is an amazing tool
, group of
, etc. The only problem is, there's just too much
out there now.
It used to be that the hardest part of learning was
finding the book(s) that had what you needed to know. Now that the internet
has exploded onto the public scene, some information is still tough to find,
but it's hard to compare getting frustrated because a search engine wasn't
producing the right results with going down to the library and getting
frustrated because the books you need are checked out, or the information
isn't there or isn't what you expected, or the library is "closed for
the winter holidays."
The difference is striking.
Now, the most difficult part of learning is often
how to sort the flood of answers to your questions. What sources really know
what they're talking about? What ones know just as much as you do and are
really just trying to sell you something? The latter becomes truly important
as information--or content--gets closer to "free" and "instantly
available" while resources are still expended in order to gather
information. If someone is going to give you free advice they probably also
want to sell you a tool to use their advice with.
The other interesting consequence of the free flow
of information is that schools are beginning to emphasize learning concepts
versus "memorization." A second grader can bring a calculator to
class and blaze through those multiplication tables. A person with a PDA
doesn't need to remember phone numbers, appointments, birthdays, etc.
anymore. Which almost brings me to my point.
In the customer service industry there is a thing
called a "knowledge base." It's a database that holds customer
service issues and possible resolutions to those issues so that the customer
service representative doesn't have to have the answer to every
question on the tip of his/her tongue. I wanted to build one for me,
because sometimes I want to remember something I learned and I know that if
I just refreshed my memory a little bit then everything would come flooding
But then I discovered this place, which essentially does most of the work for me, and now I'm much happier.