Index pages:: Methods for learning and thinking
This is one of the main benefits that I've found with my decision to consult (see: Why I chose to consult rather than pursue a PhD).
If I furthered my career into academia, then I would be doing a ton of readings, but those readings would have largely come from the prescriptions of professors.
In consulting, I'm still reading many papers and books (even the occasional textbook), but it's determined by my curiosity. I'm allowed to be autodidactic and read about what I think is interesting.
When I follow my curiosity unconditionally, my assumptions are the following:
- I don't know when it will be useful, but there's a good chance it will be someday.
- If it's not useful on its own, there's a good chance it will be useful through the way that it paints my understanding of other things that I know.
- If I learn out of a sense of curiosity, I'll put more work into learning than if I were learning out of a sense of obligation.
- It's okay to just read what I want to read because There is no curriculum that encompasses everything you should know
- If I learn only what I feel obligated to learn, then that means I'll have learnt what everyone else has learnt. If I read what everybody else is reading, then I'll think like everybody else, so I'd end up bored and blend in with the crowd.