Home study for science

[markwebb]

Hey people,

 

Im an artist based in England, 26 years old, so its pretty late getting into the whole science education. I am not wanting to go to university, as my art takes me to various countries, and i cant really settle in one place long enough. am unsure how this kind of learning will happen, but hopefully i will get used to it.

 

So now i am looking to get into the reading of the sciences, i cant say i have any math knowledge of course other then logical things, my education in maths finished at 16 when i went to Art college.

 

so i would say im rubbish in everything and need probably to start from a basic level, you could say general science and math... though i do need to learn a lot more about biological processes and anatomy, yup total beginner... shit i know!...

but like most things we need to start somewhere, but where thats the problem... i have a great yearning for knowledge... the start kick in the ass is needed!.

 

so the question is what books to start with, lists of great documentaries, interesting essays? how do i begin with the mathematics, i understand this is what i will need if i want to get a great understanding of the physics which is my greater interest.

 

im in it for the long haul, im not doing it for a job of any kind, just all about self interest, so a slow start is cool, i know its going to take many years to get on with. I did try searching online for such a list for the beginner but seemed to not find it... is there even a course laid out for the person that just wants to teach it all to themselves?

 

im currently also learning german, luckily for languages, i know i can go to germany at the end of the year, and do the language learning and still do my job (the art) for a few months, and get the basics in the right way, but i know the sciences will be very different to this.

 

ok cheers any help would be very much appreciated!

all the best

from

Mark

[CaptainPanic]

Can I summarize this as: "I'd like to learn everything that schoolkids learn between 16 and 18, and then specialize in some direction"??

 

You do realize that children, youngsters, students, etc., do this full-time for a number of years with teachers to help them, right?

I mean, you realize that you're basically committing yourself for the next decade if you do this on a parttime basis?

[markwebb]

i know its going to be slow, i said its not for a job of any kind, just general knowledge so speed is does not bother me in the slightest.

[Mr Skeptic]

I suggest Wikipedia. It's not a textbook of course, but it is an excellent resource for filling holes in your knowledge. You can browse by category or search for a specific word or phrase.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Mathematics

[CaptainPanic]

You're gonna need some (digital)books - or some other permanent sources of information. The web keeps changing, so I don't recommend that for a solid foundation. Also, the web just does not provide you with the continuity that you need to learn. The web is always a mixture of simple stuff and complicated stuff... and you might easily get sidetracked into things that are fun and interesting, but that don't give you that solid foundation that you really need to get first.

 

Then you have to figure out the level you currently have, and start to improve it. I know of no practical way of doing that - but two things come to mind:

1. Take a number of actual tests - contact some highschool teacher to email you some old tests, or browse the internet.

2. Buy some books of different levels. If you understand it all, it's too simple. If you have no clue, it's too hard. Get somethign in between.

 

But as for an actual name of a good book or good series of books - sorry, I don't know.

 

I think however that the best idea is to enroll in an online class or even university. You actually become a student-at-a-distance, in a special online course. You pay tuition, you will receive study material, and you will make exams... and you will get a real diploma in the end.

Edited February 4, 2011 by CaptainPanic

[Where is my navel?]

Oh oh oh CGP books are a MUST.

 

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CGP-Head-Start-Chemistry-and-Biology-/280622655826?pt=School_Textbooks_Study_Guides&hash=item415669e952#ht_556wt_1139

 

also

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CGP-Level-Physics-Revision-Guide-/220734467015?pt=Non_Fiction&hash=item3364ccabc7#ht_500wt_1156

 

I agree with Mr Skeptic, although wiki gets bad rep for inaccuracies, its a very valuable tool.

 

There is also a whole array of bbc documentaries on youtube, i listen to them when im taking a break and playing games.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD1CXzTbUtA

 

 

[Mrs Zeta]

If you are mainly based in the UK, you can have a look at the Open University courses (http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/science/index.htm).

 

These are distance learning courses, which allow you a certain flexibility. The courses are fun and very interesting if you are committed but you need to choose the right ones. The resulting degree is recognised as a normal university degree.

[lemur]

I recommend an interest-led hypertext-style approach. By "hypertext" I mean the way you can read a webpage and then click or google any word in it to learn more about that word. Books work the same way, often having glossaries (or you can use dictionaries, encyclopedias, and/or other reference materials). Sometimes your "hyperlinking" will take you in some new direction and you will forget to go back to where you linked from. You may also go back right away and stick with the same topic for a while because you are motivated to gain in-depth understanding of it. If you can't spend lots of time in libraries because of your work or travel scheduling, you can often browse for inexpensive used books at second-hand stores or library-overstock sales. You can also check with book-buyback people around the end of classes at a university which books they are not buying back because a new edition has come out, for example, and get a good deal on these. When browsing a book before buying it, make sure to do more than read just the title and back-cover. These are marketing tools for the book, along with the pictures, so they may not represent the actual content. You should read some random pages and see if the language and organization of material appeals to you. You should choose books that will engage you and appeal to you in a way that makes you return to them for multiple visits instead of reading a few pages and then never opening them again. One caveat with books and internet is that all text is the product of the point of view of the writer who authored it, so you must always use your own critical judgement to evaluate the validity and relevance of the information you are getting. This can be daunting because information is usually presented in a very authoritative way (otherwise the writer wouldn't have become a writer), but you can learn to filter critically without totally accepting or rejecting content. You just have to take information for what it is and maintain your own authority regarding how the information/knowledge works for your purposes.

[lessAbsolute]

there are lots of free lectures from some famous universities on the internet,you can download some.

[markwebb]

ohh cheers people..

 

as level science text books yea.. sounds like a plan... will get them... probably try the as level maths too.. im pretty sure im up to that level at least... so it does seem like the best way to go!.

 

liking the documentaries!! CHEERS!

 

online university does sound like a good idea, any online courses that let you study at your own pace? do the courses send you physical material do read, i've never liked reading huge chunks of information from a screen, i do have a kindle now though, which is making things much better, as i do not get the eye strain.

 

also never thought about looking for free university lecture videos!!! sounds awesome to!.

 

anymore books i should check out? currently reading Origins of species which had managed to some how never read!.

i have a kindle so am finding a lot of interesting books that are also free... i did get:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Basic-Physics-Self-Teaching-Guide-Guides/dp/0471134473/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1296836951&sr=1-4-spell

 

last week and it is very good!

 

 

[imatfaal]

Mark - check out Walter Lewin's first year physics lectures. His entire Physics 101 at MIT from a few years back is online. You can get it through iTunes or youtube. He is a superb and engaging lecturer. An enthusiastic amateur should be able to follow the course with a little help from wikipedia.

[Marat]

The University of Waterloo, a Canadian university famous primarily for its scientific and technical education, offers distance education courses leading to a B.S. degree for people all over the world. The best thing about that program, from your perspective, would be that it also offers basic, pre-university science courses in math, biology, physics, and chemistry, in order to bring students with limited backgrounds up to a point where they can begin university studies.

[Adams Baker]

In science courses, biological topics are arranged in a logical sequence that makes them easy to understand. The sections dealing with the human body present not only its structure and function, but also its care. Modern accurate explanations of cellular structure, respiration, enzymes, genetics and adaptation are included in simple form.

 

 

[Blahah]

I strongly disagree with those who suggest you need to learn in a structured environment. I technically attended school, but didn't go to classes and then only really began my (self-)education after leaving 6th form. I started teaching myself science at age 21, I'm now 25 working as a researcher and approaching the end of a degree (which I didn't start until much later than most) and get by far the highest marks in my year, although I don't go to most lectures (only the ones where the lecturer actually adds value to the information). There is absolutely no reason why you can't start learning now and be expert in some areas with a high level of all-round science education within a few years.

 

My first recommendation is to learn maths. If I could start my science education again, I'd have done the maths at the beginning. It is the basis for describing quantities and relationships in a structured way in all the sciences - learn it at the beginning and you'll grasp everything else much more easily and accurately. I've tried a bunch of books, and if you've done GCSE you should be able to go into A-level stuff with some work. The best book by far is Core Maths for Advanced Level by Bostock and Chandler. I've settled on this one after buying all those recommended by several UK universities (Bristol, Oxford) for students entering a maths or physics degree but who need to get up to scratch.

 

I would also recommend that you just download/buy crazy amounts of documentaries. They will keep your interest strong and your knowledge increasing until you're ready to get into more serious materials. All BBC/David Attenborough series are interesting for biology, and there are lots of good series for physics too. The BBC iPlayer has excellent stuff on it, especially on BBC4. For example the Joy of Stats, The History of Maths, The Story of Science, etc. Watching them will keep you exposed to new ideas which you can then look up for yourself.

 

There are a few EXTREMELY good internet resources which you should try out:

• Wikipedia (duh!) - learn to go on click frenzies. For example just start with the biology page, then read until you find some interesting idea which is also a link. Follow the link, and pretty soon it'll be midnight at you'll suddenly realise you've been engrossed in cell biology for the entire day. A lot of what I know, I got the basis from getting sucked into the Wikipedia vortex.
• Khan Academy - This guy has revolutionised self-teaching science. You can start from wherever you are right now, and just watch his video lectures and follow the course until a really quite advanced level. He's easy to learn from, and he basically learned it all as he went along, getting experts and friends to help with the material.
• Youtube! Since you're an artist, you'll probably find visualising some ideas makes them stick better. Just search for your current topic of interest and check out the interesting looking videos. Again, I'm biased towards biology, but there are many, many good visualisations of cellular and molecular processes on youtube.

Then when you're starting to get a grasp of the basics, you can invest in some text books or download some ebooks. It depends what you want to learn as to which books are best - you should check back when you're further along to ask for recommendations.

 

You asked if there's a place for beginners? Khan Academy is my number one recommendation for a free online resource. It's video, so there's not a lot of reading. Just get a notebook and a propelling pencil, and start on the 'Developmental Math' (if you can't remember the GCSE stuff) or the 'Pre-algebra' (if you do remember some GCSE basics).

 

Good luck.

Edited February 16, 2011 by Blahah

[Genecks]

*blinks*

 

What realm of science are you more interested in biasing your knowledge toward?

If it's biology, I can point you in some directions.

 

I don't believe a person really needs a lot of equipment to conduct many biological experiments. I can't think of an affordable way to conduct experiments in relation to light spectroscopy, but in general, making a home lab and being an autodidact is not too expensive.

 

You don't necessarily need a large amount of mathematics knowledge in biology until you start moving toward more advanced topics involving anatomy and physiology.

Edited February 21, 2011 by Genecks

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

You can also check these people out -- they do free textbooks for K-12 education:

 

http://www.ck12.org/flexbook/

 

I can't vouch for their quality, but some school systems have switched to them.

[Genecks]

Another thing that should be mentioned is that a autodidact should not be learning one thing at a time for a long period of time each day. For instance, I don't suggest a person really studying genetics for 8 hours a day. That will cause a person to get agitated with it, unless somehow they find it super-interesting and just want more and more. I could study a computer language for hours and hours and stay up past 24 hours learning it. I've done this before, because I'm weird and obsessive when it comes to computer science. I spent a lot of time reading, learning, scripting with Delphi.

 

However, if a person gets stuck on a point, it might aggravate the person and hold them up. Many advanced readers will see if they can basically skip that particular section of the reading/learning and move onto further material. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.

 

As such, academics tend to juggle more than one topic of study at a time. Study more than one thing at a time is what I suggest.

Edited February 21, 2011 by Genecks

[The Conqueror]

I believe http://www.Khanacademy.org could help you generate creative insight into Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, etc. The videos posted are exceptionally good. You could start with Basic Addition all the way to High-School Calculus. And it is all for Free!

 

Hope this helps,

The Conqueror

Edited February 26, 2011 by The Conqueror