Interestingly, I noticed that @Ken Anderson titled this whole subforum "Education and Entertainment". At first, it would seem like this is an unusual pairing of subjects; but when I really thought about it, I can see that they are directly asociated with each other. When we are young, we spend most of our time in the learning process..... How to walk, talk, and (eventually) tie our own shoes. Then comes school, and again, we are learning, although entertainment is also part of school, and also more of a part of our lives in general as we grow up. Once we get a job, or start a family, there are more things to learn for work; but also more opportunities for entertainment as adults, too. Now that we are seniors, many of us have a lot more leisure time on our hands, and are not as physically active, so we may spend more time watching televiion, reading a book, or some form of online entertainment. Some things can be either education or entertainment, and reading books is an excellent example of that. I read all the time because I want to learn something, but I also read novels just for entertainment purpose. What does everyone else find themself doing at this stage of life ?
@Yvonne Smith IOW, do I focus more on learning more than pursuing things entertaining to me? Learning has always BEEN entertaining, for me, and I guess that may be unusual. But, it helps explain how I can sit down and work with complex concepts that I have been away from for years, and still work with them effectively. For example, after having learned Calculus at age 20, I was called upon to teach it, to Seniors in High School Honors Math Class. I dug down deep into my memory, and the methods were still there. Just a lucky guy, I think. Frank
I guess I spend most of my time just living my life since I retired, though it was for me a slow transition, because I have been self employed all my life and withdrew from work in stages. I feel through my time with my family and friends, travelling and on here I am learning all the time about people, which has always been my passion in life, especially the way we all interact with each other. With my various life changes I have had to learn new skills which I have enjoyed, but nowadays I don't seek to learn from my pursuits but find it just happens, I am learning something new every day, and hopefully remembering some of it. Thinking about it a bit more, I do find pure entertainment for it's own sake difficult nowadays, so reading novels, watching a movie or playing games, makes me restless, and feeling a need to do something that has a purpose rather than passing time. I guess that is why I gave up reading fiction and watching TV, which I used to do without thinking about it. At some level the work ethic in me must still be alive and kicking.
I do both. Mainly, I watch television shows and movies for entertainment, but I really enjoy watching some documentaries, as well, particularly Frontline. I like some reality shows, because I can learn things, but not necessarily the types of things I'd study in school, although I did study a lot of sociology and psychology, which often tie into the types of reality shows I enjoy, such as Boston EMS and Nightwatch. I sometimes watch DIY and/or crafting videos online, as well. As far as reading, I also do a mix of both. I will read some books for entertainment, mainly mysteries, but also read true crime, some of which can be pretty detailed and read somewhat like text books.
The idea of Entertainment and education is a interesting connection For example if you put rats in a maze and at the end of the maze there is some cheese you will see how fast the rats will run the maze if you stop putting in cheese they will stop running the maze.. Now they did the same experiment in a university using people with $20 at the end of the maze but surprise result when they stopped putting in the money people wanted to run the maze. When the schools use subjects that are entertaining the students learn faster. If the schools were fun they would need a lock on the door to keep the kids out when there is no school. My education is driven from curiosity I will go hours, days, or even months until I can find the answer.
https://www.facebook.com/1394024108/posts/10212513697702815/ I thought this might be fitting, in a strange sort of way!
I used to feel an obligation to finish every book that I started to read, but I no longer feel that. I still do generally complete books that I start, but I am picker about the books that I read. Exceptions are books that I get for the purpose of research, as it's not usually necessary for me to read the whole book in order to create a 5,000-character description. Books that I begin for my own purposes are a mixture of fiction and non-fiction. Most of the non-fiction is historical, largely memoirs that were written by people who never became known for their writing, having written a book about their experiences during the Civil War or their experiences growing up in one small town or another. The writing isn't always the best but the experiences are real and I enjoy that. That's what I read after I go to bed and before I go to sleep at night, or that I'll take with me to a restaurant or doctor's office. As far as movies go, I rarely sit down and watch a movie anymore. I watch movies and television series all day, pretty much every day, but they are playing while I am working, and then I decide what to watch based on what it I that I am working on that day. If I am simply adding sites to a directory, that doesn't require a lot of thought on my part so I can pay quite a bit of attention to whatever is on the television at the same time. But when I am doing research or writing a category description, I'll lose my place in anything complicated so I am more likely to binge-watch Gilligan's Island, or Leave it to Beaver, Little House on Prairie, or something that I have already seen at least a few times already anyhow. Otherwise, I have to keep restarting the movie. Crime or war documentaries work well, too.
My father would say why don't these young people go out and become millionaires while they are smarter than the rest of us.
I like learning to be entertaining - one teacher was very good at teaching us in an entertaining way Same with documentaries, they are sometimes done in an arty way, which is just distracting or dreary
I agree with you, @Patsy Faye , and I think that we can learn a lot better when the teacher is also entertaining anough to keep our attention riveted on the information, and not just daydreaming along because we are bored by the teacher droning along. One interesting phenomenon that I have been noticing more and more, especially on youtube, is the videos with nothing much more than a few snapshots and some computer generated voice intoning the information. Even when the topic is something that I am interested in learning about, it is hard for me to listen to it when it is presented with no voice inflection or enthusiasm at all. The exact same words and pictures, if spoken by a human, with some emphasis here and there, would make the video much easier to keep focused on.
Well, since wife and I aren't the "intellectual" type, aka "book readers" or library buffs, it would have to be basically entertainment. Entertainment being……..going to a rodeo, water park, boating/fishing or heading to the range.
The whole education system needs to be over hauled we have good teachers yes and we have bad but cannot get rid of the bad because of tenure. Also politico correctness has grown in the education system destroying common sense. There are also this idea of affirmative action which means we give everyone equal standing and IQ is not important. The idea of achievement awards will be replaces participation awards.This sounds like a good idea but it puts an intelligent people at a disadvantage. The idea of no child left behind so the class moves at the speed of the dumbest child. Is this why home school children out preform regular school classes. There was an idea floated to take the best of the best teacher video tape their class and send it to all the schools and let the other teachers just monitor the class.Of course this scares the teachers union.