Learning and developing have something in common. Learning is developing oneself and achieving better results through practice. Developing is generating understanding, knowledge, and solutions to improve things.

When I think about my own learning process, it often involves thinking, reading, writing, and experimenting. These four form a repetitive cycle of processing and creating knowledge, where I go back and forth while trying to get the best outcome.

I decided to explore whether this process has parallels with design thinking and its application to learning, design-based learning. Iteration is their prominent similarity, but they have more in common

Learning through processing knowledge

Here are four common ways to process knowledge.

• Thinking: the base of our cognitive processing
• Reading: one way of gathering knowledge, comprehension, and understanding
• Writing: a way to organize and display knowledge and thoughts in a more tangible way
• Experimenting: trying things out to see if they work in practice

Thinking is so automatic that we don’t always come to — um — think about it. Reflection is the first conscious step in managing and making sense of information. Some of the thinking skills include logical step-by-step thinking, seeing patterns and systems that connect things to a ‘big picture’, analyzing causes and effects, or relationships and principles, as well as critical evaluation of information.

Reading opens the world of books and text-based knowledge to us. It enables us to learn from other people’s knowledge and analyze it. But reading is more than that. Literacy, and more specifically information literacy, involves recognizing information needs, acquiring and evaluating information, adding new information to our knowledge base, and utilizing it. So, literacy is at the very core of learning.

Writing is an effective way to process thoughts and knowledge. It is expressing one’s personal knowledge and views. Writing has an audience, content, and a goal. Texts serve these purposes best when they are concrete, concise, and specific. Writing is a complex skill of managing content, language rules, and the appropriate style.

Experimenting with things hands-on is the most concrete way to learn. It is applying knowledge in real-life situations. Learning from experimentation is a path of trial and error, testing various options until you find the method that works.

A learning process from thinking to doing is often a mixture of back-and-forth phases. It is moving between reflection, information gathering, generating new ideas, and implementing them somehow.

Learning through developing solutions

Design thinking is a set of methods and tools primarily for designers to solve problems and develop products. The process is iterative and requires several rounds. Design thinking has been applied to multiple fields.

The process begins with identifying a problem and understanding it through research. The next phase is using design tools and methods to create solutions. The solutions are then transformed into concrete prototypes that are tested. Lastly, the best solution is implemented.

Design-based learning (DBL) applies design thinking to learning. The learning process follows the design process. Students are presented with real-life challenges. They apply knowledge, research, and design methods to create solutions in collaboration with others. The results (artifacts) are finally presented.

In higher education, design-based learning helps students to combine theoretical and practical thinking. It teaches key skills for today’s society and workplaces, such as problem-solving, communication, collaboration, and independent learning. It is thus an effective learning method for preparing students for working life.

The design approach gives learning a real-life context, a framework, and tools to process problems. It is a flexible model for solving complicated problems.

Conclusion

Learning aims to develop personal knowledge and skills that we can use to do meaningful things. Independent learning, especially, has many ways of achieving this goal. Here are the things I found when I reflected on what processing knowledge and design thinking contribute to learning.

• Iterative process: Creating understanding and solving problems by several rounds of trial and error is effective because you learn something every time. It fosters critical thinking and spotting problems.
• Combination of theory and practice: Knowing how to apply knowledge in new situations is a valuable skill. In general, combining knowledge with hands-on doing in real-life situations gives good results.
• Creating new ideas and knowledge: New ideas develop people and things. New knowledge helps to understand the changing world and to solve emerging problems.
• Human-centered approach: Learning is human interaction. Also, focusing on ethical guidelines like sustainability and responsibility is built into the process.

I hope you found something useful for yourself from this article. I wish everyone joyful learning experiences!

Sources:

Design thinking: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_thinking

Design-based learning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design-based_learning

It is exciting to read travel stories and books about real-life adventures. Travel books tell about exploring and experiencing the world, but also about the process of traveling. Planning and budgeting a trip and adapting to new places are essential skills for travelers. In fact, they are useful for everyone.

Traveling has become so popular that you can find all kinds of books about it. People travel to fulfill their personal goals (bucket lists) or to challenge themselves. Some people have chosen a full-time traveling lifestyle as digital nomads or early retirees. You can explore the world by walking, running, or climbing. You can get a new perspective on a bicycle, a motorbike, or on horseback.

When I read travel books, I noticed some skills we need to travel successfully. These skills are useful for everyone. Here are the four categories of skills that I found.

1. Cultural and environmental skills

Cultural and environmental awareness is essential in today’s traveling. Problems like over-tourism have negative side effects on local communities and the environment.

Local food, art, architecture, and museums are easy ways to experience culture. However, cultures pass on meanings and values that are not always clear to a traveler. That’s why it is important to be culturally considerate and respectful.

Mindful traveling is also sustainable in many ways, from means of travel to accommodation and other services. When you use small local services, you support the local community.

Cultural and environmental skills are being empathetic towards people and making ethical choices. They are things we should do in our everyday lives.

2. Planning and scheduling skills

Planning, scheduling, and budgeting are practical skills behind every successful trip. When you travel abroad, you need travel documents, tickets, money, and plans for what, where, and when you are going to do.

These are things you do beforehand. Taking care of everything you need is preparing for the trip. When you are prepared, things run smoothly and you have less stress.

Being organized is a basic life skill. It often includes remembering and caring for details. Managing multiple things simultaneously is not easy, but there are many methods to help in planning, scheduling, and budgeting.

3. Thinking and information processing skills

Traveling in an unfamiliar place means you have to think more than in your everyday life. You can’t just go on autopilot in a foreign country. You have to search for information, make decisions, and solve problems on the go in various situations.

When you navigate to places and adapt to sudden changes in your plans, you must have creative and quick thinking. An explorer’s mindset also helps. You see challenges as part of the journey, not as obstacles.

Absorbing new information is based on curiosity. We are interested in new things and want to learn more about them. It is a driving force for all learning.

4. Communication skills

Finding a common language and interacting with local people is always important. In an ideal situation, you know the language and culture, but that is not always possible. So sometimes you encounter a communication barrier.

In intercultural communication, behavior and attitude matter if you don’t know the local language well. You try your best to be understood and have a positive attitude in interaction.

Communication skills are both language skills and a flexible mindset that enable you to interact in diverse situations. These skills are fundamental in exchanging information and working with other people.

Conclusion

Traveling is a complex process that requires various skills. Cultural and environmental awareness mean empathy and ethical choices that we can transfer to our everyday lives. Planning, information processing, and communication are fundamental life skills that we practice in many ways. The point is that we can learn skills everywhere and then use them in new contexts.

If you liked this article, here are two more articles about skills:

• Grow Your Skills for Work and Fun
• What We Learn While We Read

Public library services can support your self-motivated learning in many ways. Public libraries are probably the best places for learning outside the formal education system. They offer resources, space, and guidance, but how can their services help you? I am going to give three aspects to help you make the library your place for learning.

Lifelong learning has become increasingly important as we adapt to the changing world. Many people also like exploring things because it is fun and intriguing to learn something new.

Here are my points why you should consider a public library as part of your learning process.

Easy access to information and services

Public library services are accessible. They have both physical and digital spaces for information that are flexible to use. Today, when most services are only digital, it is valuable that public libraries are physical places. Browsing books and magazines is different than reading online. A walk through a library gives you a more practical view of the information resources and facilities available. Learning and knowledge become literally more tangible.

When you use public library services, you share the resources and space with others. By sharing, not owning, you can reach a much larger scope of information than you ever could on your own. Knowledge acquisition costs and large knowledge bases are practically only available through libraries. Sharing benefits you and everyone else.

Organized information

Public libraries are organized memory institutions. Organizing makes it possible to preserve collective knowledge and retrieve information from it. All resources in libraries pass a curated process that improves their usability for you.

When you have found the first relevant source (a book, for instance), you can start gathering more sources. Use the book’s online cataloging information to proceed. You have two options. The first option is to follow the book’s classification to find more books on the same topic. The second option is to follow the book’s index words to find relevant subjects.

Of course, you find useful information in the book’s content as well. Write down central terms while you read. Use them when you search for more information. You can also go through the references listed in the book. This is a cumulative way to increase information. That is why these strategies have names like citation pearl growing strategy and snowball method.

Libraries are networked services. In fact, they were networked before networking became an acknowledged asset more generally. The combined resources of a library network help you if your local public library doesn’t have a resource. Think of a library as a person’s brain that collects, organizes, and stores knowledge. Think of a library network as many people sharing their knowledge.

Versatile services

Public libraries are versatile because they are not just places for finding information. They have a diverse selection of services. They also develop new services to adjust to the changing world.

You can learn more interactively by attending lectures or discussions, exploring culture and art in exhibitions, and taking part in workshops and events. Arts and culture are generally the core areas of public libraries. Novels, poems, music, and movies are part of our cultural knowledge and learning.

Conclusion

Access, usability, sustainability, and continuous development are essential for working library services. In this article, I focused on public libraries, but all libraries share these conditions.

Learning and libraries are a natural combination. They apply intangible resources such as knowledge, culture, and digital technology to provide learners with meaningful insights.

Here are two more articles about knowledge and learning:

• It Is in Our Nature to Gather Information
• Your Notebook Is Your Thoughts and Memory

The world map is an iconic “template” for presenting geographic information. You can place any information bound to global locations or regions on the map. From the amount of avocados imported to the number of dog breeds originating from different countries. With additional graphics, the world map becomes an infographic that can cover a large amount of knowledge.

Maps are generalized and downscaled versions of the physical world. Because the Earth is round, a 2-dimensional world map distorts dimensions and shapes. However, it is a practical way to present both natural phenomena and human activity.

I am not an expert on geography or maps, but I like examining natural and cultural landscapes around the world. I am generally interested in nature, climate, and cultures. Here is how I used world maps to explore different layers of physical (natural) and human geography that form landscapes. I end this article with a fascinating piece of history that I came across.

Natural phenomena on the world map

I start by examining three layers of nature that can be put on a world map. Their interaction creates the natural surroundings that we experience around us.

The surface of the earth consists of land and bodies of water. The land sizes vary from small islands to vast continents. The altitudes change from plains to mountains. The water system includes oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers of various sizes and depths. These elements can be seen on a regular world map.

The climate zones are formed by temperature (solar radiation) and humidity (rain). Other factors are proximity to oceans, altitude, and winds. In a simplified world map, there are 4–5 climate zones that follow roughly the latitudes from the equator to the poles.

One of the more detailed climate models is the Köppen climate classification. It is a complex model (because climate is a complex and changing system) that has main and subcategories. The five main categories go from tropical to polar climates. Their subcategories show regional variation in rainy seasons and average yearly temperatures.

The vegetation zones are similar to climate zones. Vegetation requires special temperature, rainfall, and soil, so both climate and terrain matter.

Here are nine types of vegetation zones:

• Tropical rainforests: High temperatures throughout the year. Daily rains. Lush and diverse vegetation.
• Savannas and monsoon forests: Tropical regions with both a dry and a rainy season. Grass, shrubs, and trees.
• Deserts and semideserts: Very dry regions, but they can have oases (underground water). Cactuses and other plants that can store water.
• Mediterranean vegetation: Hot and dry summers, mild and rainy winters. Trees and other plants have small, waxy leaves to prevent evaporation.
• Temperate grasslands: The soil is rich in nutrients, but it doesn’t get much rain. Plants are grasses and bulbous plants.
• Broadleaf forests: Adequate amount of sun and rain. The soil is rich and therefore used for agriculture. In colder regions, leaves fall in autumn.
• Northern coniferous forests: Short summers and cold, snowy winters. The amount of daylight varies greatly between summer and winter. Berries, mushrooms, mosses, and lichens.
• Mountains: At higher altitudes, the air is cold, forming fog and clouds. Big differences between day and night temperatures. Conifers, low shrubs, and grasses.
• Tundras: Harsh climatic conditions. Fragile vegetation consists of grass, shrubs, mosses, and lichens.

Terrain, climate, and vegetation form biomes, large geographical ecosystems that sustain all life.

When we look at the views in nature, we see the defining forms and vegetation of a region. These natural landscapes are part of our natural heritage, places for recreation. A good way to experience and explore them is in national parks. There are thousands of them worldwide. The world’s first national park was Yellowstone, founded in 1872.

I have lived my life in a landscape characterized by forests and lakes. I am fascinated by vast open landscapes, such as savannas, grasslands, and deserts. A walk in a tropical rainforest or on mountains would be exciting. In fact, I plan my trips according to beautiful landscapes.

Human activity on the world map

Next, I will trace human activity on a world map. The most visible element is the big cities. The lights of the great urban areas can be seen even from space.

Settlement geography has significant importance in understanding how and why we adapted to various natural conditions. For example, agriculture demanded fertile soil and a suitable climate. To move around, nearby waterways formed natural routes. Over time, human settlements have become urban and rural areas that co-exist with natural landscapes. At their best, they are thriving environments where people can live in harmony with the surrounding nature.

We can trace our cultural and historical geography by examining cultural landscapes. They are places where nature and human activity together create valuable cultural sites. For example, old villages, towns, routes, or agricultural sites. Natural conditions have influenced human activity, and human activity has modified the landscape.

A summarizing example: the geography of knowledge

I came across an interesting example that illustrates how geography benefited our knowledge of the world. The example is from Peter Burke’s book A Social History of Knowledge: From Gutenberg to Diderot.

In his book, Burke describes the period from the 15th to the 18th century. At that time, cities and cultures thrived around the world, but there was still little knowledge of the world. Knowledge increased, however, due to access to printed books and increasing expeditions and merchant shipping around the world.

The cities were the centers of knowledge. On a micro level, they fostered places like monasteries, libraries, universities, and bookshops where knowledge was transferred from person to person.

On a macro level, journeys between cities in Europe (Seville, Rome, Amsterdam, London), Asia (Goa, Macao, Nagasaki), and the Americas (Lima, Mexico City) transferred knowledge across the world. Capitals and ports were important, and they had special advantages in collecting knowledge.

Paris, for example, was a center for politics where the world’s diplomats gathered. London was central in trade because Britain had trading companies on all continents. Due to the Vatican and the religious orders, Rome had missionaries around the world. There were also famous library and university cities. Still today, we have hubs for trade, politics, and industries.

This example shows how settlements with ideal locations, travel routes, and cultural constructions like trade and education, combined, helped human life to thrive.

Looking at the world map is seeing “the big picture”. It is a versatile and easy way to learn about the world and showcase knowledge.

I am glad that digital technology gives us more and more possibilities to explore the world. Use of geospatial data is often an everyday routine that we don’t think about. It is the weather maps and navigation systems on applications that help us adapt to our surroundings today.

Reference

Burke, P. 2000. cop. 2000. A social history of knowledge: from Gutenberg to Diderot: based on the first series of Vonhoff Lectures given at the University of Groningen (Netherlands). Cambridge: Polity; Malden, MA: Blackwell.

What is your favorite landscape?

When you have studied a foreign language for some years, you know things about its grammar, vocabulary, and phrases.

But how can you widen and deepen your perspective on the language? Or better understand the aims of learning languages? I decided to apply some fundamental aspects of communication to my language learning to see if they can give me new approaches to learning.

I have been learning French on and off for 30 years. I started with optional courses during my studies. Later, I took French lessons as part of my aspirations of self-directed, continuous learning. Currently, I study French on two YouTube channels. I want to keep my learning stress-free and enjoyable.

It is actually very natural to apply the rules of communication to language learning because language is communication. I selected three things that I applied to my learning process.

A common ground

Communication succeeds best when you have, at some level, mutual understanding or interests.

In language learning, interests and understanding translate to your comfort zone in a foreign language.

You probably feel more comfortable and confident when your learning happens with topics that are important or interesting to you. In other words, when the language learning part of a lesson might feel hard, you have the comfort of a familiar, inspiring topic.

Another comforting aspect is understanding what is similar in differences and what is different in similarities. In my case, I (like many others) find understanding everyday spoken French difficult. The French speak very fast, join words (la liaison), and cut or “swallow” the endings of words. All because they want the speaking to flow smoothly.

This is frustrating to someone who wants to learn French. My attitude changed when I realized, this is exactly what happens in my native language — and probably in every language. We connect, cut. and speed past words without noticing. What I thought was a specific annoyance was actually a natural trait of a spoken language.

Problem areas and dealing with them

Communication is prone to problems. Some say most communication fails. However, spotting the problem areas is key to solutions. The two main communication problems are understanding a message correctly and clear communication.

Equally, two main problems with language learning are understanding and being understood.

The problems can be tackled by slowing down and taking time. When you don’t understand what is said or you don’t know how to put your thoughts into words, pause and try some simple ways to clarify the message.

Repeat what is said in an alternative way to check if you have understood correctly. Be a good and active listener. Ask questions. Write down the important things. Ask if you have been understood.

Accepting that you don’t know

Managing uncertainty is especially important in intercultural communication. You don’t always know the background and culture of other people. Personal and cultural factors have a significant impact on communication.

Adapting to uncertainty in language learning means adopting an open, flexible, and positive attitude to learning. Learning (like many things in life) is a journey. Our knowledge is incomplete, but we make progress and move on.

Learning and communicating in a foreign language demands getting used to ambiguity. In language-wise and culturally.

How did communication rules help in learning?

Applying communication rules to language learning helped me to see the natural connections between languages, communication, and culture. Even though it is a complex mixture, there are rules and structures to guide you.

I learned that I can make choices to make the learning context familiar and comfortable. When problems emerge, I slow down. Communication is a solution to communication problems. I learned to assume and accept that people think differently.

A language learner’s work is never done. In real life, there is no perfection. However, it is worth learning languages because they are the core of human interaction and culture.

What is your favorite way to learn a new language?

Everyone should write about their life in their own words. I sometimes consider doing so partly because I would like to share some of my experiences, partly for self-reflection.

I am also interested in the genre, and I occasionally read autobiographical books. They fall into the same category of personal “non-fiction prose” as diary and essay.

They can have some traits of fiction, however.

In this article, I’ll explain three autobiographical writing styles, read books by two masters of autobiographical writing, and consider how I would write about my life.

Autobiography, memoir, and autofiction

Here are three types of autobiographical works. They are books written by a person about their own life. I don’t talk about biographies, which are books written about a person by someone else.

An autobiography contains facts about the writer’s life, thoughts, personal development, achievements, and the circumstances that have shaped the writer’s life. Its nature is reflective.

The narration can include rhetorical modes such as timelines of events and development, analysis of causes and effects of one’s actions, descriptions of places and situations, anecdotes, and the reasoning behind one’s views.

A memoir is, as the name suggests, a reminiscence of the past. It typically emphasizes a period in history, collective experiences of a generation, and other outside circumstances that the writer has witnessed. The writer’s life is interwoven in a wider perspective of culture and society. I’ll give some examples of this in the next chapter.

Autofiction mixes autobiographical elements into fiction. In other words, it tells a fictional story based on real experiences and topics in the writer’s life. The narration is structured as a story with creative and imaginary elements.

The writer and other people are portrayed as characters in a story. A third-person narrator instead of a first-person narrator is common. Autofiction raises typically important, often difficult, human topics for discussion.

In the next chapter, I’ll focus on memoirs and autofiction. Because they are not pure autobiographies, it is good to take a closer look at them.

Two books by two great French autobiographical writers

I read Annie Ernaux’s The Years and Marguerite Duras’s The Lover many years ago. I re-read them some time ago because I wanted to find elements of a memoir and an autofiction. Both great writers have written more than one autobiographical work.

The Years ( Les Années) is an example of a memoir. It was published in French in 2008. It covers seven decades from the post-World War II period onward.

The book is about Ernaux’s life in the social and cultural changes that took place in France and Europe during that time. She portrays herself through photographs, videos, and digital photos that were taken of her. But even more, she describes the era, the generation, and the family she was part of.

She hardly uses the word “I”. Instead, she uses “we”, “the people”, and refers to herself as “she” to express the collective experiences and neutral observation of things. Passive voice also shifts the focus from the subject to general occurrences.

Two motives are repeated throughout the book: the photographs and the family meals that change over the decades. They are points where she returns to tell her personal story. Otherwise, she reminisces about the wider social and cultural changes.

In The Years, Ernaux uses many elements to remember and describe periods in history. Here are some of them:

Cultural context is described with language (familiar dialect and words), songs, anecdotes, habits, and traditions.

School and studies are an essential part of young people’s lives. So, it is a natural way to write about growing up. Similarly, adult life can be seen via family and work. These are also points where we connect with other people and become part of society.

The media is also a great way to view the past. Books, magazines, movies, tv, and the Internet are not only innovations of their time, but tools to shape culture and society.

Megarends, as a consumer society, define longer eras. Even illnesses (aids in the 1980s) or weather (or climate in the future memoirs) can be relevant elements to describe an era.

She hardly uses the word “I”. Instead, she uses “we”, “the people”, and refers to herself as “she”.

The Lover (L’Amant) is an example of autofiction. It was published in French in 1984. It is a novel about a complex affair between a young French girl and a Chinese man in Vietnam in the late 1920s. Central themes of the book are reflection and the perspective of time, social, cultural, and family relationships, and the struggles in life.

Here are some of the autofictional features of The Lover:

The main character is an unnamed 15-year-old girl. The narration shifts between first and third person. This gives new angles to the character.

Time and place shift between 1920s Vietnam and 1980s France, and the free meander of the story creates a multilayered structure. The story (the affair) lasts one and a half years, but it has connections to many things that happened before it and long after it. This structure reminds me of how the human mind and memory work: not in logical order but by association.

The key event of the story happens on the Mekong River when the girl and the man meet for the first time. The event is described in detail, and the narration returns to this moment several times.

Other autofictional elements include vivid descriptions and the use of both an outsider’s observation and inner psychological speech.

The fictional style supports and highlights the themes. It creates new ways to interpret experiences and memories.

My autobiographic writing would have a mixed but simple structure

Autobiographical texts are unique. They don’t always follow a certain structure, but mix different styles.I would choose a simple structure because I am an ordinary person, not a writer.

When I reflect on my life, I notice some things that have been present throughout my life. They are things that I have been interested in for decades, I value them, or I have experience with them. I would like to write about my life through these topics.

One of the topics is reading. In my book, I would reminisce about the different phases of reading, starting from childhood binge reading to more selective reading, and phases when I didn’t read at all. I would write about the most memorable books that have had an impact on me. I would also recall my work amid books.

I would add five to six other topics to my book. With them, I would tell memories of my life. It would be a mixture of autobiography and memoir.

I end this article with a short recap and key takeaways.

• Three types of autobiographical writing are autobiography, memoir, and autofiction.
• Choose an autobiography if you want to reflect on your life. The narrative style is non-fictional. An autobiography can contain descriptions of events and places, timelines, anecdotes, reflections on causes and effects, and arguments of personal views.
• Choose a memoir if you want to reminisce about your life in a wider context. The narration emphasizes the period, culture, and social circumstances that the writer witnessed. References to “us” instead of “I” are typical.
• Choose autofiction if you want to tell a story. The story usually has an important human theme that the writer has experience with. Autofictional style adds fictional elements, creativity, and imagination to real elements, blurring the boundaries.

How would you like to write about your life?

The emergence of the Internet was a significant landmark in the long history of encyclopedias and dictionaries. Their key features improved. Online search tools developed, hyperlinks replaced the old reference practices, and easy updating made information more accurate than before.

Encyclopedias and dictionaries adapted easily to the digital environment. They made perfect content for the early Internet. That’s probably why they have done so well in the digital era.

We often see reference works as dull and old-fashioned. They may be an old invention, but they are as useful as ever. In this article, I write about their features and how they help us. I go back in their history and finally ponder the steps into the future.

Books of words that explain the world to us

Encyclopedias are the backbone of general knowledge. They provide the essential information and known facts about a topic.

I have been an avid user of encyclopedias since I started reading. When I was a child, they offered a simple way to explore the world and add to my general knowledge.

I use encyclopedias almost daily. Here are some of my favorite topics. I check biographic facts about famous people. I search for geographic information about countries, cities, and the world in general. I love nature, so I often search for facts about nature, mostly animals.

Working in libraries, reference books are a typical tool in information retrieval. They are useful to teachers and writers. I think everyone should use encyclopedias and dictionaries! They are interesting, and you always learn something new.

Dictionaries open the world of languages to us. They are some of my favorite books. I love languages and I have studied several throughout my life. Online dictionaries have made learning so much easier.

Some of the most well-known online encyclopedias are Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica. They have different histories and procedures, but their features and search logic are similar to one another. I’ll explain the basic features a little later. Before that, we delve briefly into the history.

A journey through history from papyrus to bits

Encyclopedias and dictionaries have evolved over 2000 years. It’s a long period with many phases. I chose four of them.

These four phases have had an impact on the format and basic features of reference works.

• The 1st century CE: The first encyclopedia, Historia Naturalis (77 CE) by Pliny the Elder, has 32 volumes, each on a papyrus roll. It includes topics such as art, nature, and space. Dictionaries are bilingual word lists at that time. They dated back BCE.
• The 15th century: The printing press was introduced in Europe. Books printed on paper became the new format of encyclopedias and dictionaries. Access to reading improved when more books were available. Literacy levels increased in Europe.
• The 18th century: By the end of the century, many typical features of reference books, such as alphabetical order, table of contents, and index were in use. Dictionaries covered more words and more languages. Monolingual dictionaries were published.
• The 21st century: The emergence of the Internet changed the format of reference books once more. Digital format and online search improved their usability.

So far, so good. Books of words have proved their worth for over 2000 years. Now, we’ll take a look at the features that make them so useful.

Features that make encyclopedias and dictionaries easy to use

Because encyclopedias and dictionaries are made for quick searches and checks, their usability is a priority. Here are four helpful features.

A simple search bar to type keywords is the the first feature. One keyword is enough to get the result you are looking for, no need for long clauses or phrases.

You can also use a subject index to find the right topic. Alphabetical or systematic (broader subject areas) indexes are the most common ones. Sometimes you have other options, such as format-based indexes.

When you have found the right article, it’s time to navigate through it. Take a look at the table of contents. With one glimpse, you’ll see the content of the article. Here, you can click and proceed to the information you need.

While you read, you’ll notice links to other subjects in the text. They are helpful when you want to expand your reading to wider contexts. No need for separate searches.

Reference works are made for quick searches and checks.

Dictionaries have search bars, indexes, and links, too. The result of a basic search is the definition of a word, examples of use, and pronunciation (audio clip and phonetic writing). You can browse indexes. Links to synonyms, antonyms, and other related words are useful. There are links to idioms and phrases with the word.

Online dictionaries are monolingual or multilingual. Encyclopedias have editions in various languages. Multilingualism and translation features are notable benefits in online encyclopedias and dictionaries.

Final thoughts about AI

I hope encyclopedias and dictionaries will have a bright future. I believe you can’t beat them at their own game because their role is to collect the core knowledge of what people have learned about the world.

Encyclopedias and dictionaries contain human knowledge. I think that the words human and knowledge belong together. If knowledge is not human-made, it should be called something else. Humans and technologies, such as AI, can work efficiently together as long as they have the right balance. Then we can create new and beneficial phases in our future and the future of knowledge.

Modern reference works are large knowledge bases, but their strength is that you can still use them easily. I hope everyone discovers new and fascinating things about the world!

What kinds of things do you check in encyclopedias and dictionaries?

Services are our outsourced knowledge and skills. Unless you are a jack of all trades, you need help in some things from people who know better and can do something you can’t.

When we use services, we often turn to customer service for help. Besides customer service personnel, companies and organizations in all fields offer various types of self-service information to their customers on their websites and platforms.

Browsing and reading this content can be interesting and helpful. At best, they offer help, inspiration, and ways to improve your everyday life, or save money and time.

I decided to go through several of the services I use regularly and list their self-service resources.

Here are 8 types of content that I found. Some of them overlap with one another. I also added how I think each of them helps you.

1. Product documentation

Product documentation contains technical information about a product or a service. The most common types are user guides and manuals. They include technical details, installation instructions, and safety information.

How they help: Product documents give a description of a product’s features and how it works. They are essential for the correct and safe use of a product. Unfortunately, people don’t always read these manuals.

2. Help centers

Help centers are common in digital services. They are quite large collections of information. A help center contains answers to technical problems and additional information on the features of a service.

How they help: Help centers are good places to start solving technical problems. You can also find valuable information on how to use a service more effectively.

3. Lists (FAQs and tips)

FAQs are answers to the most common questions about a service. FAQs and tips are mostly short, general instructions.

How they help: FAQs and tips offer basic information in a quick and easy format. You don’t have to scroll through masses of text to find simple answers.

4. News

This section can be named the newsroom or current topics. The content varies from single articles to complete magazines. Companies have different policies regarding the news they publish. Some publish news only about their services and the company, while others cover topics more widely.

How they help: You learn what’s new and how a certain industry is developing. Your understanding grows, and you get information about emerging technologies and products.

5. Blogs

Blogs are very versatile. They can overlap with news, guides, and articles. What defines them is that a blog forms a relatively regular flow of texts. Writer — or writers are usually experts in their field.

How they help: The biggest value of blogs for me is that people writing blogs have experience, expertise, and insight of the topic at hand.

6. Guides

Guides can be e-books, how-to articles, blog posts, or videos. Their purpose is to guide you step by step through a process.

How they help: The best thing is that guides show how to do something, not just tell about it. Information is practical and useful. If you like to follow instructions and learn new things, you’ll love guides.

7. Articles

Article is such a general term that it overlaps with many other forms of writing. So, I picked two types of articles that I haven’t mentioned yet, interviews and inspirational articles.

How they help: They can give new perspectives and ideas. For example, an interview with a person connected to a service offers a human and real-life approach to the topic.

8. Interactive channels

I found two types of interactive channels for customers: communities and webinars. Communities are discussion boards and comment sections. Webinars are live events online.

How they help: The biggest value is a connection with other people. People who are active in communities have “peer” experience of the service that can help others. Webinars are interesting because some of the speakers are designers and developers, or other staff members that you would never see otherwise.

I was surprised by how many self-service resources I found. It’s good that they all serve a different purpose. The information was generally useful and of good quality. But, keep in mind that these contents are created to support a particular service or a product, so they are not always objective.

Skill means the knowledge of doing. It used to be called know-how, a very illustrative word because skills combine knowledge and how to apply it in a hands-on way. Skills can be inborn personal traits, but it usually takes time, practice, and experience to master them.

Skills are valuable resources. We need them to accomplish tasks at work and to cope in everyday life. It’s also fun to learn new skills. Whatever skills we have, it is useful and even rewarding to review our skills and manage them properly.

Skills can be categorized in many ways. Here is one way:

• Hard skills: Specific, usually learned in education, and professional skills that can involve systems, tools, etc. (E.g., programming, accounting)
• Transferable skills: More general skills that can be used in multiple fields of work. You can also transfer a skill you initially learned in a hobby to your work. (E.g., customer service, photography)
• Soft skills: More like personality traits that often describe how you work. (E.g., flexibility, organization)

When you have an idea of different types of skills, you can start listing your skills. Here are some tips to help you with the process.

1. How do you identify your skills?

The easiest way to identify your skills is to read your cv. Your education and work experience can be transformed into a list of skills when you analyze them in detail. Each work task usually contains more than one relevant skill.

Another way to identify your skills is to use methods like Ikigai. It defines the wider purpose of skills. The categories are: what we love to do, what we are good at, what the world needs, and what we can be paid for.

When you have found your skills, it’s time to move on.

2. What is your level?

It is useful to specify the level of your skills, especially if they are skills you need at work.

You can use as many levels as you want. Here is an example of a scale with five levels:

• Novice (beginner)
• Basic (simple tasks)
• Intermediate (effective working)
• Advanced (high capacity)
• Expert (authority and specialist)

The point here is not to rank the skills, but to see where you feel comfortable and confident, and on the other hand, which skills you want to improve.

3. Why should we value skills?

Being able to do things yourself is valuable. Skills enhance our possibilities to live full lives. They help us to find our passion and mission in the world. When we use and develop our skills, we can always learn new things.

Now that AI, automation, and robots are taking over more tasks. human capacities will be valued even more.

Did you like this article? You may also like my article about guidebooks:

Why guidebooks are so fascinating — and what I have read lately

We all agree that we shouldn’t waste our time, money, and energy because they are valuable resources. I’d like to add knowledge to the list. Knowledge is our thoughts, experiences, observations, ideas, and insights that we have gathered during our lives.

We have a bank account for our money, a calendar to manage our time, and a notebook for our thoughts. In my case, I have a few notebooks. One of them is pocket-sized, and the other serves as a draft book and a diary. In addition, I write things down on pieces of paper and sticky notes. I must say it’s not the best way to manage my notes. So, I decided to improve my note-taking routines.

Knowledge is a valuable personal resource.

To begin with, I divided my notes into two sections. The first section is for short (just a few words) notes and remarks, lists, or quick drawings. I went through my notebooks and found 30 types of such notes. Here are some of them:

• to-do lists and checklists
• lists of interesting books, movies, and events
• shopping lists and recipes
• info on useful services and products
• ideas and planning
• citations and quotes
• dates, times, phone numbers, passwords

I write some of these things down just to remember them and to empty my mind of excessive thoughts. Some notes are starting points for developing ideas or working on a project, which can lead to longer notes.

The second group includes longer texts (at least a few sentences). These notes are reflective, diary-type writings. They can be comments or arguments that connect thoughts to a wider context, workflows, developing processes, or solving problems.

Next, I created five ideas on how to write down and manage my notes. Here they are.

1. Use one notebook

I decided to have only one notebook to collect all my notes because I tend to write things down in multiple notebooks and pieces of paper. This way I can organize them properly.

I prefer an A5-size folder where I can easily add and remove pages. On the top page, I write down short notes whenever I have to remember something. I remove these notes when I don’t need them anymore. On another layer of pages, I write my diary reflections and other longer texts.

It’s important to write down your thoughts right away. It’s most frustrating when a good idea vanishes from your mind before you can write it down. So, I keep my notebook always at hand. Many people find notes apps handy, but I think physical notebooks are practical. Finding the best practice for yourself is important.

2. Write for yourself

Most of the time we write to other people. Knowing your audience is one of the basic rules of writing. You certainly know your audience when you write notes, because you are writing to yourself. Keeping a diary (personal, study, or work-related) gives an opportunity to reflect on your observations, thoughts, experiences, and feelings.

The focus is on finding your voice and your writing style. When I write down notes, I often use single words or phrases. I also like making lists. I usually use my favorite writing style, an essay, even when I write brief reflections.

3. Think flexibly

I try to think diversely to get new perspectives. To analyze things to find patterns and relations. To think critically to spot problems. To brainstorm creative solutions. I’m also learning new ways to illustrate my notes. Images, charts, and other visuals contain a lot of information, and they are quick to make. Experimenting with visuals is also fun.

I am a very text-oriented person, so this is a challenge to me. My favorite illustration style at the moment is infographic. It gives countless possibilities to present information. I want to learn more because the older I get, the more efficient I want to be. Which brings us to the next idea…

4. Keep it simple

Notes, even a diary, are short remarks. They are not exhaustive representations of your thinking. They are a relatively regular flow of thoughts, observations, and ideas. Anything, that is said about good writing, applies to notes as well. Being clear, concise, and concrete is always good.

When I write down notes, I often ask myself if I will understand my notes later. Because I make notes for later use, it’s essential to make revising them as easy as possible. I don’t want to waste my other resources (time and energy) by making unintelligible notes.

5. Add tags

We are used to adding tags everywhere on digital platforms. They indicate the main topic and other elements of the content. Tags are added to ease searching. Because notes accumulate quickly, it is useful to add tags to them.

I add tags while I write things down. Short and clear remarks don’t need tags, but I tag them sometimes to remember the right context. I write simple words in the margins to spot topics. Of course, you can develop a more advanced system with your own codes. In a diary, it can be better to write each day on a separate page.

When I organize my notes, I organize my thoughts. It’s one way to reach peace of mind. There is truth in an old saying that when you write down your thoughts, you realize there weren’t very many of them.

What are your routines for writing things down?