Transcript
Chris Minnick: yeah um Your dogs are barking and the dogs are barking.
Chris Penick: My dogs are barking both both figuratively and literally yes, they are they are greeting my
Chris Minnick: The dogs are a barking. You've been doing a lot of...
Chris Penick: My wife was coming home right now, so.
Chris Minnick: Aww.
Chris Penick: There you go
Chris Minnick: That's nice.
Chris Penick: There you go. All right.
Chris Minnick: So... Happy.
Chris Penick: We are. You know, I'd have a happy.
Chris Minnick: Happy returns. I don't know.
Chris Penick: Happy Friday. It's Friday when we're recording. Do we want to care? do we care um yeah
Chris Minnick: Okay. let people in on the secrets yeah we don't know i mean this is one thing we need to talk about like off long offline offline ah This is...
Chris Penick: Ooh. Ooh.
Chris Penick: offline. Yes, should be
Chris Minnick: I'm getting sick and tired first of all I'm getting sick and tired of how business language slips into my uh everyday language And like I was I was reading this article the other day about how.
Chris Penick: Yes.
Chris Minnick: ai language is slipping into some people's conversational language and they're saying oh i've got too much context i'm overflowing my context window right now i you know
Chris Penick: Oh.
Chris Penick: I need to.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: I'm token maxing my my own life.
Chris Minnick: Right.
Chris Penick: Oh.
Chris Minnick: i hate this you said i wasn't drinking enough wine last time so
Chris Penick: Oh. I do. Yes, good. I can see you already. You got to start. You're ahead of me here. i'm I'm just doing water.
Chris Minnick: Yes.
Chris Penick: So there you go.
Chris Minnick: Alright.
Chris Penick: Although for our listeners, I am not a teetotaler. I, you know, Oh no. you know i um, Though I'm not a drinker either, so I don't know what you call that.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: Me.
Chris Minnick: Uh,
Chris Penick: Yeah.
Chris Minnick: A drink totaler.
Chris Penick: ah drink totally I'll totally drink that drink.
Chris Minnick: But I'll do it carefully.
Chris Penick: Yes, irresponsibly.
Chris Minnick: No, no reckless abandon. Yes.
Chris Penick: and responsibly there you go all right
Chris Minnick: Mm -hmm. A totaler? How do you spell totaler? This is our lesson for today. What is that word?
Chris Penick: There. T.
Chris Minnick: When you say teetotaler. total.
Chris Penick: tea
Chris Minnick: or total
Chris Penick: so t Wait.
Chris Minnick: Total? I'm totaling?
Chris Penick: It's it's Teetoter is, is, is. Tea tote. Comes from an old back back during the prohibition and you know, and it's you were you were does it I thought now you got me question It's like when you say a word enough What is this word?
Chris Minnick: yeah What is this?
Chris Penick: but i do know where it comes from it comes from that you know with dream you Someone who had sworn off. Alcohol. they were I thought it was teetotaling.
Chris Penick: Now I'm going to look like a fool.
Chris Minnick: Yeah, but what is a total? Okay, well, wolf yeah, I expect an answer soon.
Chris Penick: Yeah, what are you totaling, and why does tea have anything to do with it? Well, what does tea have to do with the booze?
Chris Minnick: Well, let's...
Chris Penick: let's go Okay, let's go on to something important.
Chris Minnick: Well, you're drinking the tea instead of drinking the booze.
Chris Penick: so i Okay, so I totally drink tea instead of booze. That's a teetotaler.
Chris Minnick: All right. I totally, yes.
Chris Penick: We defied it. I totally drink tea. All right Another episode needs to be Stiglitz. Look up.
Chris Minnick: Yep.
Chris Penick: a sniglet you know sniglets i don't think maybe our listeners don't but all right
Chris Minnick: Yeah. Alright.
Chris Penick: we Wow. that that this is This goes on the floor. This is the cutting. and stuff yeah
Chris Minnick: So, Chris, no, no, no.
Chris Penick: Yay.
Chris Minnick: we're keep we know Everything stays in. This is a totally honest podcast. There is very little editing.
Chris Penick: Okay.
Chris Minnick: Alright.
Chris Penick: All right. and
Chris Minnick: Yes. Hi, I'm Chris Minnick, also known as Sea Money.
Chris Penick: And... I am Chris Pennick. No relation. also known as DJ Crispy. So and. how we got to that. There's...
Chris Penick: That's the story we keep promising people, but I don't think we've told it.
Chris Minnick: Yep. yep We're never going to, that's our whole shtick, is we never actually get around to the story.
Chris Penick: it
Chris Minnick: All right, so.
Chris Penick: Okay.
Chris Minnick: Uh... Today we're going to talk about how do you study without a syllabus.
Chris Penick: o
Chris Minnick: So. i i do this i know i i'm allergic to taking classes i've I ah dropped out of college four times.
Chris Penick: Four. Oh, I didn't know the four.
Chris Minnick: ah
Chris Penick: I knew.
Chris Minnick: Hmm.
Chris Penick: Oh wow.
Chris Minnick: Yeah. four times. uh i
Chris Penick: But you're not bragging.
Chris Minnick: No. and And then I actually I've gone back to college. um So if you count like every time I've gone back to college, like for a semester. you know.
Chris Minnick: Just one class. I have I've dropped out. six times.
Chris Penick: Six times, okay.
Chris Minnick: I've signed up for two colleges where I applied and got accepted. and was all set to go, but then...
Chris Penick: Yeah.
Chris Minnick: didn't go Um. I'm just so I'm allergic to classes. And I've tried like over the years, you know how they have like the MIT online courseware and stuff and you can like do these like.
Chris Penick: oh yeah
Chris Minnick: MIT classes. I get so bored. I can't do that. And so I want to talk to you.
Chris Penick: I can't. video. No.
Chris Minnick: Yeah, I want to talk to you
Chris Penick: Okay. Talk to me. talk to me Talk to me, Chris.
Chris Minnick: I... how yeah How do, I mean, as independent learners, this is the only way I'm going to learn anything. like no one can tell me anything what you can't tell me what to do uh but how do we decide what matters
Chris Penick: Yeah.
Chris Minnick: uh when there's you know no Path no set path for us to follow
Chris Penick: you Or you don't have like some...
Chris Minnick: If I want to...
Chris Penick: teacher or a or uh course. description saying this is what you have to do. Set.
Chris Minnick: Yeah, let's...
Chris Penick: that what you're looking at
Chris Minnick: Yes, let's say for example I want to learn. um Like. egyptian like hieroglyphics like
Chris Penick: Okay. Okay.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: All right, okay, so and we go i i like this i like this topic i the only I think. a lot of answers are going to be. different.
Chris Penick: per lemur. you know and we we We had a discussion about learning styles before. That. you know the there. there's the myth of I still call it a myth. I'm going to get in trouble with some friends on this too. but you know, the the idea that you know okay i only you it I guess the myth is that I only learn a certain way. I only learn visually. I only learn kinetically.
Chris Penick: Sure, there are, you know, some there are different. better ways to present information and there are different learning abilities and there are different things that influence how we learn you know some you know dyslexia from things like dyslexia which makes it difficult to read, but doesn't mean you can't read.
Chris Penick: to just calculate say that three times fast you know where numbers become an issue yeah um
Chris Minnick: oh
Chris Penick: I think a lot of people may be undiagnosed with that. because you know people complain about math so
Chris Minnick: I know a lot of people who are good at math and...
Chris Penick: I mean, if it
Chris Minnick: Just just say that anyway.
Chris Penick: Yeah. I've seen that too.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: I hate math because it seems to be cool to hate on it. I don't know. I love math.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: I...
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: i I discovered Duolingo. Actually has math courses now. i'm i'm Dude, I'm not, we we may have to talk to them about sponsorship because I keep doing everything.
Chris Minnick: That was cool.
Chris Minnick: uh -huh
Chris Penick: I'm now number one in the finals in the Diamond League. Okay, just a humble brag there.
Chris Minnick: Let's...
Chris Penick: Yeah.
Chris Minnick: Let's do this right now We are proudly sponsored by Duolingo.
Chris Penick: Duel duo if you would
Chris Minnick: They just haven't
Chris Penick: They just haven't paid us yet.
Chris Minnick: Duolingo. They just haven't sent us a check yet.
Chris Penick: yeah
Chris Minnick: And so we want all of you out there to write to them and complain about how they're... Podcast they're sponsoring isn't getting paid.
Chris Minnick: And. what the fuck come on give us the money
Chris Penick: Well, that's kind of a big thing Give us some...
Chris Penick: Yeah. ah Okay. All right. For the record, though, see, and by the way, I have not had any of the wine yet either. Okay. like I think so what it becomes is that, right, you have to design your own curriculum.
Chris Penick: I think that's really the heart of this question, right?
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: So you have to decide. You know, what are the resources I'm going to use and what? you know what what's important to study and what's just interesting and what's just yeah you don't really need to know that
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: Um, And that's hard when you're not the expert. So I think Part of it comes with... you have to Get an idea of... well what do you want you said hieroglyphics why do you want to learn hieroglyphics
Chris Minnick: You know, I think I. red ones that William S. Burroughs learned it. And I was like, That's pretty cool.
Chris Penick: Okay. Okay. All right.
Chris Minnick: And. And so I was like. how do you even go about where do you get started with that what what I mean, there's like...
Chris Penick: Okay.
Chris Minnick: It seems like...
Chris Penick: See?
Chris Minnick: Everything that I try to learn you start with something very small you say i want to know about hieroglyphics you know maybe that's not small but then suddenly you're like
Chris Penick: See?
Chris Minnick: oh man now i need to learn the history i need to learn the Yeah. Time periods.
Chris Penick: the peoples of Egypt.
Chris Minnick: place.
Chris Penick: that you know oh right and i get you okay so
Chris Minnick: Yeah. Yes, go on.
Chris Penick: well that's See, I don't think that... Just say. I want to learn hieroglyphics is that. small. i mean i don't think you have a
Chris Minnick: Right.
Chris Penick: And so... I guess what I'm trying to get to is we've talked about, like, setting some sort of Time box or some sort of, I mean. I'm not a you should write down your goals and do all this, but you have to like, what is it that you're going to learn?
Chris Penick: When you say I learned hieroglyphics, I was talking to somebody about. okay i can say on you know on these this app i'm learning all these languages what does it mean that i know these languages?
Chris Penick: Well...
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: I can't really say I know it. If I can't have a conversation in it. I recognize, I can read. that's no that's not right so i'm still i feel i'm like 1 .5 i don't know what the e monolingo i'm not duo lingo yet i'm mono mono point
Chris Minnick: Right.
Chris Penick: you know, five lingo.
Chris Minnick: Yeah, yeah
Chris Penick: So what what do you... What do you do then in that case? I think what you have to do is come up with well what's what's the measurable? What's the thing you can measure?
Chris Penick: So in your case, okay, I want to be able to read what's on this.
Chris Minnick: Read.
Chris Penick: read okay great i want to you know i mean because we are have arguments about how
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: the hieroglyphics were pronounced and maybe i don't know rosetta stone
Chris Minnick: I don't know. I want to go to the British Museum next time I'm in London.
Chris Penick: Okay.
Chris Minnick: And like. Read the Rosetta Stone.
Chris Penick: Okay, there you go. That seat, that's that's that still seems big to me, but that's ah that's a good... something you can measure, something you can say.
Chris Minnick: yeah
Chris Penick: Okay, so I think that's what you start with first. All right, now you said the British Museum. Well... There, there, you found a resource. I betcha they got stuff about it.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: You know, so... you know
Chris Minnick: Maybe.
Chris Penick: Google in this case is your friend. We'll argue about Google in other ways, other times, but you know, Google, if you do a. I don't know how many of our listeners know about a site search.
Chris Penick: where in in the in the search bar in google i would say like hieroglyphics and then site colon
Chris Minnick: ae
Chris Penick: And then like British Museum or something, you know, if you know their address or web address or if you've gone to their web address before. So britishmuseum .org or whatever it is. And. Yeah, that's a place to start. You're going to get a lot back. The hard part is filter, right?
Chris Penick: so I mean, I think. It is. this it's going to be different for different kinds of learning. Do you do you know anybody?
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: who is a hieroglyphic... there hieroglyphic And I am not even drinking.
Chris Minnick: No, i certainly not.
Chris Penick: This is not fair.
Chris Minnick: Yeah, I know
Chris Penick: Yeah. hieroglyphic
Chris Minnick: But.
Chris Penick: Well, you so you said Burroughs. Okay. Good writer. Right?
Chris Minnick: hu Yeah?
Chris Penick: It's all about the writing.
Chris Minnick: Yeah. Yeah.
Chris Penick: Maybe you start. There. is how did eugene You say it yourself. How did... Burroughs I mean, you don't need to know the entire pathway. To start learning, Right?
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: Can't you?
Chris Minnick: Right. I think, you know, if this is... Like, uh... Tim Ferriss. Like if you read his like.
Chris Penick: Mm hmm.
Chris Minnick: you know, things about how to learn things he says
Chris Penick: Yeah.
Chris Minnick: you know you seek out an expert. And you say. What are the 20 % of things that I need to know to...
Chris Penick: Okay.
Chris Minnick: Alright. you know. to be able to do this thing as if I'm an expert.
Chris Penick: Right.
Chris Minnick: ah And that's, I mean, that's, you know.
Chris Penick: Yeah. the the 20 % of knowledge that covers 80 % of your situations.
Chris Minnick: Yeah, yeah.
Chris Penick: Yeah. Yeah.
Chris Minnick: But then. So let's say you do that. Let's say you say, okay. This is my list. of things that are involved in being able to read
Chris Penick: Mm hmm.
Chris Minnick: Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Chris Penick: Right.
Chris Minnick: And then... Do we create a syllabus? And is it as as formal as that? Like you and I both write courses.
Chris Penick: Mm hmm.
Chris Minnick: I... you know uh I write a lot of books and like i always start with like ah an outline or a syllabus you know
Chris Penick: and outline. Yeah. so Okay. I mean, i do we create a syllabus? Let me...
Chris Minnick: Yes.
Chris Penick: I... Yeah, it's a plan. I mean it doesn't have to be that formal though. I mean, I think it can be simply you write down on a piece of paper somewhere, okay, in...
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: See, we got it. it it late It's the measurable part. it's so i want to be able to read um Maybe pick a a specific...
Chris Penick: artifact. from the british museum i want to be able to read what those hieroglyphics say on that little panel they have that they have up on the wall in the british museum
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Minnick: mm -hmm
Chris Minnick: Sim.
Chris Penick: Okay.
Chris Minnick: Just narrowing it down to the simplest possible thing that there.
Chris Penick: that Right. Or I want to be able to write.
Chris Minnick: could Or what I think might be simple.
Chris Penick: write us a sentence a simple sentence you know what are some simple sentences that i could right out in hieroglyphics.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: I mean, considering, too, context of, I don't know if they have a, hey, did you see the latest article on Google? in hieroglyphics i doubt that exists You know, um but maybe something about.
Chris Minnick: ah Well, no, I mean.
Chris Penick: Hey, Bob owes me three goats that, you know, that might be there.
Chris Minnick: There you go. Or like the thing, i I know how to say one phrase. In. Probably. eight different languages. I know how to say
Chris Penick: Sure.
Chris Minnick: Two glasses of wine please.
Chris Penick: yeah Yeah. I used to say
Chris Minnick: I can say that in a lot of languages.
Chris Penick: Yeah, yeah, you need to it typically you need to know um you know when I was single it was you need to know um Where's the bathroom? Can I have a beer?
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: And what's your phone number? That was, you know, that those three were pretty good.
Chris Minnick: Yeah. ah
Chris Penick: And now I dropped, you know, the what's your phone number's gone. uh and now it's just you know bathroom, beer, and Can you help show me where the taxi is so I can get to my hotel?
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: Um,
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: but yeah right that's it what what's the minimum you know in programmer ease and we're going to avoid that here but we talk about the minimally viable product Right? What's what's the...
Chris Minnick: Product.
Chris Penick: the bare minimum that you would consider a thing. So... What to you? I don't know, you're the one who wants to learn hieroglyphics. what What would be a thing that you would consider a minimum?
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: You know.
Chris Minnick: Yeah, and that's a... Excellent question, because I'm not going to become an Egyptologist. you know
Chris Penick: Okay, that right. See, that's the...
Chris Minnick: Anytime.
Chris Penick: One extreme.
Chris Minnick: soon.
Chris Penick: but not knowing it at all is the other extreme.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: So somewhere there's a step that goes from, I don't know anything about hieroglyphics to.
Chris Minnick: Right.
Chris Penick: i'm going to be an egyptologist which who knows maybe you decide that one day but you know.
Chris Minnick: right
Chris Penick: So, but you know, the the the journey of a thousand miles starts with. the Single step, right? Okay, so what's the single step? I like. Taking I like your idea I'm going to give you credit for that. That's your idea of of a simple sentence. Hey, how do you ask for beer or wine?
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: What was beer? What was the symbol for beer or wine? I mean they had beer
Chris Minnick: Yep.
Chris Penick: you know
Chris Minnick: Have beer. Yep.
Chris Penick: What's the symbol for beer or wine? What's the hieroglyphic for beer or wine? That's where you start. But then you've got to build.
Chris Minnick: ah
Chris Penick: Like I'm playing on that. So you keep expanding the vocabulary. right that's That's the minimally viable thing. that's the Call it a syllabus. Call it an outline. Call it a plan for the next.
Chris Penick: you know, two weeks, month. I like 30 days, 30 days to two months is a good range for anything new. Don't you think? I mean, do you.
Chris Minnick: I think so. um
Chris Penick: Ha. you know. You have a timeline?
Chris Minnick: I think 30 days. Yeah, I mean, my 30 days often slips into, you know, like... you know six months or something and that's That's a problem, I suppose.
Chris Penick: Well, that's... Well, yeah, that's the other issue. You know, it's it's we all... you know. I think so. Okay. So...
Chris Penick: we we kind of come up with the single flow. of All right, here's your plan. Here's the first step. Here's the next step. The yellow brick road to get to Oz. The... I don't know. The...
Chris Penick: the the the you know skipping stones to Stop using it. Stones to get across whatever I'm Some sort of analogy.
Chris Minnick: Yes. Yes. you
Chris Penick: i'm Anywhere there
Chris Minnick: You're walking on the beach and suddenly there's only one set of footsteps.
Chris Penick: And that's because the other guy fell down.
Chris Minnick: I don't
Chris Penick: No.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: anyway Sorry. I just offended, like, many people here.
Chris Minnick: Yes.
Chris Penick: I don't know.
Chris Minnick: It's fine.
Chris Penick: um So... i you know i i guess You gotta... Because I do this. All right. I have to admit. So i i think I think with anything we offer listeners is we also let them hear from our shortcomings on this.
Chris Penick: I collect resources.
Chris Minnick: yep
Chris Penick: uh, you know,
Chris Minnick: oh
Chris Penick: I spend so much time. This is what I don't want to see for you with your hieroglyphics. And this is what I think we need to advise listeners.
Chris Minnick: Sick. You're a resource hoarder? Is that what?
Chris Penick: I have, let's see, just...
Chris Minnick: we're talking about here.
Chris Penick: Yeah, just like looking to my left. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Seven different... Learn Spanish books.
Chris Minnick: Oh.
Chris Penick: And of course, my wife is Salvadoran, so you'd think I'd know Spanish, right?
Chris Minnick: How many of those have you read?
Chris Penick: Yeah, see, says that that's not going to carry on audio. um ah Right. or Or read all the way through or read enough of that you've actually got something for it. And, you know, and I keep vowing, oh, I'll do so more. So that's, again, even if it's not the best resource, I think just choosing.
Chris Penick: A resource. Okay.
Chris Minnick: Would I mean, would you would you?
Chris Penick: So.
Chris Minnick: Would you consider getting rid of some of those books about spanish learning Spanish? uh and what makes the one that you want to keep worth keeping
Chris Penick: Mmm. Yeah, I should. I really should. And what would make it worth keeping is if it's interesting enough that it kind of drives me to do the next one, the next, you know, one more page, one more chapter. And this is where I will hand it to. these ah you know, the apps is that they, when they gamify it. Okay.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: So I don't know if there's an... ah hieroglyphic app. that you know lets you do a little run streak or something like that um Sure. And and and that it if that it helps, you know you have to take into account the quality of the education you're getting from that app.
Chris Penick: not just the fact that it's keeping you coming back, but but that does help.
Chris Minnick: huh
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: All right you know it's like we send kids to school not just one day we send kids to school you know Every day and they get a little bit more and they get a little bit more I think your hieroglyphics are gonna have to go the same way.
Chris Penick: right
Chris Minnick: What would you say that, I mean... Like. this example here that you're using is great because It would seem like, and I know sort of that the... the trend now and sort of the fad or not the fad but you know people are saying well you don't even need formal education anymore and we've been saying this for like 30 years we've got the internet we've got ai why do you even need to go to school kids don't need school but
Chris Penick: Yeah.
Chris Minnick: Is it just the... matter of you know forcing things down their throats where maybe formal learning does have an advantage.
Chris Penick: OK, so and yet, see, we keep coming up with lots of ideas for many episodes here because I. my opinion on that is twofold is that, yes, I think. traditional school.
Chris Penick: public, private, doesn't matter. I'm not picking on any one school in general. i mean I felt I went to a good school district. i you know, i'm i like my my high school and and everything but i think part of what just the nature of
Chris Minnick: hu
Chris Penick: institutionalized schooling is that we are sort of teaching you to be within the institution. And what's the institution in the United States? That's capitalist, corporate.
Chris Penick: We teach you how to be an employee.
Chris Minnick: Oh. We teach you how to be a slave to the man.
Chris Penick: Well. yeah we teach you how to be an employee you know because it's always about like oh don't
Chris Minnick: Yeah. Yeah.
Chris Penick: And and i I'm telling you, I'm having a really rough time. you know, that I wanted so badly to tell my daughter, you know what, don't go major in art. Don't do it. You know what? Go go major in engineering.
Chris Penick: Go major in chemistry. Go major in something that supposedly accounting, accounting, accountants make good money.
Chris Minnick: Don't tell her that. Yeah. Mm -hmm.
Chris Penick: Go major in those.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: And. the other side of me says, but That's not what she wants to learn.
Chris Minnick: Yep.
Chris Penick: You know, so there's there's a catch to it, right? you know, It's, it's... you I think what school does very well. if you have a good school, is yes, they get you to come back.
Chris Penick: they get you you know but then you know there are Kids who drop out, there are kids who... you know run off you know my my son i i appreciate it he seems to actually enjoy going to school
Chris Minnick: Mm hmm.
Chris Penick: I like it. you know he gets tired he's like uh He complains about certain classes.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: but at the same time You know, he's so I think if you're gonna do that yourself Right? it's you have to measure how much self -discipline you have and so that means a resource that's already rather than figuring out the syllabus rather than figuring out the guide rather than figuring out where you have to go yeah I'm going to come back to something I was thinking about earlier here.
Chris Penick: And that is when you were talking about like, who do we go to?
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: What do we do? Librarians. librarians are the best. Bye.
Chris Minnick: You mention the librarians every single time.
Chris Penick: I will find a reason.
Chris Minnick: I think that's I think that's fantastic.
Chris Penick: the
Chris Minnick: And I think that should, you know, you should you should mention librarians every single time.
Chris Penick: That is one of my... personal my things. I mean... i would i mean my idea of escaping during the summer when i was a nerdy little kid and my my brother and i both got to the point where we could ride our bikes and you know this is the 70s and 80s when
Chris Minnick: Yep.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: parents weren't worried about, oh no, are you, you know, so.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: We would. get in on our bikes and we would ride to the local library ranch and just spend hours going up and down the shelves and look at the books and check out.
Chris Minnick: Mm -hmm.
Chris Penick: whatever we could. And I figured out how to. Put a big... you know i'd stuff a backpack full of books and and they had you know magazines i could check out and and film at the time and you know oh but we had We had an old film projector and I'd even get like a movie.
Chris Minnick: Yep.
Chris Penick: and bring it all back home. Now they have video games in ours here.
Chris Minnick: No.
Chris Penick: And I keep telling my son, it's like, hey, I'm not going to buy that. You can go rent it for a while for free.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: you know check it out I'm going to pay 60 bucks a pop for these games.
Chris Minnick: yeah
Chris Penick: So.
Chris Minnick: Yep.
Chris Penick: i Yes, I am going to always stand and say... Hey, support your library. There you go. That is my theme. And librarians, I'm not going to ask you. Duolingo, you... No. I'm going to talk about you. You need to send us money. Librarians, no. Keep the money. You need it.
Chris Penick: Okay?
Chris Minnick: librarians aren't going to send us money.
Chris Penick: librarians aren't going to send us money. Keep the money. You need it, librarians.
Chris Minnick: ah
Chris Penick: Keep it. Please. Don't whatever don't don't know, you know Don't. and And, you know, no. ah You know what? I want to like start a...
Chris Minnick: Alright.
Chris Penick: habit for that but okay so let's get to reality then i think you need some sort of
Chris Minnick: I...
Chris Penick: documentation. structured plan. Most people do. to do anything i mean i have to write down to remember to go buy you know, oatmeal at the store. Okay.
Chris Penick: So how do you get that plan? You have to figure out. where What are the resources? and Find one, just pick one. So hey. Hey, librarian. Hey, internet. Hey, my friend who is really into William S. Burroughs.
Chris Penick: Do you know? Where I can learn more about... Egyptian Hieroglyphics Right?
Chris Minnick: Yep.
Chris Penick: And then from them... you probably get maybe quite a few resources. I don't care. Pick one that calls to you. All right, even if it's not the best.
Chris Minnick: I think that sounds like a fantastic plan.
Chris Penick: All right
Chris Minnick: Uh... And so, I mean... I'm willing to wrap it there and you know say like... I think we've got some good ideas here.
Chris Penick: Hmm? Yeah.
Chris Minnick: I think, ah you know.
Chris Penick: Well...
Chris Minnick: There are people who are motivated by... like grades. and like
Chris Penick: Apps.
Chris Minnick: these outside sort of standardized tests a gamification and all these things they're kind of all tricks
Chris Penick: games.
Chris Penick: i mean, yeah I mean... XP points on here Yeah.
Chris Minnick: That are not really proven to work like standardized tests ah Do not. necessarily. mean that you are learning something. It's like you're learning a test.
Chris Minnick: And a grade doesn't mean that you have learned it either.
Chris Penick: Yeah.
Chris Minnick: You just memorize the information and optimize tests. But we know this, and I don't think we even need to talk about that.
Chris Penick: Yeah.
Chris Minnick: aspect of it. But. I want to say to our listeners, what's the thing that you want to learn? And this is how you know you always end with. like something like this like pick one what do you want to learn this month what do you what are you you know going for.
Chris Penick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: what What do you want to do? Well... So that takes it back to one thing then. Okay. So there's one more point to this then.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: All right.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: So fine. Let's see if we can summarize this. I would say find to find A resource. any resource.
Chris Penick: for whatever it is you want to learn. video book, wherever person and come up with just a ah basic list. you know call that your your your mini syllabus if you want call it your plan
Chris Minnick: Yep.
Chris Penick: But put two things in it. One is... sort of uh milestones. I don't know, whatever you call it.
Chris Minnick: ah
Chris Penick: Like, you know, the fact I would feel like I've talked about before that I, I will finally feel like I've learned a language. when I can carry on a conversation. Although I might not understand everything in the conversation, but I can carry on a conversation with someone in that language.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: Okay. Yeah, that's down. That's a big milestone. A little milestone might be, I just want to order my favorite meal. at you know if it's Russian at a Russian restaurant, if it's, you know,
Chris Penick: it's so all right for your hieroglyphics it might be just yeah find a little artifact or something
Chris Minnick: Mm -hmm
Chris Penick: um And then I think... It's important to have forget. you know Like a syllabus in college, they give you a grade. like you were talking about. Right. you get a grade. Even if it's a pass fail course, you still got to pass fail.
Chris Penick: I think what you... what we've talked about before. It's some sort of evidence that you're making progress. And that is, okay, now you know, how many words do you know?
Chris Penick: Just even a count. How many words can you remember in flashcards?
Chris Minnick: Yep.
Chris Penick: I'm a big fan of Anki. for my listeners it's you know this sort of space repetition And then. What did you get wrong? Like did you get wrong that you slightly mispronounced the word?
Chris Penick: Or did you just get the word completely wrong? That feedback. too. and you know then then i think you've got a syllabus so i'd write myself like okay um When, you know.
Chris Penick: Let's see. Here's my... ah You might ask like somebody who's familiar with. Good luck with that. I mean, hieroglyphics, but you know, subs
Chris Minnick: yeah I got all kinds of people. i mean just go next door probably to the
Chris Penick: yeah For all you know, your neighbor is an Egyptologist, you know.
Chris Minnick: Let's go walk over to the brewery. I'll find somebody there.
Chris Penick: Yeah, I mean, well, the inner tubes are good for that too, right?
Chris Minnick: Yeah. Yeah.
Chris Penick: Go go out and find some...
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: you know, online or Hey, we are really interested in Egyptian hieroglyphics. Learn from us.
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: I agree.
Chris Minnick: Absolutely.
Chris Penick: Peace. I think it's what did I practice? What do I need to practice? How did I do? um in whatever you way you want to measure that and we'll yeah i think we should just Yeah, you're right.
Chris Penick: we We could kind of wrap things up here, keep this nice short one, and maybe provide some links to these sort of resources.
Chris Minnick: Yep.
Chris Penick: of Like a template.
Chris Minnick: Yeah. And for example, I am going to go seek out. you know this afternoon i'm going to seek out the society for conversational hieroglyphics and you know maybe i just go to start going to some meetings you know and we can all like you know hang out and talk in hieroglyphics so
Chris Penick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: Please tell me. I want it to be a real thing so bad.
Chris Minnick: Yes?
Chris Penick: Please tell me. That would be awesome. well yeah i mean egyptian is a language you do really right and there's also
Chris Minnick: Yeah. yeah yeah
Chris Penick: Arabic spoken it in Egypt, so
Chris Minnick: Yeah.
Chris Penick: ah You know, I mean, but but there's got to be, yes, that they send secret messages written in hieroglyphics back to each other.
Chris Minnick: But...
Chris Penick: you know, or past dotes.
Chris Minnick: I think what we're saying here, though. i think if i were to sum it all up and sort of give us the whole like
Chris Penick: Yeah and keep me from talking too long.
Chris Minnick: punchline for the whole episode and keep chris pennock from talking for too long
Chris Penick: Yeah.
Chris Minnick: It would be, the goal is not.
Chris Penick: hey
Chris Minnick: to create the perfect syllabus.
Chris Penick: Thank you. The goal.
Chris Minnick: Yes.
Chris Penick: is to find the next step
Chris Minnick: Is to do.
Chris Penick: The next step.
Chris Minnick: Do something.
Chris Penick: Yeah. do do you Do something.
Chris Minnick: Yes.
Chris Penick: Do the next step. That's it. Even if that step means you might have to backtrack and go a different direction.
Chris Minnick: Yep.
Chris Penick: Do the next step.
Chris Minnick: Boom.
Chris Penick: Boom.
Chris Minnick: I think that's it where I think that's.
Chris Penick: I'm not going to drop a mic because they're expensive.
Chris Minnick: Peace.
Chris Penick: So. Yeah. so
Chris Minnick: someday someday we'll have that duolingo money and we'll be dropping mics left and right
Chris Penick: Oh. When we get the Duolingo money, Duolingo.
Chris Minnick: Wait.
Chris Penick: when we get the money then we'll we We'll drop it.
Chris Minnick: I'll be grabbing this guitar and smashing it.
Chris Penick: Yes.
Chris Minnick: Yes.
Chris Penick: Yes.
Chris Minnick: Yes.
Chris Penick: Hey. um But it's weird. i you know I was very anti -duolingo. So just if you're listening, duo, this is how the power of your platform.
Chris Minnick: huh
Chris Minnick: Yep.
Chris Penick: And then I had a friend who was like, oh, well, my you know my friend, a friend who has a friend says, my friend's a Spanish teacher. And he's like, yeah, you get the super and you do the super, even though they use some AI to help you, but use the super and.
Chris Penick: go through and correct your mistakes. I'm like, oh, dang, he had me there. not Not the AI correcting your mistakes.
Chris Minnick: I don't... am
Chris Penick: You get to correct your mistakes. it All it's doing.
Chris Minnick: it's part of
Chris Penick: Yeah.
Chris Minnick: Okay, that' that's good. That's good. That makes sense. Yeah.
Chris Penick: See? And I was like... I started doing that and I'm like. Hmm. You may be on to something. so All right, well we'll have to save some of those for other times.
Chris Minnick: Rock on.
Chris Penick: All right.
Chris Minnick: Alright, sounds good. And we are brought to you proudly by Duolingo. They just don't know it yet.
Chris Penick: Yeah.
Chris Minnick: Thank you very much. Good night.
Chris Penick: Good. ah
