Learning Without Formal Schooling

[Mahone]

First of all, this is my first post and I'm glad to join this community! My name is Brad (and no, my full name is not Brad Mahone), and I'm a senior in high school off to a community college in August. Because I'll have or intend to make free time in college, I decided it would be a good time to branch out and delve into unexplored intellectual material. I picture myself in the school library late at night just reading because honestly I don't think I'll have anything better to do, and I'd like to make my reading material interesting, relevant, and applicable. Now, I realize I'll never even come close to gaining the level of knowledge even a first year med school student has, but I'd like to learn a good portion of human anatomy and complementary subjects. I don't intend to learn it overnight, by the way. This will be a long process and even still I won't come close to a student studying it all day with more resources at their disposal. However, I would like to try my hand at the material, because I'd like the knowledge solely for me.

I've tried doing a little research on my own the last couple of days but I've found it's hard to find what I'm looking for, namely:

-What subjects does someone start off with? Anatomy? Biology? Chemistry?

-How do I go about learning these subjects?

-What textbooks, assuming I can get one or two, should I start off with? I'm big on textbooks because I like published sources in print and because I can carry them almost anywhere with no fear of a power outage, eye strain, or distractions from computers.

Thanks in advance for any help, comments, and suggestions you may have. I appreciate it.

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[Chamahk]

Cool. You're the man, boss. But eh, this is SDN so you're going to get bashed for that idea. You'll be told you're wasting your time, brain space and memory. They'll tell you enjoy and don't jump the gun or whatever. But eh, yeah man. I personally would like to say you're the man. Heck, you want my opinion I'd say start this summer. I got some old school math and Bio textbooks I think I'll crack 'em open myself.

Bashings are coming in 1.....2.....

 

[eliassarmad]

.

 

[MilkmanAl]

The problem with this plan is that you're not going to have any background for the material you want to read. Consequently, if you want your effort to be useful at all, you're going to have to start with the basics. Pick up a gen chem or gen bio text, and get going. I'd also do some of the chapter questions so you retain the information better. Once you have the science foundation down, your options open up a little. Make sure you buy used copies of old editions of these texts, too. You don't want to drop $100+ on exceptionally dry leisure reading material that you'll probably encounter in your first year of community college anyway.

 

[ABCZXX]

First of all, this is my first post and I'm glad to join this community! My name is Brad (and no, my full name is not Brad Mahone), and I'm a senior in high school off to a community college in August. Because I'll have or intend to make free time in college, I decided it would be a good time to branch out and delve into unexplored intellectual material. I picture myself in the school library late at night just reading because honestly I don't think I'll have anything better to do, and I'd like to make my reading material interesting, relevant, and applicable. Now, I realize I'll never even come close to gaining the level of knowledge even a first year med school student has, but I'd like to learn a good portion of human anatomy and complementary subjects. I don't intend to learn it overnight, by the way. This will be a long process and even still I won't come close to a student studying it all day with more resources at their disposal. However, I would like to try my hand at the material, because I'd like the knowledge solely for me.

I've tried doing a little research on my own the last couple of days but I've found it's hard to find what I'm looking for, namely:

-What subjects does someone start off with? Anatomy? Biology? Chemistry?

-How do I go about learning these subjects?

-What textbooks, assuming I can get one or two, should I start off with? I'm big on textbooks because I like published sources in print and because I can carry them almost anywhere with no fear of a power outage, eye strain, or distractions from computers.

Thanks in advance for any help, comments, and suggestions you may have. I appreciate it.

[YOUTUBE]tbQ-FeoEvTI[/YOUTUBE]​

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/hs/home/home/index.htm

 

[skierbum]

bio for sure-it is a lot less dry than chem. Don't get me wrong, I love chem-but it is very easy to get lost in without a teacher. Google Khan Academy and you will find some usefull tutorials. Also check out http://oyc.yale.edu/ - they have their course materials+lectures posted. Hope that helps-yep, you can tell I am a nerd at heart

 

[psi169]

Such motivation you have! First of all, its possible. I dated someone from the inner city, drug-addict parents, and skipping lots of school. They got to 8th grade when they realized, at the rate they were going, they were never going to leave that place.

So they buckled down and started studying. Just studying. Learned everything the first time so that they never had to learn it again. They now have a 4.0 GPA undergrad, 4.0 master's, and 39 MCAT. So, yes, its possible.

I agree, start with a basic bio book or chem book. I would recommend bio because it has a little of everything. If you do a chapter a night/every other night, and studying it to know it, not just read it, that will be good. I like to copy notes from the book (somehow in writing, I remember it). Also, one of the best studying tools is... YOUTUBE! If you search for a process or topic, you will find some pretty decent videos. Cross reference them to your book, though, just in case.

Perhaps alternate between bio and chem at the same time, once you have gotten the basics of bio. If you do anatomy, you need to copy the figures, black out the labels, and be able to label them over and over again.

But, in general, I think this will be an opporunity for you to figure out how you learn. If you feel its not working, stop, and start a new strategy.

For cheap textbooks, look at amazon or half.com. Just search for a topic and find a cheap, used textbook. Good luck!