How To Be A Knowledgeable Person

1.Keep an open mind. Learning often challenges our assumptions and our pre-wired reaction is to ignore the ideas that conflict with ours. Don't automatically dismiss something because it does not fit neatly into your current vision of the world.
·         Understand your own bias. Bias, or leaning toward a certain way of thinking, arises from your upbringing - both at home and within society - and forms your core belief set. Recognize that everyone has a viewpoint that is a function of upbringing and past experience and that each viewpoint has validity within the context of a person's life. Realize, too, that each person's perception of reality is colored by bias and does not actually correspond to reality. One way to mitigate the effects of bias is to consciously practice adopting different viewpoints and internalizing those alter-biases.
·         As you expand your knowledge, even in the most basic forms, you will have to revise your opinions and the way you do things.

·         Learn how to be wrong. As you learn, you will encounter people and situations where you will be in the wrong. Treat these as a learning experience.


2   2.Decide what kind of knowledge you are looking for. Are you seeking to have extremely specialized understanding of writing codes? Are you looking to be a historian focused on the Medieval Middle-East? Or are you trying to have a broad knowledge base covering abilities from home appliance repair to ancient Greek? Any and all of these are valid. Knowledge is not simply college learning.
·         For generalized knowledge you will want to focus on breadth rather than depth. Read and experiment widely. Talk to as many different people about as many different subjects as you can.
·         For specific knowledge you will need to focus on the depth of the information or skills you are looking to acquire. This means reading on the subject, talking to experts in that field and practicing.

3.Get out of your own comfort zone. Learn about things that might not be your keenest interest. You may find new hobbies and interests you never dreamed of.
·         This means getting out in your community. Check local announcement boards (often at the library or grocery store) or your community's website. This will give you access to a variety of learning opportunities: dance classes, economic aid, community theater. All are good ways to start learning.


4.Don't be afraid to fail. Above all, this is the most important advice in learning to be knowledgeable. You don't know everything and you will get things and information wrong. Owning up to your mistakes and learning from them will help you gain knowledge and help you remember better the correct information.
·         Examine what you did wrong and come up with solutions for what you might do differently in the future. This way you'll be prepared and will show that you are taking your knowledge accumulation seriously.
·         You will be wrong at times, especially in the beginning. This step ties back to keeping an open mind. Accept your failing, learn from it, and continue working hard.

5.Learn to navigate and understand the internet. While similar to understanding technology, learning about the internet is a huge task in and of itself. However, being able to search for relevant information, understand and write your own basic code, allows you to better utilize your own learning.
·         This means both searching for things yourself and having your internet stuff be searchable. By making your own website searchable, you need to understand how to use HTML (or other code) to optimize it, how to make the navigation of your site accessible to search engines, and making sure to hit the right keywords.


6.Read widely. Books, newspapers, magazines, websites. You will get a variety of information and viewpoints, which can help you broaden your mind and learn more about different topics.
·         Make sure to read viewpoints other than yours. This will take you outside your comfort zone, and may even challenge assumptions you have about the world, or your chosen topic.
·         Reading helps your brain with memory, and with fighting dementia. Keep your brain active and reading and searching for knowledge. 
·         Even reading fiction, it turns out, is a great way of acquiring knowledge. Scientists have found that reading certain evocative passages in books, stimulates a neurological response similar to experience that passage, highlighting smells, sight, sound, etc. It is a good way to experience other forms of living. Again, be certain to read outside your comfort zone. Accessing books about lives foreign to you is a good way to build your empathy and knowledge of how other people live
·         Quite a few of the classics are available for free download online. Sites like Inlibris and ReadPrint are good places to locate free books to continue your education.



7.Talk to experts. This step is important, because it allows you to interact with someone in your chosen field or fields. You can ask questions and get a dialogue going.
·         Talk to the mechanics at the garage you take your car to, get the person who is fixing your computer to give you an overview of what they are doing to fix it.
·         Prepare questions in advance and during a lecture or class at a college, community center, or museum. If they haven't been answered, afterwards approach the speaker and ask them. Speakers almost always are happy to engage further in their chosen material. Be polite and respectful.
·         Museums often have a contact number or email. Approach them with your questions. It might take them some time to reply and they might not know the answers, but they can often put you in contact with someone who does.
·         Professors usually have a university email somewhere on their university's website. You could try sending them an email outlining your interest in your subject and asking for their help. Remember that professors are busy people, so don't contact them around midterms or finals.
·         There are certain internet resources where it is possible to talk with an expert and ask them questions covering a wide variety of topics.




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