[MBTI General] On Learning

[wolfy]

How do you go about learning?
On the job, at play etc...

Do you, like me, have different ways of learning in different circumstances?
What are they?

 

[BlackCat]

If something is purely theoretical, like schoolwork, I need examples that can cover pretty much every sort of problem that is thrown at me. When I've mastered those I'm set.

For example, in chemistry I would take a lot of notes, and until my teacher would put examples on the board for us to work out, I would be pretty much clueless or struggling to understand the concept. After those examples everything would click into place.

 

[ayoitsStepho]

If something is purely theoretical, like schoolwork, I need examples that can cover pretty much every sort of problem that is thrown at me. When I've mastered those I'm set.

For example, in chemistry I would take a lot of notes, and until my teacher would put examples on the board for us to work out, I would be pretty much clueless or struggling to understand the concept. After those examples everything would click into place.

Yup, what black kitty thunder said
Especially with math and science. I have to be able to figure out myself how it was done with examples, then I'm good...over coarse it took me longer than everyone else in the class to do my work that way but I had to.
As for other subjects, like history and english, I always did well just reading and doing.

 

[Kingfisher]

If something is purely theoretical, like schoolwork, I need examples that can cover pretty much every sort of problem that is thrown at me. When I've mastered those I'm set.

i have to relate theoretical ideas to something concrete and tangible that i can understand. some kind of practical application.

when i learn something especially interesting, or i am surprised with a bit of knowledge, i stand up and start pacing.
i like to pace, to let things sink in. not to really think it out, just to let ideas stew, marinate in my mind.

 

[Quinlan]

I learn best on my own, when I will pour myself into something of interest and keep searching for more and more info untill I burn out and then move on to something else. With practical things I learn most through observation and just trying things out and seeing what works. I hate asking for help.

 

[Halla74]

I'm an auditory learner.

I learn best when I am allowed to experiment and apply my hypotheses to the problem at hand.

I'm big on reaching out to expert help when available to shorten the path to success.

I detest having to do voluminous amounts of reading in order to perform a task I must do.

Some things, such as really heavy left brain logic, I take several passes to learn, but once I learn it, I know it forever, and I can apply to anything instantly.

 

[Heinel]

I'm primarily kinesthetic, sometimes a bit of visuals help. Verbal instructions fly by me.

 

[mcmartinez84]

i have to relate theoretical ideas to something concrete and tangible that i can understand. some kind of practical application.

when i learn something especially interesting, or i am surprised with a bit of knowledge, i stand up and start pacing.
i like to pace, to let things sink in. not to really think it out, just to let ideas stew, marinate in my mind.

I don't pace, but I definitely relate to the rest of it! I know it sounds a bit cut-and-paste from an ISTP description, but it's really true. I have to let things sink in!*

I learn best on my own, when I will pour myself into something of interest and keep searching for more and more info untill I burn out and then move on to something else. With practical things I learn most through observation and just trying things out and seeing what works. I hate asking for help.

Sometimes I do it best on my own, but I really like having someone there to ask questions to. For instance, my car has a bunch of little things that are wrong with it and one of my friends knows everything ever about cars, so he's been fixing things and I watch. At the same time I'm helping him out (it's not like I'm looming or anything, lol).

I've started house hunting recently and I've asked a bunch of people all about how they did their mortgage, who they went through, what all of these weird words and terms mean, what purpose does this-that-or-the-other serve, what things to look for, what to ask about, etc. They've all been a pretty big help (except the ENTP who recommends houses way out of my price range and can't tell me if fixing a mold problem will cost much or not). I also looked up a bunch of this stuff online, stuff for 1st time buyers, all about friggin' mortgages (hey, 30 years of debt should be understood well!), about brokers, realtors, you name it! The help online is alright, but it's not quite as easy or clear cut as some people telling me straight up and giving me some of their experience for an example.

As far as theoretical crap goes....it's crap and I hate it and I have a math degree. I took a bunch of classes I didn't like at all, but I focused on Stats, so that helped a bit
*In some of these math classes, I'd finally understand some concepts long after the semester had ended... A testimony to having to let thoughts brew to finally get it all in place.

Other learning stuff - I REALLY like watching woodshop shows, where they make random furniture or build houses or redo a back yard...whatever it is, I love watching those shows. It makes me want to get a house even more so I'll have room to do stuff. Of course, I'll be in happy little Debt Land, so I probably won't be able to afford the tools to make the cool stuff
The show "How Stuff is Made"...or something like that...love that show too.

I've thought about getting a part-time job at a hardware store, Sears, Lowes, Home Depot...whatever, just so I can learn about all of the stuff in there. Of course I work fulltime now and I don't really want to sacrifice all of my free time for that... I'd never be able to do anything spontaneously 'cause I'd always have work :-|

I'm such a tomboy!

 

[Poki]

i have to relate theoretical ideas to something concrete and tangible that i can understand. some kind of practical application.

when i learn something especially interesting, or i am surprised with a bit of knowledge, i stand up and start pacing.
i like to pace, to let things sink in. not to really think it out, just to let ideas stew, marinate in my mind.

I will pace and walk in circles. I like to apply theory in practical ways, which is not always the ways they were meant to be applied. I know my limits, I know my boundaries and I am constantly trying to expand them. I learn by reading, watching, hands on but it has to be in regards to something I am doing or something I am gonna do. I will watch the history channel because its cool, but I dont do it to learn. I watch the DIY channel to learn.

 

[King sns]

I'm a fast learner so can get things pretty quick however they are presented.
I prefer to read and rewrite, talk about things and have demonstration or real life application if possible.
Also depends on the thing that i'm learning.
I zone out quickly with auditory.

 

[Quinlan]

The help online is alright, but it's not quite as easy or clear cut as some people telling me straight up and giving me some of their experience for an example.

That's interesting as I tend to turn to online or book help first, I'm quite introverted and I'm more inclined to be overwhelmed when someone is explaining something whereas when it's on paper I can sit down to reread and process it at my own pace. I suppose I'm definitely not an auditory learner.

 

[mcmartinez84]

That's interesting as I tend to turn to online or book help first, I'm quite introverted and I'm more inclined to be overwhelmed when someone is explaining something whereas when it's on paper I can sit down to reread and process it at my own pace. I suppose I'm definitely not an auditory learner.

I guess I should also note that it's gotta be the right person to ask questions. I've got an ENTP who drives me nuts when he tries to answer anything at all. The INTJ thinks I'm retarded and is really just bad at helping unless you have questions with a specific kind of answer (like "What kind of RAM should I get for this new computer build?"). Honestly, I think he's really hard to work with.

I work well with ESTPs. We understand each other. We can easily tell the other that we don't understand something, tell them to back up, explain what we were confused about...it all just makes sense with them! The ESTP is good at explaining things to me without making me feel stupid. (And I hate it when some NTs or Js make me feel like a moron...)

Anyway...that's about it. I *do* like to read up on something a little bit to get the general idea and then dive into asking questions to learn about it.

 

[man]

i learn best the night before an exam

 

[une_autre]

i learn best the night before an exam

That's the way to do it, even better, wake up at 5 in the morning to do all the learning you didn't do an entire semester!

How I go about learning - well, I totally hate having to learn stuff by heart.
I love maths and stuff like this, because you practically don't have to learn anything by heart.
Examples are good at times, but mostly I don't have difficulties in understanding things at a theoretical level.
If I don't get something, I try to research it. Generally, if the teacher can't explain it well enough, that's better than asking 70 times.