I think that there are different types of learning, which I think are correlated with different brain areas. For example, learning to ride a bike likely involv

I think that there are different types of learning, which I think are correlated with different brain areas. For example, learning to ride a bike likely involves the cerebellum (the chunk way in the back, bottom). The cerebellum is involved in balance and coordination. (People who have damage to their cerebellum still have normal consciousness, but they become very un-coordinated and clumsy.) It's likely that you cannot just read a book and "download" that knowledge into the cerebellum. So skills requiring balance and coordination (riding a bicycle, swimming, sky-diving) must be learned by doing. Compare that to knowledge that exists in our conscious minds. This knowledge likely exists in the neocortex. If we are conscious of the knowledge, then we likely can read a book and incorporate that knowledge into our own thoughts. I suppose there are some professions that require a mix of skills. maeon3 brought up brain surgery. Surgeons read a lot of books, but they also practice their cutting skills on cadavers. But overall, I agree with the concept behind studentrnd.org. "Doing things for yourself" is often a better way to learn. Plus, one of the points they make in this article: the first person to do something (invent the lightbulb, etc) didn't have anyone to learn from; they had to figure things out for themselves. (Plus, I have my own personal biases: I'm sick of all the hand-holding that goes on in the modern world. Everyone has to take a class for anything, and time is always scheduled... whatever happened to just living your own life and trying things out for yourself? Build your own desk even though you could just buy one from the store... simply because it's fun to just do things for yourself... many people enjoy cooking their own food, etc...)