Proposal: periodic repost of the Best Learning resources

post by Dr_Manhattan · 2013-08-10T16:21:19.138Z · LW · GW · Legacy · 5 comments

One of the biggest benefits of LW for me, aside from specific discussions, has been finding high-quality learning resources. Since knowledge is pretty much the biggest power humans have and many of us spend a lot of time learning, learning more efficiently is extremely important - a good textbook vs. a bad one can cost a lot of time and quite probably make some of the area inaccessible.

We've had a number of threads in that direction, e.g. this

http://lesswrong.com/lw/3gu/the_best_textbooks_on_every_subject/

http://lesswrong.com/lw/g9l/course_recommendations_for_friendliness/

plus crumbs in the monthly media threads.

The proposal is to have these discussions periodically, especially with the great influx of top-notch full online courses from the best schools via coursera, edx, udacity, etc. After that we can wikify some of the more stable recommendations and link the wiki back to the discussions.

Please use this thread for meta-discussion, not specific recommendations. The big questions are should we have this periodically yes/no, what the period should be, at least initially and other helpful suggestions.

 

5 comments

Comments sorted by top scores.

comment by Vaniver · 2013-08-11T02:39:06.097Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

I wonder if it wouldn't be better to move the Best Textbook recommendations (and so on) to the wiki.

Actually, we have featured posts- why not have featured wiki pages? (Or, at least, more convenient links to various collection pages on the sidebar.)

One benefit of these in discussion threads is it's easier to see who's making a recommendation, and to discuss recommendations. But I think the superior organization potential of a wiki probably puts it ahead, and the main reason the wiki isn't used as much is because it's less obvious / available.

comment by Dr_Manhattan · 2013-08-10T16:24:43.676Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Similar to monthly media threads we can have sections.

  • Courses
  • Textbooks
  • Books (more popular stuff that has good educational value)
  • Requests for resources ("what's the best textbook/course on X")
Replies from: None, Brendon_Wong
↑ comment by [deleted] · 2013-08-10T19:58:12.140Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

This sounds like an excellent idea. Given the plethora of popular non-fiction books available, it can be difficult to know which ones to read, especially when the majority of them prioritise style over substance in order to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

It would also be great if people recommend different textbooks in the same subject area that assume different levels of background knowledge, so that others may come up with a well-structured self-study plan.

↑ comment by Brendon_Wong · 2013-08-10T17:47:47.947Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

What do you think about a wiki dedicated to self-improvement? That would be a better way to organize the knowledge than 500 comments.

Replies from: Dr_Manhattan
↑ comment by Dr_Manhattan · 2013-08-10T18:05:07.482Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Basically (I think) it's the same idea - use forum for discussion, wikify the results. The domain is not the same though (only somewhat overlapping)