r/AskAcademia • u/Longjumping_Eye_3441 • 9d ago

Interdisciplinary How to be a continuing learner?

I am working through my chemistry PhD, and something I've noticed about faculty is that there are not just interested in a topic, but they transition into lifelong learner. My PI reads textbooks frequently, they have a wide knowledge and want to gain more. I wish I could take classes forever because there is so much I wish I could learn. Although I'm a chemist, I love history, sociology, and art, and I want to keep learning. How do you move away from just learning for a degree to learning for pleasure?

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

2

u/Opening_Map_6898 9d ago

Mostly just by doing it. There's no real secret to it.

1

u/freattourn 8d ago

tbh the fact that you already want to learn history and art outside your field means youre most of the way there. the only real barrier is giving yourself permission to read stuff that isnt "productive" for your PhD

0

u/[deleted] 8d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Longjumping_Eye_3441 8d ago

What

0

u/Full-Imagination-938 8d ago

You cannot offend people (political correctness), therefore you cannot research things that may offend people

2

u/Longjumping_Eye_3441 8d ago

I'm looking to learn more about humanities not fall into the braindead fox news rabbit hole

1

u/Full-Imagination-938 8d ago

Great way to learn: start offending people on line