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Beginners วิทยาศาสตร์ของการเรียนรู้สิ่งใหม่
วิทยาศาสตร์ของการเรียนรู้สิ่งใหม่
ค้นพบความลับของการฝึกฝนทักษะ
ที่จะทำให้คุณกลับมาสนุกกับการเรียนรู้อีกครั้ง
ไม่ว่าจะอยู่ในช่วงวัยใดของชีวิตก็ตาม
เราจะเริ่มเรียนรู้สิ่งใหม่ ๆ ได้อย่างไร
วิธีไหนมีประสิทธิภาพที่สุด
จะทำอย่างไรให้การเรียนรู้กลายเป็นเรื่องสนุก แม้ว่าเราจะไม่ใช่เด็กแล้วก็ตาม
Tom Vanderbilt ออกเดินทางรอบโลกเพื่อตอบคำถามเหล่านี้
เขาค้นคว้าและทดลองฝึกฝนทักษะใหม่ ๆ มากมาย
ตั้งแต่ฝึกร้องเพลงเกิร์ลกรุ๊ป แพ้หมากรุกให้กับเด็กแปดขวบ
ไปจนถึงหัดเล่นเซิร์ฟบอร์ดที่คอสตาริกา
หนังสือเล่มนี้จะสำรวจแง่มุมทางวิทยาศาสตร์และจิตวิทยา
เพื่อพาคุณก้าวผ่านความกลัวและความงุ่มง่ามของการเป็นมือใหม่
ไปสู่จุดที่ความท้าทายกลายเป็นเรื่องสนุกอีกครั้ง
และมอบความหมายให้กับชีวิตในแบบที่คุณเองก็คาดไม่ถึง
ค้นพบความลับของการฝึกฝนทักษะ
ที่จะทำให้คุณกลับมาสนุกกับการเรียนรู้อีกครั้ง
ไม่ว่าจะอยู่ในช่วงวัยใดของชีวิตก็ตาม
เราจะเริ่มเรียนรู้สิ่งใหม่ ๆ ได้อย่างไร
วิธีไหนมีประสิทธิภาพที่สุด
จะทำอย่างไรให้การเรียนรู้กลายเป็นเรื่องสนุก แม้ว่าเราจะไม่ใช่เด็กแล้วก็ตาม
Tom Vanderbilt ออกเดินทางรอบโลกเพื่อตอบคำถามเหล่านี้
เขาค้นคว้าและทดลองฝึกฝนทักษะใหม่ ๆ มากมาย
ตั้งแต่ฝึกร้องเพลงเกิร์ลกรุ๊ป แพ้หมากรุกให้กับเด็กแปดขวบ
ไปจนถึงหัดเล่นเซิร์ฟบอร์ดที่คอสตาริกา
หนังสือเล่มนี้จะสำรวจแง่มุมทางวิทยาศาสตร์และจิตวิทยา
เพื่อพาคุณก้าวผ่านความกลัวและความงุ่มง่ามของการเป็นมือใหม่
ไปสู่จุดที่ความท้าทายกลายเป็นเรื่องสนุกอีกครั้ง
และมอบความหมายให้กับชีวิตในแบบที่คุณเองก็คาดไม่ถึง
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 5, 2021
686 people are currently reading
10935 people want to read
About the author
Tom Vanderbilt
13 books155 followersTom Vanderbilt writes on design, technology, science, and culture, among other subjects, for many publications, including Wired, Outside, The London Review of Books, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Wilson Quarterly, Artforum, The Wilson Quarterly, Travel and Leisure, Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, Cabinet, Metropolis, and Popular Science. He is contributing editor to Artforum and the design magazine Print and I.D., contributing writer of the popular blog Design Observer, and columnist for Slate magazine.
His most recent book is the New York Times bestseller Traffic:Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us), published by Alfred A. Knopf in the U.S. and Canada, Penguin in the U.K. and territories, and by publishers in 18 other countries. He is also the author of two previous books: Survival City: Adventures Among the Ruins of Atomic America (Princeton Architectural Press, 2002; published in PB by the University of Chicago Press in 2010), an offbeat architectural travelogue of the nation’s secret Cold War past; and The Sneaker Book (The New Press, 1998), a cultural history of the athletic shoe (published in Italian and Swedish editions). His early writings for The Baffler have been collected in two anthologies, Commodify Your Dissent and Boob Jubilee (W.W. Norton, eds. Thomas Frank and Matthew Weiland), and he has also contributed essays to a number of books, including New York Stories: The Best of the City Section of the New York Times (New York University Press); Supercade: The Visual History of the Video Game Age (The MIT Press), Else/Where: Mapping (The University of Minnesota Press, 2006),Quonset Hut: Metal Living for a Modern Age (Princeton Architectural Press, 2005), The World and the Wild (The University of Arizona Press), and The Thinking Fan’s Guide to the World Cup (Harper Perennial, 2006).
He has consulted for a variety of companies, from ad agencies to Fortune 500 corporations, and has given lectures at a variety of institutions around the world, from the Eero Saarinen Lecture at Yale University’s School of Architecture to the Australasian Road Safety Conference in Canberra. He has appeared on a wide variety of radio and television programs around the world, including NBC’s Today Show, ABC News’ Nightline, NPR’s Morning Edition, Fresh Air with Teri Gross, the BBC’s World Service and The One Show, MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Fox Business, and CNN’s Business Today, among many others. He is a Visiting Scholar at New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management, and has received fellowships from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visiting Arts, the Design Trust for Public Space, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture. He is also a member of the U.S. Department of Interior’s Cold War Advisory Committee, a group studying the identification of sites and resources significant to the Cold War.
Courtsey : http://www.tomvanderbilt.com/bio/
His most recent book is the New York Times bestseller Traffic:Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us), published by Alfred A. Knopf in the U.S. and Canada, Penguin in the U.K. and territories, and by publishers in 18 other countries. He is also the author of two previous books: Survival City: Adventures Among the Ruins of Atomic America (Princeton Architectural Press, 2002; published in PB by the University of Chicago Press in 2010), an offbeat architectural travelogue of the nation’s secret Cold War past; and The Sneaker Book (The New Press, 1998), a cultural history of the athletic shoe (published in Italian and Swedish editions). His early writings for The Baffler have been collected in two anthologies, Commodify Your Dissent and Boob Jubilee (W.W. Norton, eds. Thomas Frank and Matthew Weiland), and he has also contributed essays to a number of books, including New York Stories: The Best of the City Section of the New York Times (New York University Press); Supercade: The Visual History of the Video Game Age (The MIT Press), Else/Where: Mapping (The University of Minnesota Press, 2006),Quonset Hut: Metal Living for a Modern Age (Princeton Architectural Press, 2005), The World and the Wild (The University of Arizona Press), and The Thinking Fan’s Guide to the World Cup (Harper Perennial, 2006).
He has consulted for a variety of companies, from ad agencies to Fortune 500 corporations, and has given lectures at a variety of institutions around the world, from the Eero Saarinen Lecture at Yale University’s School of Architecture to the Australasian Road Safety Conference in Canberra. He has appeared on a wide variety of radio and television programs around the world, including NBC’s Today Show, ABC News’ Nightline, NPR’s Morning Edition, Fresh Air with Teri Gross, the BBC’s World Service and The One Show, MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Fox Business, and CNN’s Business Today, among many others. He is a Visiting Scholar at New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management, and has received fellowships from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visiting Arts, the Design Trust for Public Space, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture. He is also a member of the U.S. Department of Interior’s Cold War Advisory Committee, a group studying the identification of sites and resources significant to the Cold War.
Courtsey : http://www.tomvanderbilt.com/bio/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 547 reviews
February 17, 2023
The first chapter is repetitive; the only thing I took away from it was that Steve Jobs was fired from APPLE – I thought he resigned – and Winston Churchill’s insightful quote on page 48, ‘It may well be that those whose work is their pleasure are those who most need the means of banishing it at intervals from their minds.’
As in the title, Vanderbilt repeatedly returns to the beginning, a little like a scratched record.
He nominates various skills to learn; chess, he joins a choir, attempts surfing, juggling, etc. - you get the drift. It’s a bit like saying, ‘what have I not done in life to end up as I am!’ The truth is, we’re the way we are because of various factors; circumstances, our abilities, health, age, enthusiasm, and imagination. Well, that’s a few of my motivations. I’m sure there are many more that could be added.
‘After a week’s juggling I was a changed person,’ Vanderbilt claims.
Oh, that it could be that simple, I thought. But, in reality, it probably is that simple.
‘Just as our muscles get more efficient as we learn a skill, so does our brain,’ Vanderbilt continues, in reference to the gray matter in our brain – training it to be more efficient.
A surfer I am not; juggling sounds fun, singing I spent years having lessons trying to master (I‘ve even recorded records); the tap-dancing classes I took were energetic and effective for my coordination (between left and right foot) and posture, archery was good for my concentration, as was learning to shoot a pistol. As a swimmer, I glide like a dolphin; and have jogged for over 20 years. I’ve also learnt skills from cordon bleu cooking, pastry baking, painting and decorating to bell ringing.
I would now like to learn how to make perfume, direct a movie, and start an internet business that makes lorry loads of money. I’m not short of ideas; it’s the wherewithal I need.
Obviously, Tom writes from his perspective; however, I found the skills he chose to acquire a little uninspired. Good on him for attempting them, though.
To summarise the book, the concept is more interesting than the execution. A lovely designed book cover.
As in the title, Vanderbilt repeatedly returns to the beginning, a little like a scratched record.
He nominates various skills to learn; chess, he joins a choir, attempts surfing, juggling, etc. - you get the drift. It’s a bit like saying, ‘what have I not done in life to end up as I am!’ The truth is, we’re the way we are because of various factors; circumstances, our abilities, health, age, enthusiasm, and imagination. Well, that’s a few of my motivations. I’m sure there are many more that could be added.
‘After a week’s juggling I was a changed person,’ Vanderbilt claims.
Oh, that it could be that simple, I thought. But, in reality, it probably is that simple.
‘Just as our muscles get more efficient as we learn a skill, so does our brain,’ Vanderbilt continues, in reference to the gray matter in our brain – training it to be more efficient.
A surfer I am not; juggling sounds fun, singing I spent years having lessons trying to master (I‘ve even recorded records); the tap-dancing classes I took were energetic and effective for my coordination (between left and right foot) and posture, archery was good for my concentration, as was learning to shoot a pistol. As a swimmer, I glide like a dolphin; and have jogged for over 20 years. I’ve also learnt skills from cordon bleu cooking, pastry baking, painting and decorating to bell ringing.
I would now like to learn how to make perfume, direct a movie, and start an internet business that makes lorry loads of money. I’m not short of ideas; it’s the wherewithal I need.
Obviously, Tom writes from his perspective; however, I found the skills he chose to acquire a little uninspired. Good on him for attempting them, though.
To summarise the book, the concept is more interesting than the execution. A lovely designed book cover.
April 8, 2021
First, I bought this book with 2019 vision: life-long learning, travel, making new friends! Yes, I’m all about that. Vanderbilt takes up chess, juggling, surfing, jewelry making, and singing.
I read the entire book, enjoying his descriptions of how beginners go through a learning curve. Maybe because I’m a teacher, this part interested me: the science of how people learn. And this definitely changes as we age.
But finally, I read this book in our 2021 world and found it reeked with Vanderbilt’s privelage, which he never acknowledges. For every learning experiment, he hires a private coach, purchasers special equipment, and often travels to exotic locations for extra coaching and practice. He poo-poos learning from You Tube, or through trial and error, even with juggling, which seemed especially silly to me (who hires a juggling coach?). He travels to Costa Rica to practice surfing at adult surf camp; and goes to Greece to practice open water swimming. Vanderbilt has the time and resources to make all this happen without acknowledging that most people don’t. Who was planning family meals, doing laundry, and paying the bills while he drove an hour each way to surf at Rockaway beach during December? (I would have liked to hear about the practical issues: how he balanced family responsibilities and work obligations while he spent time with a voice coach, and how well did his wet suit keep him warm in the Atlantic during December?)
This is the first time I’ve written a review for GoodReads. I’m a little embarrassed for this author: the world has changed since he wrote his book and it just isn’t relevant to most people’s lives.
I read the entire book, enjoying his descriptions of how beginners go through a learning curve. Maybe because I’m a teacher, this part interested me: the science of how people learn. And this definitely changes as we age.
But finally, I read this book in our 2021 world and found it reeked with Vanderbilt’s privelage, which he never acknowledges. For every learning experiment, he hires a private coach, purchasers special equipment, and often travels to exotic locations for extra coaching and practice. He poo-poos learning from You Tube, or through trial and error, even with juggling, which seemed especially silly to me (who hires a juggling coach?). He travels to Costa Rica to practice surfing at adult surf camp; and goes to Greece to practice open water swimming. Vanderbilt has the time and resources to make all this happen without acknowledging that most people don’t. Who was planning family meals, doing laundry, and paying the bills while he drove an hour each way to surf at Rockaway beach during December? (I would have liked to hear about the practical issues: how he balanced family responsibilities and work obligations while he spent time with a voice coach, and how well did his wet suit keep him warm in the Atlantic during December?)
This is the first time I’ve written a review for GoodReads. I’m a little embarrassed for this author: the world has changed since he wrote his book and it just isn’t relevant to most people’s lives.
January 1, 2021
I was lucky to indirectly get my hands on an ARC of BEGINNERS! I have been excited to share this review as it is the perfect book with which to kick off the New Year.
Before we begin, you should know two things about me: Professionally, I am Certified Coach and Learning & Development professional; my job is focused on helping adults learn new things in a corporate setting. Personally, one of my top values is curiosity. I am always excited to learn something new. That said, BEGINNERS is right up my alley.
Tired of sitting on the sidelines watching his young daughter try on new hobbies (everything from chess to Fortnite), Tom Vanderbilt, a mid-career and mid-aged journalist asks himself: “what new tricks should this old dog learn?” and commits to a year of learning, a year of becoming a Beginner.
BEGINNERS is not so much a “‘how to do’ book as much as a ‘why do do’ book.” It is an account of— and inspiration for—learning new things no matter your age or stage. Vanderbilt effortlessly blends the styles of memoir, journalism, and academic writing. Plus, I found myself LOLing more than once.
As Vanderbilt shares his personal accounts, he weaves in the fascinating neuroscience about our brains on learning. Spoiler alert: it’s good for us! As adults, we have an expectation that when we try something for the first time we should be “perfect” at it. BEGINNERS asks us to drop that expectation and go for it.
Be aware that BEGINNERS is written from a place of privilege. From private coaches, learning vacations, and access to a network of experts, my worry is that readers may be discouraged from learning simply because they do not have the same access. Some of this can be forgiven in the name of research.
It’s easy to see BEGINNERS on front and center on shelves next to the likes of YOU ARE A BADASS. You best believe I’ve notated the heck out of this one. I’m excited to *begin* 2021 and am already brainstorming what to learn.
Pair With: GRIT, Angela Duckworth
Before we begin, you should know two things about me: Professionally, I am Certified Coach and Learning & Development professional; my job is focused on helping adults learn new things in a corporate setting. Personally, one of my top values is curiosity. I am always excited to learn something new. That said, BEGINNERS is right up my alley.
Tired of sitting on the sidelines watching his young daughter try on new hobbies (everything from chess to Fortnite), Tom Vanderbilt, a mid-career and mid-aged journalist asks himself: “what new tricks should this old dog learn?” and commits to a year of learning, a year of becoming a Beginner.
BEGINNERS is not so much a “‘how to do’ book as much as a ‘why do do’ book.” It is an account of— and inspiration for—learning new things no matter your age or stage. Vanderbilt effortlessly blends the styles of memoir, journalism, and academic writing. Plus, I found myself LOLing more than once.
As Vanderbilt shares his personal accounts, he weaves in the fascinating neuroscience about our brains on learning. Spoiler alert: it’s good for us! As adults, we have an expectation that when we try something for the first time we should be “perfect” at it. BEGINNERS asks us to drop that expectation and go for it.
Be aware that BEGINNERS is written from a place of privilege. From private coaches, learning vacations, and access to a network of experts, my worry is that readers may be discouraged from learning simply because they do not have the same access. Some of this can be forgiven in the name of research.
It’s easy to see BEGINNERS on front and center on shelves next to the likes of YOU ARE A BADASS. You best believe I’ve notated the heck out of this one. I’m excited to *begin* 2021 and am already brainstorming what to learn.
Pair With: GRIT, Angela Duckworth
November 6, 2020
This is a book I expect to find soon in the "Smart thinking" section of any bookshop, and it follows the usual recipe - a mix of personal experience, a bit of science, some interviews with experts, and nicely packed life lessons. It's exactly what "Beginners" delivers and I really liked it. I found it interesting, inspiring and easy to read. The author is inspired by his young daughter to try out some of the things she is learning - chess being the first one, then we have swimming a bit later - and decides to go on a journey to learn new things. Learning has been linked to slower aging and people who keep learning throughout their lives are less likely to develop dementia. The science behind this and behind how we learn (and how come children are bettter learners??) is explored thanks to different scientists or masters of their own fields. I particularly loved the chapter on drawing and reading this book really made me think again about picking up something new and learning more. Really a very enjoyable book.
Free ARC from Netgalley.
Free ARC from Netgalley.
October 12, 2021
Každý človek raz príde do veku (35), kedy nadobudne pocit, že to najlepšie má už za sebou nielen jeho telo, ale aj jeho myseľ, že už nielen že nevynájde studenú fúziu, ale zníži aj svoje očakávania z vynájdenia studenej fúzie na spomenutie si, kde nechal kľúče od auta.
Pre všetkých nás, ľudí na sklonku života (>35) môj obľúbený Toma Vanderbilt napísal knihu, ktorá vám vysvetlí, že ak aj už nebudete nič robiť nejako úžasne dobre, máte pred sebou dlhé roky života, kedy môžete robiť veci zle, a môžete dokonca robiť zle stále nové a nové veci a bude vás to strašne baviť, ak sa len zbavíte tej strašnej povery, že nemáte robiť veci, ktoré neviete robiť.
Úplná slepačia polievka pre dušu nás starých (>35).
Pre všetkých nás, ľudí na sklonku života (>35) môj obľúbený Toma Vanderbilt napísal knihu, ktorá vám vysvetlí, že ak aj už nebudete nič robiť nejako úžasne dobre, máte pred sebou dlhé roky života, kedy môžete robiť veci zle, a môžete dokonca robiť zle stále nové a nové veci a bude vás to strašne baviť, ak sa len zbavíte tej strašnej povery, že nemáte robiť veci, ktoré neviete robiť.
Úplná slepačia polievka pre dušu nás starých (>35).
February 28, 2021
The author tackles new skills: chess, singing, surfing, juggling, drawing (and a few others). The book focuses too much on the author's personal experiences as he learns these. There are pearls of wisdom sprinkled throughout the reading that you can generalize to other new learning experiences, but you'll have to sort them out from within these stories.
I was hoping for a more generic book, with generalizations from many data sources/persons. There were definitely good references mentioned (noted in the appendix). But the learning felt like it was based too much on just this author's experiences. You will need to like these specific skills and have the patience to read through personal travel stories to pick out those end-of-chapter summaries typically found in a self-help style book.
I was hoping for a more generic book, with generalizations from many data sources/persons. There were definitely good references mentioned (noted in the appendix). But the learning felt like it was based too much on just this author's experiences. You will need to like these specific skills and have the patience to read through personal travel stories to pick out those end-of-chapter summaries typically found in a self-help style book.
January 23, 2021
Just okay. Some interesting information on the science and benefits of learning new things as we get older. To be perfectly honest the book read more as an excuse for the author to do cool things with his family under the guise of being research for his latest book. Kudos to him though since its already on the NYT bestseller list.
January 21, 2024
While watching his young daughter taking chess lessons, Tom Vanderbilt thought he should try it too. Instead of looking at his phone as other parents do, he took chess lessons together with his daughter. This book is his journey of learning new things at 45+. Chess, singing, surfing, drawing, juggling, wild swimming and jewelry making are the new things the author learned.
The book is a mixture of personal experiences, some science (how infants learn, neuroscience of learning, learning to combat brain aging, etc...), and some expert interviews. The learning the author described is self-motivated and playful, and not the reluctant sort to make oneself more marketable, although that might be one of the consequences.
I need no persuasion of the joy of lifelong learning. There are so many things I want to learn for fun. Perpetual beginner, why not! The problem is time!
Quotes:
"We are assured that single minded focus is a good thing, and following my passion. Whoever said there had to be one passion?! What new passion might be out there you are yet to discover?"
The book is a mixture of personal experiences, some science (how infants learn, neuroscience of learning, learning to combat brain aging, etc...), and some expert interviews. The learning the author described is self-motivated and playful, and not the reluctant sort to make oneself more marketable, although that might be one of the consequences.
I need no persuasion of the joy of lifelong learning. There are so many things I want to learn for fun. Perpetual beginner, why not! The problem is time!
Quotes:
"We are assured that single minded focus is a good thing, and following my passion. Whoever said there had to be one passion?! What new passion might be out there you are yet to discover?"
Read
March 15, 2021Dnf. Started out strong and interesting and I like the general theme of embracing new things and being comfortable with not being immediately good at new things. But, he got really detailed and technical about explaining his chosen endeavors. The singing chapter was interesting, though laborious. Next came surfing, which just got kind of boring. I’d rather just go learn how to surf rather than listen to him describe himself learning to surf...
June 9, 2021
More like 2.5 stars. He's a journalist and I think I would have enjoyed this more as a long-form piece rather than a book, but you can't get an advance for that, and then what would have paid for his surfing trip to Costa Rica or his private vocal coach or his enrollment in an intensive week-long drawing course at a NYC art school?
Snark aside, I definitely left the book itching to start learning a new skill.
Snark aside, I definitely left the book itching to start learning a new skill.
January 21, 2021
This book has enough real content for a decent magazine article.
Beginners goes on and on with little entertainment value and few true insights. I didn't feel like the content was enough to support a book.
Beginners goes on and on with little entertainment value and few true insights. I didn't feel like the content was enough to support a book.
January 23, 2021
I read the review of this in the New Yorker last week and knew I'd love it. It reaffirms something I've been experiencing myself. I'm...of a certain age and during a major life overhaul a few years ago I decided I needed to branch out and apply myself to learning some things I had only dabbled in. Then I tried something completely new (road biking). I was enjoying it all just because I was enjoying it.
Vanderbilt's plunge into a variety of new experiences would be worth reading about by themselves but he provides a lot of well researched info about why the process is so enjoyable and the effect it can have on us as we age.
Cannot recommend highly enough.
Vanderbilt's plunge into a variety of new experiences would be worth reading about by themselves but he provides a lot of well researched info about why the process is so enjoyable and the effect it can have on us as we age.
Cannot recommend highly enough.
April 5, 2023
really enjoyed this one!
April 5, 2021
"Being a beginner can be hard at any age, but it gets harder as you get older."
Beginners is a story of the author who decides to learn new skills after getting inspired by his young daughter. He tries to learn new skills such as playing chess, singing, and surfing. The first two chapters started exciting, and I genuinely want to know more about it. But, sadly, the following content failed to keep my interest in this book.
He got very detailed about the skills and technical and it kind of boring. I feel like I was reading a book about each skill, less about the actual learning process.
Nevertheless, I understand the author's real message: it's never too late to be a beginner and learn a new skill. He encourages adults to start to learn new skills or get some new hobbies. It would increase our brain health and give benefits to our minds. We should never be ashamed of what we want to do. Just do it as life is a long journey. Life should full of lessons and joys in everything we do.
Some important points from this book are:
📝 We have to learn how to teach. Sometimes we have to relearn what we are trying to teach.
📝 Just because you're not immediately good at something does not mean you won't eventually get it.
📝 No one is born a master. We are all, at one time or another, beginners.
📝 Being a beginner is hard. It feels better to be good at something than to be bad.
📝 You make mistakes, but even these are empowering because they are mistakes you have never made before.
In a nutshell, being a beginner can be a wonderful thing. We should always try to learn new things. It's acceptable to make mistakes as long as you can see the excellent progression of it. Just enjoy the moment and take it all in.
I want to like this book more, but it certainly didn't work well on me.
Thank you Times Read for providing me with the review copy in return for an honest review.
instagram.com/siriusiqa
Beginners is a story of the author who decides to learn new skills after getting inspired by his young daughter. He tries to learn new skills such as playing chess, singing, and surfing. The first two chapters started exciting, and I genuinely want to know more about it. But, sadly, the following content failed to keep my interest in this book.
He got very detailed about the skills and technical and it kind of boring. I feel like I was reading a book about each skill, less about the actual learning process.
Nevertheless, I understand the author's real message: it's never too late to be a beginner and learn a new skill. He encourages adults to start to learn new skills or get some new hobbies. It would increase our brain health and give benefits to our minds. We should never be ashamed of what we want to do. Just do it as life is a long journey. Life should full of lessons and joys in everything we do.
Some important points from this book are:
📝 We have to learn how to teach. Sometimes we have to relearn what we are trying to teach.
📝 Just because you're not immediately good at something does not mean you won't eventually get it.
📝 No one is born a master. We are all, at one time or another, beginners.
📝 Being a beginner is hard. It feels better to be good at something than to be bad.
📝 You make mistakes, but even these are empowering because they are mistakes you have never made before.
In a nutshell, being a beginner can be a wonderful thing. We should always try to learn new things. It's acceptable to make mistakes as long as you can see the excellent progression of it. Just enjoy the moment and take it all in.
I want to like this book more, but it certainly didn't work well on me.
Thank you Times Read for providing me with the review copy in return for an honest review.
instagram.com/siriusiqa
February 23, 2021
Beginners was very dull, or maybe I was not in the mood for this type of book. It was boring. Most of the book is the author detailing his efforts to learn a collection of skills as an adult, with the central insight being learning by willing to fail repeatedly. I did not like it.
February 4, 2023
[Reading Prompt: A Book with Joy]
I don't think an author has captured the true excitement and nervous bliss of learning something new as well as Tom Vanderbilt has in this book. Beginners, is a love letter to the joy of learning new things just for the sake of learning. Vanderbilt argues that learning is something for all ages, and pushes for a vision where we are always looking forward to new experiences and lessons.
This book covers both the intense joy of learning and the fears associated with it, namely humiliation and uncertainty of where you could go. He tackles his own fears with a good sense of humor in his writing style, which makes for a very enjoyable read. And there is enough research here to give some scientific backing to his claims on the benefits of trying something new.
Beginners is written so compelling because this is a personal journey for Vanderbilt. He normally has very personal reasons for trying out these new tasks, namely to learn to keep up with his daughter in all of his activities. Though there are a few, juggling being one of them, that he seems driven to learn just for the challenge or the training involved. (I believed he wanted to learn juggling because apparently learning it makes you a better learner).
Reading some reviews of this book, it seems that people have a gripe with how much 'privilege' this author contains, and that makes his experiences feel less attainable for the average person. His privilege being that he can avoid both the money and time to hire private tutors and attend private classes. While he does seem to have some very fancy connections within his social network, I can't say I agree with this critique. In my personal experience, hiring a private tutor or instructor can range from paying upwards of hundreds of dollars per hour, and be as low as 20 bucks an hour (I myself taught private martial arts lessons for $25 an hour). So I think its a bit presumptuous to assume that most of his private lessons were very expensive, and while time is a difficult factor for all of us, there is always a little bit of wiggle room to explore at least something new. (libraries are also great resources for free learning, offering classes, social groups, and clubs).
This is definitely a rant, because most reviews dinged this book quite harshly on this fact, and I feel like that's missing the point of the book. The point is to try something new that interests you, in anyway you think you can, and to go at your own pace without fear of quality or pressure to succeed. And not to worry about how long it may take.
Overall, a joy to read. I loved this author's writing style, he has a good humorous view of himself and his learning experiences which is infectious to read. This book will make you want to start learning something new within just the first couple of chapters.
I don't think an author has captured the true excitement and nervous bliss of learning something new as well as Tom Vanderbilt has in this book. Beginners, is a love letter to the joy of learning new things just for the sake of learning. Vanderbilt argues that learning is something for all ages, and pushes for a vision where we are always looking forward to new experiences and lessons.
This book covers both the intense joy of learning and the fears associated with it, namely humiliation and uncertainty of where you could go. He tackles his own fears with a good sense of humor in his writing style, which makes for a very enjoyable read. And there is enough research here to give some scientific backing to his claims on the benefits of trying something new.
Beginners is written so compelling because this is a personal journey for Vanderbilt. He normally has very personal reasons for trying out these new tasks, namely to learn to keep up with his daughter in all of his activities. Though there are a few, juggling being one of them, that he seems driven to learn just for the challenge or the training involved. (I believed he wanted to learn juggling because apparently learning it makes you a better learner).
Reading some reviews of this book, it seems that people have a gripe with how much 'privilege' this author contains, and that makes his experiences feel less attainable for the average person. His privilege being that he can avoid both the money and time to hire private tutors and attend private classes. While he does seem to have some very fancy connections within his social network, I can't say I agree with this critique. In my personal experience, hiring a private tutor or instructor can range from paying upwards of hundreds of dollars per hour, and be as low as 20 bucks an hour (I myself taught private martial arts lessons for $25 an hour). So I think its a bit presumptuous to assume that most of his private lessons were very expensive, and while time is a difficult factor for all of us, there is always a little bit of wiggle room to explore at least something new. (libraries are also great resources for free learning, offering classes, social groups, and clubs).
This is definitely a rant, because most reviews dinged this book quite harshly on this fact, and I feel like that's missing the point of the book. The point is to try something new that interests you, in anyway you think you can, and to go at your own pace without fear of quality or pressure to succeed. And not to worry about how long it may take.
Overall, a joy to read. I loved this author's writing style, he has a good humorous view of himself and his learning experiences which is infectious to read. This book will make you want to start learning something new within just the first couple of chapters.
January 30, 2023
I picked up this book, because I was, at the time, fixated on anxiety I experienced with being a “beginner” at my new job.
The author in this book embarks on several “adult novice” adventures learning to play chess, surf, sing, juggle, long distance swim, draw and make jewelry. A large portion of the book is actually him describing his investigations into each of these crafts (which admittedly lost me at some points)…but sprinkled in are studies and heartfelt introspections about how life-changing these endeavors were…how they helped introduce new worlds and communities. Awakened worlds within himself.
The concept for his book started with him learning chess alongside his daughter. He observed that while she attended all day tournaments with other children, the adults waited on the side lines, scrolling their phones…Similar to other pursuits, we rarely found as many adult beginners in classes learning to paint, skate, dance…At some point it becomes an assumption that to be an adult we have to exude expertise…our time is too precious to spend on ourselves with pursuits that have no clear outcome.
What was personally helpful for me was that the book normalizes and reminds us the pain of learning. The author’s repetitive struggles were something strangely comforting to read about during this initial steep curve I find myself at work. For anyone who needs inspiration to not give-up and to lean into learning for joy and not for result - I found this helpful. It also reminded me that parenthood is a strong reason to rewaken our ability to be a student:
“For me, it was being a parent that knocked me out of my mid-career comfort zone. It puts you in a curious position: You are at once teacher and learner. Almost every day, it seemed as if I were trying to teach my daughter something: how to dribble a ball, light a match, throw a football. Most of these things I learned, as you probably did, a long time ago and no longer thought much about. And then one day she’s bringing home algebra problems and I’m suddenly a re-learner, dusting off something I wrongly assumed I knew how to do with ease.”
The author in this book embarks on several “adult novice” adventures learning to play chess, surf, sing, juggle, long distance swim, draw and make jewelry. A large portion of the book is actually him describing his investigations into each of these crafts (which admittedly lost me at some points)…but sprinkled in are studies and heartfelt introspections about how life-changing these endeavors were…how they helped introduce new worlds and communities. Awakened worlds within himself.
The concept for his book started with him learning chess alongside his daughter. He observed that while she attended all day tournaments with other children, the adults waited on the side lines, scrolling their phones…Similar to other pursuits, we rarely found as many adult beginners in classes learning to paint, skate, dance…At some point it becomes an assumption that to be an adult we have to exude expertise…our time is too precious to spend on ourselves with pursuits that have no clear outcome.
What was personally helpful for me was that the book normalizes and reminds us the pain of learning. The author’s repetitive struggles were something strangely comforting to read about during this initial steep curve I find myself at work. For anyone who needs inspiration to not give-up and to lean into learning for joy and not for result - I found this helpful. It also reminded me that parenthood is a strong reason to rewaken our ability to be a student:
“For me, it was being a parent that knocked me out of my mid-career comfort zone. It puts you in a curious position: You are at once teacher and learner. Almost every day, it seemed as if I were trying to teach my daughter something: how to dribble a ball, light a match, throw a football. Most of these things I learned, as you probably did, a long time ago and no longer thought much about. And then one day she’s bringing home algebra problems and I’m suddenly a re-learner, dusting off something I wrongly assumed I knew how to do with ease.”
March 22, 2022
For two months I read just a few paragraphs a day with this book and thought I would probably just give up on it. The initial chapter did not catch my interest. Then two days ago I sat down and committed myself to finishing that first chapter - and after that my interest peaked and I finished the book. Very interesting reading and worth my time to finish.
October 27, 2023
EXACTLY what I needed at this quarter-life-crisis point in my life. There are so many things I want to do and have been wanting to do for years, but I also hate not being good at something; I’m afraid of embarrassment (also there was and continues to be a pandemic happening which kind of stifled most activity for a while, so that didn’t help things). But learning is good for your brain and I, genes-wise, don’t have a great chance at naturally keeping my brain in good shape without outside help. Learning also makes you happier, and that good ol seasonal depression is COMING FOR MY ASS RIGHT NOW. Sooo catch me learning Croatian and ASL, playing guitar and piano, and throwing pots on the ol potter’s wheel now.
Also this is an open invite for any of my friends and family to ask me along to outings involving learning a new thing (big or small). Learning together also bonds you closer <3
Also this is an open invite for any of my friends and family to ask me along to outings involving learning a new thing (big or small). Learning together also bonds you closer <3
May 13, 2025
This book makes me want to learn something new! I enjoyed reading about Tom's journey of trying new things, hearing more about the process of learning, and gaining the benefits of being a beginner. I also liked his mindset of not needing to be an expert in everything he tried, but content with the progress he made. Good read!
January 12, 2021
Liked this book a lot. Warmed very much to its idea that rather than thinking of learning a new skill as some kind of obsessive desire to become an expert, the idea of beginning and trying new things is good in itself. Lots to think about and very inspiring, especially at the moment
March 12, 2021
This was a good book to piggyback on "A Glorious Freedom" as it talks about the benefits of learning new skills at an older age. Learning how to do new things is good for our brains (neuroplasticity), helps with stress, enlarges our sense of self, and changes the way we think and see the world (expands our perspective). Learning with others can also help you make new connections and strengthen old ones (research suggests that couples who learn new skills together can recapture some of the initial exhilaration of when they first met; or similar benefits if you learn with your kids as you play, struggle, and grow together). The author chose a few activities he wanted to learn (chess, surfing, singing, drawing, juggling, and metalwork), and walks us through the struggle, humility, and excitement of being a beginner. A few of the lessons he learns (which we can also learn from infants) is that skills take time, failure is an essential part of learning, and the important of variable practice. Also, you get better at picking up new things with practice (you can improve your ability to learn).
This book was a good reminder that learning and exploring is not just for the young and it inspired my list of things I want try. It also reminded me of the importance of finding joy in the process of discovery and growth, as John Stuart Mill stated: "Don't ask if you're happy, do things that make you happy. Don't pursue happiness, find happiness in your pursuits."
This book was a good reminder that learning and exploring is not just for the young and it inspired my list of things I want try. It also reminded me of the importance of finding joy in the process of discovery and growth, as John Stuart Mill stated: "Don't ask if you're happy, do things that make you happy. Don't pursue happiness, find happiness in your pursuits."
November 4, 2021
This is a fun book about the journey from being a beginner to becoming -- a non-beginner. Not necessarily to become an expert, but to become adept at some skill. The book includes some developments in the neuroscience of learning. However, the book is mostly a collection of personal memoirs of how the author learned new skills. The new skills included chess, singing, surfing, drawing, and juggling. The process of learning each new skill is a journey. Sometimes, he began his new journey along with his daughter, in order to be closer to her.
The book does smack a bit of elitism. The author is privileged to be able to hire tutors, private coaches, and to spend money traveling to places where surfing is available. Nevertheless, the book is so optimistic, that the author's enthusiasms are quite contagious.
The book does smack a bit of elitism. The author is privileged to be able to hire tutors, private coaches, and to spend money traveling to places where surfing is available. Nevertheless, the book is so optimistic, that the author's enthusiasms are quite contagious.
August 27, 2021
This book should be called "Beginner", not "Beginners". I got the impression that this book would be primarily about the benefits of trying new things, the impact of trying new things on adult physiology and psyche, and methods of establishing a "learning lifestyle". This book is NOT that. It's a self-indulgent, name-dropping parade that recounts Tom's privileged exploits rather than diving deep into the theory of being a beginner. I think the only people who would like this book are people who like Tom personally, and are interested in reading his personal diary on how he enjoyed taking up new hobbies.
I can't recommend you don't read this enough.
I can't recommend you don't read this enough.
Read
January 5, 2022I liked it! He is funny at times, serious at times, and I felt like I was able to relax and soak in random bits of knowledge.
August 18, 2021
Always an inspiration to read about someone who picks up new, big skills and reflects on them. Unfortunately I find myself writing this review a few months later without many highlights that strike much inspiration.
April 24, 2023
To be honest, my rating of this book is largely carried by the prologue. It was captivating, and interesting, and really made me want to dive more into the book. That the rest of the book wasn't quite as compelling is unfortunately just the way it is. While still engaging, it didn't hold that magic of exploration that the intro did.
Vanderbilt has a premise; that people can be lifelong learners. As someone who studied training and development and particularly learning for adults, I fully support and believe in that. But, it stands to change that methods and abilities also change as we age and hold other responsibilities. He starts with denoting the differences between him and his daughter as they seek to learn chess, and their approaches based on age and experience. Then, leaving his daughter as a joint person in learning behind, he outlines his experiences learning other skills; singing, surfing, jewelry-making, juggling and more. His goal is not to become an expert (although frequently we fall into that trap when learning) but just to appreciate the learning for learning's sake.
Again, his intro was the most interesting to me, I think because it did offer that variance between him and his daughter and touched on methods of learning more. While there was some science around learning included in the other chapters, it didn't quite capture the attention as much. I still enjoyed reading about his various endeavors and appreciated that there wasn't a milestone end or significant goal to be reached. It reminds me too of how much I learn to try to be the best at something, which is an impossibility. Does it speak to our culture? My own personality? Probably a mixture of both in truth.
From a purely reading standpoint, I experienced this book in three different ways. The first was reading it out loud to my significant other, which combined with the fact it was my favorite part of the book, was an enjoyable experience. Unfortunately, my voice gave out too often, and I then switched to the audiobook, in which the narrator (Vanderbilt himself) was so soothing that we couldn't really listen without falling asleep quickly. Which then led me back to finishing the book just reading it in general (no going back to losing my voice, sorry s/0).
If you're interested in the science of learning, recognize that this just touches on it briefly and is more of a personal experience narrative. But it's valuable in its own right and hopefully gives some inspiration to keep learning, no matter the outcome.
Review by M. Reynard 2023
Vanderbilt has a premise; that people can be lifelong learners. As someone who studied training and development and particularly learning for adults, I fully support and believe in that. But, it stands to change that methods and abilities also change as we age and hold other responsibilities. He starts with denoting the differences between him and his daughter as they seek to learn chess, and their approaches based on age and experience. Then, leaving his daughter as a joint person in learning behind, he outlines his experiences learning other skills; singing, surfing, jewelry-making, juggling and more. His goal is not to become an expert (although frequently we fall into that trap when learning) but just to appreciate the learning for learning's sake.
Again, his intro was the most interesting to me, I think because it did offer that variance between him and his daughter and touched on methods of learning more. While there was some science around learning included in the other chapters, it didn't quite capture the attention as much. I still enjoyed reading about his various endeavors and appreciated that there wasn't a milestone end or significant goal to be reached. It reminds me too of how much I learn to try to be the best at something, which is an impossibility. Does it speak to our culture? My own personality? Probably a mixture of both in truth.
From a purely reading standpoint, I experienced this book in three different ways. The first was reading it out loud to my significant other, which combined with the fact it was my favorite part of the book, was an enjoyable experience. Unfortunately, my voice gave out too often, and I then switched to the audiobook, in which the narrator (Vanderbilt himself) was so soothing that we couldn't really listen without falling asleep quickly. Which then led me back to finishing the book just reading it in general (no going back to losing my voice, sorry s/0).
If you're interested in the science of learning, recognize that this just touches on it briefly and is more of a personal experience narrative. But it's valuable in its own right and hopefully gives some inspiration to keep learning, no matter the outcome.
Review by M. Reynard 2023
January 25, 2021
I liked hearing the little details that Vanderbilt picked up while learning his chosen skills. I disliked the occasional pseudoscience he inserted. While the story is very self centered, Vanderbilt tries to balance this by giving detailed descriptions of some of the other beginners whom he meets. Especially in the swimming chapter, this got tiresome and didn't add much.
> In the larger chess world, I was a patzer—a hopelessly bumbling novice—but around my house at least I felt like a sage, benevolent elder statesman
> In addition to chess, I chose singing, surfing, drawing, and making (in this case, a wedding ring to replace the ones I’d lose surfing). Oh, and juggling
> you may be wondering about your own singing ability. I would urge you to take the online test that Steven Demorest helped create. It’s based on pitch accuracy, the easiest-to-measure, most fundamental variable in singing quality. No matter your score, remember one thing: It can be improved.
> More than simply learning how to produce consistent notes, I needed to work on another key singing skill: listening. Danielle designated an octave on the piano, running from C3 to C4, with C3 being 1 and C4 being 8. It was a simplified version of solfège, or what we know as do-re-mi.
> The tongue, called "the worst enemy of the singer" for its tendency to get in the way of exiting sound, seemed on some days to consume the bulk of our time. Nowhere but the dentist did the inside of my mouth receive such careful scrutiny. But it was important: A raised tongue shifts air toward our nostrils and makes our voices sound nasal.
> "The vowel is the voice," writes one vocal pedagogue, "and the consonant is the interruption of the voice." In English-language speech, we spend five times as much time producing vowels as consonants. In singing, that ratio can hit two hundred to one.
> Lyrics were to be avoided; they harbored bad habits. So Danielle would have me go through songs singing only simple vowels; during one solo car trip I sang the whole Chet Baker Sings with "oohs" and "aahs," an exercise that had a pleasing purity to it.
> When I tried to sing a higher note, my whole body would tense as I attempted to scale the musical peak, craning my neck upward like a giraffe reaching for high leaves. This only raised my larynx, making it harder to produce that very note. Rather than trying to suppress this habit, Amedeo had an elegantly simple solution, the one hinted at in The Inner Game of Tennis: Replace one habit with another. When I hit a high note in a phrase, Amedeo would have me do something counterintuitive: Go down. The act of slightly bending my knees was a physical cue to keep my larynx down.
> Resonant. To create "space" in my mouth, I would do the little prescribed exercises, like starting a yawn (but not going all the way) or speaking like the cartoon character Yogi Bear to help lower my larynx. Another favorite was exhaling and then inhaling on a k sound, in an effort to lift my sagging soft palate and make my voice rounder and more resonant. Give this a try. Make the sound kuh-kuh-kuh; then do the same on an inhale. As you do, try to imagine the back of your mouth gently inflating, like a frog's
> a strangely named app called "Smule." It was simple. You only had to plug some earbuds into your phone, search for a favorite song in the site’s database, and then start singing. After recording a tune, you could tweak your performance with a variety of Auto-Tune-style filters and effects. You could film yourself or simply record an audio track. I recorded a few solo songs. It was easy, and the sound was decent. It was fun, if a bit sterile. Then I discovered the "duet" option and felt as if I had unlocked the magic of the service
> "On average, level one will take you, surfing every day, a week or ten days. Level two, a month. Level three, a year. And level four"—he paused to reflect on the answer—"like a decade."
> It often seemed like high-stakes game theory, the "surfer's dilemma" of how a growing pool of surfers could share a finite supply of waves. Surfing, to a strategist, is what’s known as a "mixed-motive game"; it's best if at least someone catches a wave so it's not wasted, but each person would prefer it was them
> As Danny had told me, his least favorite part of learning to surf was the idea that "others in the water would typically prefer me not to be there."
> The first step was to sketch the basic "envelope," the geometric shape that connected the furthermost points of the figure and would establish the proportions. It looked vaguely trapezoidal. From there I would look for various "landmarks," things like the highest or lowest part of the drawing, and start to sketch quick lines between them.
> Curves were to be drawn not as curves but as a series of small, straight lines. "It's a much faster way of approaching a drawing," he said. "It takes a long time for our eye and hand to draw a curve."
> Artists tend to look at their subjects much more often than nonartists. By doing this, one argument goes, they reduce the need to keep the image in their working memory, where it very quickly becomes prone to biases and misperceptions.
> Like many novices—or people stuck in the novice stage—I'd been trying to inhale and exhale as my head came out of the water on a front-crawl stroke. Exhaling, I learned, should be reserved for underwater, via what's called bubble breathing
> All this self-exploration, admittedly, has the whiff of indulgent self-absorption. But for all the inward focus, these activities actually brought me outward. One of the greatest joys in being a beginner, it turns out, is meeting other beginners
> In the larger chess world, I was a patzer—a hopelessly bumbling novice—but around my house at least I felt like a sage, benevolent elder statesman
> In addition to chess, I chose singing, surfing, drawing, and making (in this case, a wedding ring to replace the ones I’d lose surfing). Oh, and juggling
> you may be wondering about your own singing ability. I would urge you to take the online test that Steven Demorest helped create. It’s based on pitch accuracy, the easiest-to-measure, most fundamental variable in singing quality. No matter your score, remember one thing: It can be improved.
> More than simply learning how to produce consistent notes, I needed to work on another key singing skill: listening. Danielle designated an octave on the piano, running from C3 to C4, with C3 being 1 and C4 being 8. It was a simplified version of solfège, or what we know as do-re-mi.
> The tongue, called "the worst enemy of the singer" for its tendency to get in the way of exiting sound, seemed on some days to consume the bulk of our time. Nowhere but the dentist did the inside of my mouth receive such careful scrutiny. But it was important: A raised tongue shifts air toward our nostrils and makes our voices sound nasal.
> "The vowel is the voice," writes one vocal pedagogue, "and the consonant is the interruption of the voice." In English-language speech, we spend five times as much time producing vowels as consonants. In singing, that ratio can hit two hundred to one.
> Lyrics were to be avoided; they harbored bad habits. So Danielle would have me go through songs singing only simple vowels; during one solo car trip I sang the whole Chet Baker Sings with "oohs" and "aahs," an exercise that had a pleasing purity to it.
> When I tried to sing a higher note, my whole body would tense as I attempted to scale the musical peak, craning my neck upward like a giraffe reaching for high leaves. This only raised my larynx, making it harder to produce that very note. Rather than trying to suppress this habit, Amedeo had an elegantly simple solution, the one hinted at in The Inner Game of Tennis: Replace one habit with another. When I hit a high note in a phrase, Amedeo would have me do something counterintuitive: Go down. The act of slightly bending my knees was a physical cue to keep my larynx down.
> Resonant. To create "space" in my mouth, I would do the little prescribed exercises, like starting a yawn (but not going all the way) or speaking like the cartoon character Yogi Bear to help lower my larynx. Another favorite was exhaling and then inhaling on a k sound, in an effort to lift my sagging soft palate and make my voice rounder and more resonant. Give this a try. Make the sound kuh-kuh-kuh; then do the same on an inhale. As you do, try to imagine the back of your mouth gently inflating, like a frog's
> a strangely named app called "Smule." It was simple. You only had to plug some earbuds into your phone, search for a favorite song in the site’s database, and then start singing. After recording a tune, you could tweak your performance with a variety of Auto-Tune-style filters and effects. You could film yourself or simply record an audio track. I recorded a few solo songs. It was easy, and the sound was decent. It was fun, if a bit sterile. Then I discovered the "duet" option and felt as if I had unlocked the magic of the service
> "On average, level one will take you, surfing every day, a week or ten days. Level two, a month. Level three, a year. And level four"—he paused to reflect on the answer—"like a decade."
> It often seemed like high-stakes game theory, the "surfer's dilemma" of how a growing pool of surfers could share a finite supply of waves. Surfing, to a strategist, is what’s known as a "mixed-motive game"; it's best if at least someone catches a wave so it's not wasted, but each person would prefer it was them
> As Danny had told me, his least favorite part of learning to surf was the idea that "others in the water would typically prefer me not to be there."
> The first step was to sketch the basic "envelope," the geometric shape that connected the furthermost points of the figure and would establish the proportions. It looked vaguely trapezoidal. From there I would look for various "landmarks," things like the highest or lowest part of the drawing, and start to sketch quick lines between them.
> Curves were to be drawn not as curves but as a series of small, straight lines. "It's a much faster way of approaching a drawing," he said. "It takes a long time for our eye and hand to draw a curve."
> Artists tend to look at their subjects much more often than nonartists. By doing this, one argument goes, they reduce the need to keep the image in their working memory, where it very quickly becomes prone to biases and misperceptions.
> Like many novices—or people stuck in the novice stage—I'd been trying to inhale and exhale as my head came out of the water on a front-crawl stroke. Exhaling, I learned, should be reserved for underwater, via what's called bubble breathing
> All this self-exploration, admittedly, has the whiff of indulgent self-absorption. But for all the inward focus, these activities actually brought me outward. One of the greatest joys in being a beginner, it turns out, is meeting other beginners
February 4, 2021
Tom Vanderbilt decides to spend a year learning new skills, sometimes getting inspired by his young daughter. He tries to learn singing, juggling, surfing, playing chess, drawing and other things. In 'Beginners', he interviews many experts, psychologists, other beginners and teachers of the activities he has chosen to show the benefits of lifelong learning. He tells how he struggled with various beginners' mistake and then try to overcome them and gained some experience in a chosen activity. We adults usually do not try to learn anything new, we get comfortable in the activities that we are already pursuing and don't give ourselves a chance to try something new unless it is related to our chosen field of work. This is a mistake. We should always try to learn new things. A few good points:
• Don't learn just for the sake of learning an activity, learn something you have always wanted to.
• Learning anything new is about challenging your mind and body.
• The process of learning a new skill is itself comforting.
• When learning anything becomes another form of work, you should stop doing it.
• We should enjoy the process more and focus less on the results.
• Try to have a beginner’s mind.
• Learning any new activity makes you see the world differently.
• Be a lifelong learner, it's good for our brain.
• Don't learn just for the sake of learning an activity, learn something you have always wanted to.
• Learning anything new is about challenging your mind and body.
• The process of learning a new skill is itself comforting.
• When learning anything becomes another form of work, you should stop doing it.
• We should enjoy the process more and focus less on the results.
• Try to have a beginner’s mind.
• Learning any new activity makes you see the world differently.
• Be a lifelong learner, it's good for our brain.
February 21, 2026
I really enjoyed this book! Quite well written and engaging. What’s most important for me is it inspires you to try new things. It got me to try guitar and now it’s one of my favourite things to do. I think that as we age we can be reluctant to try new things and learn, but I like the message in the book to always be a beginner at something for the rest of your life. I enjoyed living vicariously through Tom’s learning pursuits. A week learning how to draw? A week on a surfing retreat? Sounds like a dream. I almost wanted to become a learning writer myself to write about it. You have to admire how much time he dedicated to his various hobbies over the years.
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