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Beginners : the joy and transformative power of lifelong learning / Tom Vanderbilt.

By: Publication details: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2021.Edition: First editionDescription: x, 299 pages ; 24 cmISBN:
  • 9781524732165
  • 1524732168
Other title:
  • Joy and transformative power of lifelong learning
Subject(s): Additional physical formats: Online version:: BeginnersLOC classification:
  • BF637 .S4 V363 2021
Contents:
The opening gambit -- A beginner's guide to being a beginner -- Learning how to learn: what infants can teach us about being good beginners -- Unlearning to sing -- I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm doing it anyway: the virtues of learning on the fly with a group -- Surfing the U-shaped wave: the agony and ecstasy of the advanced beginner -- How we learn to do things -- Meditation with benefits: how drawing changed the way I saw the world, and myself -- The apprentice: or, what I learned.
Summary: "Why do so many of us stop learning new skills as adults? Are we afraid to fail? Have we forgotten the sheer pleasure of being a beginner? Or is it simply a fact that you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Inspired by his young daughter's insatiable need to know how to do almost everything, and stymied by his own rut of mid-career competence, Tom Vanderbilt begins a year of learning purely for the sake of learning. He tackles five main skills (and picks up a few more along the way), choosing them for their difficulty to master and their distinct lack of career marketability-chess, singing, surfing, drawing, and juggling. What he doesn't expect is finding himself having rapturous experiences singing Spice Girls songs in an amateur choir, losing games of chess to eight-year-olds, and dodging scorpions at a surf camp in Costa Rica. Along the way, he interviews dozens of experts to explore the fascinating psychology and science behind the benefits of becoming an adult beginner. Weaving comprehensive research and surprising insight gained from his year of learning dangerously, Vanderbilt shows how anyone can begin again-and, more important, why they should take those first awkward steps. Ultimately, he shares how a refreshed sense of curiosity opened him up to a profound happiness and a deeper connection to the people around him-and how small acts of reinvention, at any age, can make life seem magical." --publisher's website
Holdings
Item type Current library Shelving location Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode
Book Book NMC Library Stacks BF637 .S4 V363 2021 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 33039001496420

"This is a Borzoi book" --title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 264-299).

The opening gambit -- A beginner's guide to being a beginner -- Learning how to learn: what infants can teach us about being good beginners -- Unlearning to sing -- I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm doing it anyway: the virtues of learning on the fly with a group -- Surfing the U-shaped wave: the agony and ecstasy of the advanced beginner -- How we learn to do things -- Meditation with benefits: how drawing changed the way I saw the world, and myself -- The apprentice: or, what I learned.

"Why do so many of us stop learning new skills as adults? Are we afraid to fail? Have we forgotten the sheer pleasure of being a beginner? Or is it simply a fact that you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Inspired by his young daughter's insatiable need to know how to do almost everything, and stymied by his own rut of mid-career competence, Tom Vanderbilt begins a year of learning purely for the sake of learning. He tackles five main skills (and picks up a few more along the way), choosing them for their difficulty to master and their distinct lack of career marketability-chess, singing, surfing, drawing, and juggling. What he doesn't expect is finding himself having rapturous experiences singing Spice Girls songs in an amateur choir, losing games of chess to eight-year-olds, and dodging scorpions at a surf camp in Costa Rica. Along the way, he interviews dozens of experts to explore the fascinating psychology and science behind the benefits of becoming an adult beginner. Weaving comprehensive research and surprising insight gained from his year of learning dangerously, Vanderbilt shows how anyone can begin again-and, more important, why they should take those first awkward steps. Ultimately, he shares how a refreshed sense of curiosity opened him up to a profound happiness and a deeper connection to the people around him-and how small acts of reinvention, at any age, can make life seem magical." --publisher's website

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