My method of self-education This post may seem banal to some. But I will tell you here about my method of self-study and learning about the world. After all, our civilization is rich in events and saturated with opinions. And in order not to get lost in this hurricane of information, I have developed a special method of self-education for myself. Today I want to share these ideas with the entire Gopherspace. My system of analysis "for myself" is called "mapping" or, more simply, "creating a map". Just as the ancient map of Mercator or Perri Reis has coordinates and unexplored territories, so human knowledge is subject to mapping. Imagine that all the ideas, all the books, all the knowledge in the entire history of civilization is a huge white spot on a gigantic two-dimensional map that is inaccessible to you. It is not clear in which direction to move, what to study and what to do to become an erudite person. A person who will have, instead of clear coordinates, not a white spot in his head, but a quilt of toponyms, landscapes, roads, rivers, mountains, and so on. In school, in the army, at university, we are all brainwashed, we are not taught to study and to know the world, we are made into state or communist biorobots. Thus, many of us are unable to look beyond the map of reality received from our teachers. Well, let's try to expand your horizons together. Everything that man has created throughout his history is a consequence of the "social hallucinations" of our brain. Not a single one of our ideas exists, it is only an object of mental construction or imaginary projection, an interpretation of the reality accessible to us. The borders of man's physical perception of the surrounding world are known borders on my virtual map of knowledge. Thus, looking at this map of the world, I can clearly determine its borders. As you understand, these borders today are determined by physics, philosophy and religion. In the South, unknown territories end with religious ideas. In the West, physics and exact sciences reign, reaching their borders of Terra Incognita. In the East, there is philosophy and social knowledge. And in the North, unverifiable experimental nonsense and delirium (not from my point of view), which periodically, when traveling through it, turns out to be either part of the West or the East. The most important source of knowledge for my map are books. There are specialized books and popular science books. To think intersystemically, you need to read a lot of books. But not all books are equally useful for my map of the world of knowledge. After all, my task is to get coordinates and know my location. I don't need to know in detail how many houses there are in Hamburg. It's enough for me to know that Hamburg is in Germany. Thus, when you are told that a person who knows a lot actually knows nothing, you are being lied to. Because people who claim such things do not know how to learn independently. Thus, to understand, for example, Ufology, which is today in the North of my map, you do not need to study the entire MUFON archive. You just need to find such books that cover all possible areas of ufology. When you read the most significant books on this topic, you will know that there are nibiorologists who are waiting for the imminent arrival of the planet Nibiru. Contactees who received a revelation, abducted by aliens, UFO skeptics, and so on. Review books on the topic of ufology will help you begin to navigate this area. The same applies to any other area of human knowledge. This allows you to determine the borders of known territories and choose the right directions for further research in any area. One of the fundamental points of my system of self-education is the study of the origin of ideas. I imagine them as cities from which roads come out or mountains from which rivers flow. It is important not only to study these mental roads, but also the place from which they come. In order not to be like many Europeans who claim that they are communists, but do not really know what it is. Ideas, like rivers or roads, as you understand, come from common sources. When you trace the route of an idea from the place where you found it to the place where this idea begins, you will understand how much the original route always deviates to the side. There is not a single idea that would not be distorted by the terrain through which the idea trend. Famous or accomplished people are legends on my map. Small descriptions on the map area, as was customary in the 15th century. Always listen carefully to what books famous people mention in their interviews. If some scientist, politician, philosopher, religious leader mentions a book that influenced him, then immediately put this book on the list of what you need to read first. Further, such books usually mention other authors on the topic and other books. Be sure to read them. For clarify the coordinates of the area in this area of knowledge, to navigate in this direction. Until you come across the fact that the authors mention other authors whom you have already read. In other words, when the information will not loop or loop within itself without carrying any new information. If you do not have the opportunity to get a modern expensive education. Or let's say you are a migrant who robbed half of Europe (joke). Then, using my advice, start with the most important books of modern civilization. And then move in the direction on the map that you like best. The book is our main guide. But remember that, like ideas, books are also subject to criticism. You can accept some ideas, reject others. But you should at least do it consciously. And not rave on the go, talking outright nonsense, as modern journalists do. So, by looking at your map you will be able to determine what you know, what you don't know, and what you really have no idea about. That's my method of self-education in a nutshell.