You might undermine general knowledge, but it is extremely important to know at least a little about a lot of things. This is not all about winning arguments, but here’s a few benefits for you;
- You’re not easily tricked into scams. People these days are tricked into all sorts of bad scams, from crypto to MLM pyramid schemes.
- You know what to do in some emergency situations like a fire outbreak, an accident or a snake bite.
- You can easily pass some job interviews, or also pre entry exams.
However, it’s not all simple and perfect like the previous words might get you to think. General knowledge is always better if you dive a little deeper into the things you get to know. Here are a few ways to boost your knowledge;
1. Develop insatiable curiosity
Have you ever watched political talk shows and heard speakers using hard words or referring to a couple of clauses in the constitution, but you hardly know one?
Just don’t let it slide. That’s the point in time that you should feel guilty for being ignorant. Stay curious and don’t settle until you get to know the meaning, and a few other details.
Of course you won’t get to know everything, or even more than the people you just watched, but at least you’ll be able to keep up with the ongoing conversation comfortably.
2. Ask questions.
We’ve all been intimidated by a doctor or HR Manager before. They give short confusing answers which sometimes can be misleading.
However, you don’t have to be afraid to ask questions, or the confusion will be blamed on you.
There are many other scenarios where you feel like you need a better explanation, but you’re too scared to ask. Just ask away, because you’ll be surprised how much you can learn.
3. Read frequently
Lots of people learn a lot through their lifetime, and before they die, they condense everything in books. This knowledge worth decades of research and learning, you can read and learn in just a couple of hours.
Therefore, just pick up a couple of books and start reading. You’ll be surprised.
4. Google everything
To be honest, phones are like an extension of our brains, therefore making it easy to know anything, because you know exactly where to look, to get what you want.
You’ll come across lots of things from vocabulary, acronyms, people and chemicals that you don’t know. But thanks to your phone, you don’t have to run to a library.
5. Keep up with the news
Watching news is a way you can get to know about almost everything from politics, sports, health, tech and entertainment. And yet, you’ll be receiving updated stories every single time you tune in.
However, make sure your news channels are unbiased, or else you’ll find them shaping your opinion, especially in the political lens.
6. Socialize frequently
I’m a big time introvert, and I usually don’t hang around lots of people, but that also has a solution. These days, we can use social networks to interact with people we might never meet in real life.
On places like Twitter, people have all sort of discussions that even turn into heated debates. In these exchanges, you get to learn a lot whether you engage or not.
However, that doesn’t undermine physical interactions. When it’s physical, it’s hard to get away without a good lesson. Have more of those, and you’ll be knowledgeable.
7. Fill ‘dead time’ with learning
We usually have a lot of time in which we laze or do things that aren’t beneficial in any way.
However, using your free time to learn is beneficial. Here’s how you can use it;
- Watch debates, seminars or TED talks
- Read blogs, articles or anything available
8. Fill Crossword puzzles
Some people look at Crossword puzzles as simple vocabulary games, but these things are a bit challenging and very hard at times.
Personally, I started filling crossword puzzles in 2016, but right now I know way much more than I knew back then.
Try them and you’ll have fun while you learn along the way.
9. Watch documentary channels
Documentaries aren’t like movies or ordinary TV shows. With documentaries, you get to know a wide range of things from plants and animals, history, mysterious places, amazing people etcetera. And better yet, documentaries compress years of research in less than 5 hours.
Channels like Nat Geo Wild and the Discovery Channel provide some of the most amazing and insightful documentaries for starters.
Conclusion;
There are so many things that you can do in order to boost your knowledge. The main thing you have to have first is the purpose. If it’s justifiable enough for you, then going on the lonesome pursuit of knowledge won’t be that hard.