Courses I would love to do in 2018 & why?
This was supposed to be the original topic of this post, but I digressed.
What got written instead, isn’t so bad either. Go read it and leave your thoughts in the comment section.
Bridging the skills gap and Therapy of all sorts!
It’s been several years since the first MOOCs arrived and made us all (I mean nerds here) salivate at the prospect of learning the most exciting technologies from the comfort of our homes. 2018 also brings with it the same resolutions: Take a course in Deep Learning, Artificial Intelligence or Virtual Reality-since everyone wants to strike gold at least once in their life. Like in the field of investing, technology demands being ahead of the curve and getting in early on.
The Gods are laughing. ROFL.
They know most will not take these courses after all. They have so much else to do: a job that was supposed to be 9 to 5 (but now takes the whole day- blame it on long commutes and work from home), pursuit of GMAT/GATE/GRE/CAT because higher studies is very important (because how else would you differentiate yourself), social relationships to be maintained and Netflix to be watched. After all, the latest “Game of thrones” episode isn’t going to get watched itself :P
I can safely say I am a MOOC obsessed creature-who I define as the one who thinks that the solution to life’s every problem can be found in a MOOC. I would call myself a MOOC-therapist or a philomatherapist. Obviously, that’s not a word. I just made it up. It is made up of two words: Philomath and therapist(I can hear my husband muttering under his breath, “ Captain Obvious”!). A philomath is a lover of learning. So I like to think I can conduct therapy for people based out of my love for learning: I would suggest courses to take for every problem they face.
I know what you are thinking. It’s either, Oh Wow! That’s such original thinking, or What bulls**t!
Either way, I am not taking total credit for this massive idea. I have an inspiration and let me talk about it .(Or Let me share the sweet and short story behind it)
Last 3 months of 2017, I was in New York City. It being Christmas season, I chanced upon an article about gifts with a difference. And there in one of the bullet points I found this major innovation: the idea of a bibliotherapist. And it seems like even this isn’t a word. The auto-correct feature of this editor is flagging it in curvy, wavy red lines. How I have always hated it! It makes me angry I guess, and no idea why! So who’s a bibliotherapist: someone who suggests books for every life-problem you face, acts as an alternative to therapy. Can you guess how much it costs? 200$ per hour! You’re already considering it as an alternative career option? Aren’t you? Lol, even I did!
Last year I started 17 books and read 15 in total. That made me think: Well, I can be a bibliotherapist! All these plans came crashing to the ground when a friend who I shared this concept with asked for my recommendation to her one pressing problem. While her situation was specific, I quickly boiled it down to a career vs love life conflict: it turns out I am ill-equipped as a bibliotherapist, I couldn’t think of any book, so I pivoted, invoked the cinema-therapist within me and suggested her to watch “ La-la land”.
I know you are laughing inside, Please do!
(Laught it all out! Come on! Loudly! I know you are in an office cubicle surrounded by people who have pefect-ed the art of pretending they are working on life-saving stuff and you don’t want others to perceive you as anything else.)
Until Next Time!
I had started writing with the thought of sharing the courses I would take in 2018, but this has been a long enough post already so let’s procrastinate and keep that for another day. I have to take my afternoon nap. If you are rolling your eyes and judging me for it, so be it. I am walking or rather napping in the footsteps of giants. My favourite author at this time, Haruki Murukami, shows us the way in his book: What I talk about when I talk about running.
“One other way I keep healthy is by taking a nap. I really nap a lot. Usually I get sleepy right after lunch, plop down on the sofa, and doze off. Thirty minutes later I come wide awake. As soon as I wake up, my body isn’t sluggish and my mind is totally clear. This is what they call in southern Europe a siesta. I think I learned this custom when I lived in Italy, but maybe I’m misremembering, since I’ve always loved taking naps. Anyway, I’m the type of person who, once he gets sleepy, can fall sound asleep anywhere. Definitely a good talent to have if you want to stay healthy, but the problem is I sometimes fall fast asleep in situations where I shouldn’t. “
Haruki Murukami
A book is a dream you hold in your hand!
So, if you have an interest in running, read this book. It’s a memoir based on the author’s participation in several marathon’s, triathlons, ultra-marathons- how he trained for them and how it deeply affected his life. In case you aren’t an avid reader, dive into the book for life-lessons coupled with an entertaining read.
Here is Part 2 of Courses I would love to do in 2018 & why?, all the concrete information here, I promise.
A Course on the Art of taking Courses
Lol, that sounds funny. Jokes apart, If you have enrolled in multiple courses over multiple years and failed at it again and again, you will find “How to transform your life through Online learning?” really useful. It gives an introduction to the giant world of Moocs(Massively Open Online Courses) followed by tips and tricks in getting the most out of online courses.
Please share some love and hit the claps symbol If you liked what you read.
This post was originally published at my website www.heisenbugtech.com
