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Whenever I tried to self-learn anything, it was a very bad idea. Some parts of the subject I enjoyed and other parts I hated. I tend to make my own conclusions,

Whenever I tried to self-learn anything, it was a very bad idea. Some parts of the subject I enjoyed and other parts I hated. I tend to make my own conclusions, which parts are useful and wich are a waste of time (so I tend to skip them). I tend to filter out the material this way, in order to make learning less painful and more fun. My conclusions (what is useful and what isn't) were always wrong and I ended up not learning anything properly, not getting a proper understanding of anything. Please, if there is still any such option for you in your country, always choose a proper school education instead of self-learning. It is really great, when there is some leader with a proper understanding of the subject (a teacher) and others, who are having "the pain" with you (classmates), so you can see you are not "suffering" alone, and you don't start making your own conclusions (since you would see, that others are taking seriously what you wanted to call a waste of time). Classmates also help each other during the learning process. So personally, I think a person gives up self-learning as soon as it becomes too painful / boring. The best way to overcome it is to see other people around you going through the same process, or to see somebody who you admire, who has already gone through the same process (it could be your teacher, your parent, your role model etc.). You could call that "the motivation".

Zeule 9y ago
This answer is absurd, and only true for people with little motivation. Self-learning does require more motivation and "grit" to keep going, and some planning early on, and there is a higher dropout rate. But in many cases, it is the best option. I've found that this is especially true for many parts of STEM fields. It is a far more productive and effective use of time to work through problems than listen to lectures. Of course, it is also helpful to have people you can ask questions when you don't understand as comes with a class, but that can also be found online. I also find that I often understand things I learn on my own more deeply because I can go at my own pace and have more time (time not spent listening to lectures or preparing for exams on a fixed deadline) to draw from a variety of resources. One of the most important skills someone can learn is how to learn, and especially how to solve problems and keep going when it is difficult. For math through high school level/early university, I'd suggest Art of Problem Solving (if you can handle it). It teaches by having people solve problems rather than presenting mathematical techniques to memorize. Some of them are straightforward, but many are tricky problems and fun puzzles with elegant solutions. It helps you gain a good sense for numbers and problem solving, and an appreciation for the beauty of math. The teaching method helps you intuitively understand rules rather than memorize them. They also have a nice gamified online practice system (Alcumus) to go along with the first half of their books. For some higher level, more applied areas like linear algebra there are some good coding-based courses like codingthematrix.com. Project Euler is also another good option for practicing math with programming.
- pacnw 9y ago
  That being said, there is something for the pressure cooker environment that forces you to consider and learn the hard topics. I have gone back to school twice as an adult, first for a pure math degree, and now for comp sci - machine learning. Both times, the amount of pain it takes is just not something a person with average or above average motivation would go through on their own.
  - Zeule 9y ago
    True, though on the flip side sometimes it is easier to take the time needed for deeper understanding outside the pressure cooker environment of classes. Pressure cooker environments can be motivating to keep moving forward, but sometimes at cost of depth and intuitive understanding.

Zeule 9y ago

This answer is absurd, and only true for people with little motivation. Self-learning does require more motivation and "grit" to keep going, and some planning early on, and there is a higher dropout rate. But in many cases, it is the best option. I've found that this is especially true for many parts of STEM fields. It is a far more productive and effective use of time to work through problems than listen to lectures. Of course, it is also helpful to have people you can ask questions when you don't understand as comes with a class, but that can also be found online. I also find that I often understand things I learn on my own more deeply because I can go at my own pace and have more time (time not spent listening to lectures or preparing for exams on a fixed deadline) to draw from a variety of resources. One of the most important skills someone can learn is how to learn, and especially how to solve problems and keep going when it is difficult. For math through high school level/early university, I'd suggest Art of Problem Solving (if you can handle it). It teaches by having people solve problems rather than presenting mathematical techniques to memorize. Some of them are straightforward, but many are tricky problems and fun puzzles with elegant solutions. It helps you gain a good sense for numbers and problem solving, and an appreciation for the beauty of math. The teaching method helps you intuitively understand rules rather than memorize them. They also have a nice gamified online practice system (Alcumus) to go along with the first half of their books. For some higher level, more applied areas like linear algebra there are some good coding-based courses like codingthematrix.com. Project Euler is also another good option for practicing math with programming.

pacnw 9y ago
That being said, there is something for the pressure cooker environment that forces you to consider and learn the hard topics. I have gone back to school twice as an adult, first for a pure math degree, and now for comp sci - machine learning. Both times, the amount of pain it takes is just not something a person with average or above average motivation would go through on their own.
- Zeule 9y ago
  True, though on the flip side sometimes it is easier to take the time needed for deeper understanding outside the pressure cooker environment of classes. Pressure cooker environments can be motivating to keep moving forward, but sometimes at cost of depth and intuitive understanding.