A Field Guide to Learning

Let's say you're someone who wants to learn about an academic discipline. Perhaps advanced Physics, Sociology, Early-Modern History, or Cognition Science. Of course, there's YouTube pop-sci videos (which I love) and no shortage of products and services that purport to teach you the basics. But what do you do when you want to go beyond those basics? I'm not an expert, but I have been on a few of these journeys myself and so I want to lay out the paths I've taken and offer some advice to those who, like me starting out, had a very hazy view of the terrain and no idea who to trust with your education. Starting Simple As you can see, I like this series quite a bit For anything vaguely academic in nature, I highly recommend trying out one of the books in the Very Short Introduction series. The books are, as expected, very short (~100 pages) and cover a quick survey of the topic at hand and its various sub-disciplines. They're approachable, quick to read, and the chapters are organized by…