New Learning

"Your best teacher is your last mistake."

-Ralph Nader

Learning something new can be hard and require a lot of time, effort, and risk.

I know because I recently embarked on trying to learn about Twitter. I'm not so interested in putting my thoughts out there, but I am interested in acquiring more information. I want to gather more knowledge and I don't know another way to stay connected with the smart people of the world. I think with Twitter I can get a glimpse inside their minds, without having to actually talk to anyone.

So, off I go. Into the wide world of the internet. Is it even called the world wide web anymore? 

As I try to acquire these new skills, I know I have to be comfortable with not knowing everything. I have to be comfortable with asking questions that seem like things I should be able to answer for myself. I have to be able to seek out multiple resources and friends who are willing to help me along. Most of all, I have to be comfortable making mistakes. Without making mistakes, I will not grow in my learning. 

It's funny that we tell students and small children that they are encouraged to make mistakes and try things out - "that is how you learn", we tell them. Yet, I don't know many adults who are encouraged to go out and make mistakes. We expect that as adults we have all the answers, even if we have not tried these things before. 

I'm hoping to set a good example to the girl about how important it is to try new things and maybe mess up. The stakes are pretty small. Maybe I'll have a random 'tweet' or I'll end up following someone I don't know. Meh. At least then I will know how not to do it again.

Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty

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