‘Today I Learned’: 40 Interesting Things People Didn’t Learn At School (New Pics)

Steven, a member of the Omni Calculator Project team, told Bored Panda that the internet is something that's neutral and more akin to a mirror than a tool that's either inherently good or evil. "Of course it can be both," he said.

"The internet reflects the world around it, so everything you find in the world will also appear on the internet. I see it as a great shortcut to information (gone are the days of having to visit a library) that can speed up your learning and ability to do things," Steven said. 

He added that if we feel like we're unable to maintain our focus and keep getting distracted by all the potential entertainment we're missing out on, we should "set aside specific times for studying and other times for fun." Discipline and clear boundaries are key here.

Steven also opened up about fighting back against burnout and apathy. In his view, we can become burned out when there's far too much going on, as well as far too little. "I believe that burnout awaits us at the two ends of a graph in the shape of an inverted letter 'U.' The graph represents the level of difficulty of what we're doing. If it is too high (e.g., we get too stressed, feel too insecure), we will eventually give up. But the same happens when the difficulty level is too low: when we're doing exactly the same thing over and over again," he said.

"My little secret for avoiding apathy is giving myself little challenges, difficulties, or assumptions that I need to stick to during my tasks. This way, I can polish my skills, avoid burnout, and (as a bonus side effect) get better results over time. Try to be conscious of 'the burnout curve'—and adjust your life's challenges so that they always hit somewhere near the top of the curve."

In short, we need to challenge ourselves to stay engaged in whatever project we're doing. However, it can take some work to find the right balance that doesn't stress you out or make you bored.

For any of you Pandas who love learning but aren't sure what direction to take your education further, know that you aren't alone. I've been exactly where you are. I had a few radically different directions I wanted to pursue at university, and it took a while for me to narrow down my options.

Steven suggests picking the subject that interests you the most because you'll spend several years studying it. In this case, you really should listen to your heart. "Don’t choose based on things like the job you could get, as you’ll always be wishing you were doing the thing that really interests you," he warned.

"If you have no idea, ask yourself what subject at school did you enjoy most? Or what other activity do you find yourself doing? Can that be a starting point as to what to study at university?" Steven shared some of the questions that we should pose that, hopefully, will help us come to an informed decision about our future.

During an earlier interview, I learned all about, well, learning from child independence expert Lenore Skenazy, the president of Let Grow and the founder of the Free-Range Kids movement. She told Bored Panda that, nowadays, we have a far narrower understanding of what learning is than we did before, as a species. She also believes that it’s not really learning that we fall in love with, it’s the activities and topics that interest us, that we’re the most passionate about. That, in turn, makes us want to know more about them.

“How do you fall in love with learning? You don’t. You fall in love with something that you love to do— drawing, kicking a ball, playing make-believe, walking in the woods, reading…,” Lenore said.

“All of those things involve learning. If they didn’t, you’d be bored and you’d stop doing them. Instead, as a kid AND as an adult, you get into something and do it because each time you get a little better, or try a slightly different technique. In a game, you’re ALWAYS thinking and learning because the ball never comes to you in exactly the same way twice. In the woods, there’s always something new to look at, climb or poke. In play, you have to react to the other person. And you pick up a book to fall into another world and learn all about it,” Lenore explained to Bored Panda in an interview.

These days, when most of us think of learning, we think of teachers, classrooms, and students. In other words, formal education. But this isn’t how we did things for most of our history.

“We think it’s what happens in a classroom, and the proof is on a test. Considering that most humans didn’t even HAVE school till maybe 100 or 200 years ago, that’s very strange. The species had to be smart enough to survive and it did so by learning to farm, raise kids, fish, build boats—you name it. Our species is built to learn. Curiosity and drive turn that superpower on,” the expert said.

In Lenore’s opinion, “learning comes automatically” when we fall in love with something that we consider to be interesting or absolutely essential for us right now. What’s more, we shouldn’t be too picky about what form our learning takes, as long as it helps us get to our end goal quicker. In other words, the internet can be a perfectly viable tool for learning. If we use it correctly.

“Having books at home can help a child find new things to fall into—but so does YouTube. Remember: every new technology is distrusted at first,” she said, noting that Socrates himself hated the idea that folks exchanged memorizing things for writing them down.

“So yes, books are great. But don’t ignore all the skills, hobbies, facts, and new things kids can learn online as well. If you’re worried about the bad stuff, install some filters. But learning from a podcast or DIY video is still LEARNING. Think of all the things you have learned since your formal schooling ended. Learning doesn’t only take place in a classroom or book!” Lenore told Bored Panda.

What’s more, the expert firmly believes that children need to have time to goof off and have fun. “Kids need some time to goof up, noodle around, and find their interests. You probably had a chance for all of that when you were young, before we decided that every moment should be ‘teachable’—as in, taught by a wise adult. If you thought you got something from your ‘wasted’ time, please assume your kids will too. Starting now!”

It’s vital that kids get some time to do what they want without adult supervision and intervention so they can develop their social-emotional skills like patience, curiosity, frustration-tolerance, and focus. They’ll also figure out what they’re interested in without having adults push their personal interests on top of them. The result? A curious growing mind that wants to learn more about the world.