of human migration in ancient times (e.g., how similar some words are (such as 'Dant' or 'Untu' for teeth) in Sanskrit, ancient Javanese, Latin, modern European etc.)

In terms of my favourite course, the best from TTC in my view would be: "The Art and Craft of Mathematical Problem Solving" by Professor Paul Zeits. Yes, I am a math buff and I love problem solving of any kind, but this one here is VERY detailed and very clear. It is VERY VERY good!! Two lectures in (out of 24), I couldn't stop myself from saying "WOW!!" The teacher is fantastic, the topics are excellent, and I think you will learn a lot if you 'stay' with it. 

What's the second best for me? I would say Professor Kenneth Harl's course on "Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Empire". You will just learn a lot about Alexander, his dad Phillip II, the geopolitics of the ancient near-east, and the details of ancient great battles.

My third best would be "Physics in your Life" by Professor Richard Wolfson. It's very practical and clear. There are also some great demonstrations and explanations, such as the explanation of how a semi-conductor works from silicon, transistor, semi-conductor to ultimately a computer (in 6 lectures!).  

What am I listening to now? and What's coming up in my list? 

I have a cupboard at my office full of these courses, including the ones I haven't seen. I am listening to 3 courses concurently now (one in my car, one in my laptop, and one in my ipad2):

- "Particle Physics for Non-Phycisists" by Professor Steven Pollock (in my laptop),

- "Understand Linguistics" by Professor John Whorter (in my car), and

- "Transformational Leadership" by Professor Michael Roberto (in my ipad2). 

The courses I am going to see in the future and in my cupboard at the moment include: 

- "Understanding the Human Body" by Professor Anthony Goodman,

- "An Introduction to Astronomy" by Professor Alex Filippenko, 

- "Cosmology" by Professor Mark Whittle, 

- "Biology: The Science of Life" by Professor Steven Nowicki,

- "The History of Ancient Egypt" by Professor Bob Brier,

- Two courses on China's history, 

- A course on Machiavelli's books, and

- "Understanding the World's Greatest Structures" by Professor Steven Ressler.

I will continue to write my reviews of these courses, and I encourage you to check out The Teaching Company website http://www.teach12.com if you are interested in great courses in your journeys of continuous learning!!