Internal workings and learning

Many years ago I read a book that had a small paragraph in it that I have always remembered, even though I don't remember what book it was. To paraphrase basically it described an old man sitting in a room in his house in times past (pre-electronic society). The author commented; far more eloquently than I can; that biggest difference between the man and the average contemporary person was that he understood how everything in his immediate environment was made and how it worked.

I'm the first to admit that I am not a particularly technical person but I know that I'm not alone in having no idea how most of the objects in my immediate environment work, be it my computer, cell phone, electricity etc. I may not be technical but I am resourceful, so when I have a doubt or question I know I can go to the website How Stuff Works.

More recently I took a course that certified me to teach adults, I know a scary thought. Part of the course was becoming familiar with the different styles of learning called VARK:

- Visual
- Aural
- Read/Write
- Kinesthetic

I know that - like many people - I am more of a 'visual learner' than anything else (bring on the diagrams) and that I am least an 'aural learner'; so telling me how to do something verbally will often leave me confused as to what to do.

So ultimately the moral of the post is that it's ok not to know how everything works or how to do everything but knowing where to go to find out and how to learn what you need to know most effectively is a very good thing.