Summer is coming, and for many that means breaks, vacations, and general lulls in our lives (well, those of us without kids, and full-time jobs). Even if you don’t have a ton of free time this summer, I think there’s just something about the season that speaks to casual learning. The weather’s great, the trees are in bloom, and I don’t know—maybe it has to do with lingering memories from childhood, but I always feel like summer is the best time to learn, you know, Emerson and Thoreau style.
So here’s five geeky things you can do this summer to add to your geek repertoire. Let’s think outside the motherboard on this one. Low-tech, but high-geek. Yes, sir. It can be done!
Memorize a poem. Wait! No, don’t go away. Don’t skip to the next one. While many people have a knee jerk reaction to hating poetry, you really ought to give it a second chance. I was like you once. I hated poetry. More pointedly, I hated Emily Dickinson’s poetry (with apologies to my high school English teachers). But then I found poetry that I liked, not that I was told I should like. The thing is, memorizing anything is good for your brain, and you’d be surprised how much gorgeous poetry there is out there which is far from antiquated, downright sexy as hell, and more like rock lyrics than the kind of poetry you were subjected to at an early age. Try Allen Ginsburg’s Howl or Sunflower Sutra if you want something that will blow your mind, but personally I think there is nothing as awesomely geeky as being able to recite Chaucer’s introduction to the General Prologue in Middle English! Breaking out of your usual brain routine is good for long-term memory, and definitely feels like an accomplishment.
Chart the stars. Sure, maybe we can’t venture boldly where no man has gone before… yet. But we sure can learn about the constellations. There are hundreds of books and charts to teach the standard sky chart, but you know what? There’s a lot more than the standard constellations we’ve come to know, commonly known as the “Western” sky. All around the globe various cultures have named and charted the stars. What’s cooler than being able to tell someone special what a particular constellation is called in China, the Artic, and in Egypt? And once you’ve covered the globe, why not start to learn the constellations in fictional universes? When I was a kid I tried to rearrange my fake glow at night stars on my ceiling to reflect the celestial heavens in C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books…
[Picture sources (All CC): 1, 2, 3, 4]
For today’s edition of “Deal of the Day,” here are some of the best deals…
https://youtu.be/dIjPSDqKy8c?si=Jg6gaMmfU429-jr3 The world of BioShock (and Rapture!) reimagined as a classic Film Noir from the…
https://youtu.be/ZOtD36BjmU0?si=3yD8ic1l1y8HlzU8 From Dorkly: Disney really messed up Star Wars... No, not because of the "woke"…
Have you ever wondered how gas masks work? If this is the case, be sure…
Happy Star Wars day! For this very special occasion, today's edition of deal of the…