I was having a conversation with my friend today, and I told her that I wanted to learn to code. Let me be clear, I am not a tech guy. I don’t know computers, i don’t know programming, I don’t know anything. But I really want to learn about these things.
Here’s how I see it. Learning a random skill or a random anything, can be of such value. You know me, I’m a social studies guy and that is where I see myself. But lets say a person who’s into policy, or making the world better, also studies engineering. Now this person can study an issue, and have direct part in solving it. Maybe I just sound nuts, but it makes sense to me. Think about it, if there is a village in a developing country not getting water, this person who’s studied the history, customs, and culture of this place, will therefore have an attachment and care for the people living there. This leads to action, and this person’s action can be much more effective when accompanied with a skill. Here, lets say engineering, to connect the village to water pipes. Okay I don’t know a thing about engineering, or water distribution, or anything, but do you at least get the concept?
Other things like this that are maybe more common are businessmen who’ve studied calculus and statistics, foreign policy majors who know a second or third language, painters that know marketing strategies, writers that know history, bloggers who understand the internet (hmm. . .), farmer’s who’ve studied weather, historians that can write, medical doctor’s who have studied psychology, diplomats that have studied the world’s religions, clothing designers who have studied geometry. The list goes on and on.
Again, maybe I sound nuts, but I think if there’s anything random that interests you, learn about it. Do your own research. I love astronomy, I want to learn coding, I want to read the historical texts from the world’s religions, who knows where these things will come up again in my life, but learning them will help me think, and maybe even make me more effective at a future job I have to perform. Whatever the reason for learning anything I say do it. People with many skills and interests are the ones bridging the gaps between worlds, times and people of different interests. The breakthroughs in technology, education, knowledge, world affairs, occur because of people who have multiple skills and interests. Being well versed in one skill is amazing. But being well effective in many is when the breakthroughs will happen. Hopefully I will take my own advice.
The World as a Classroom 