Learning as an adult

I'm watching a paleontology video on youtube as I type!

But that's just interesting stuff, I won't be taking any official courses until I retire.

I watch PBS. Does that count?

iTunes has tons of free university lectures

You audited the classes OP?

R4, no, One Day University is a company that goes to a number of cities and sponsored one day of university-level lectures. It cost about $160.

They come to NYC a few times a year and literally thousands go. They advertise with full page ads in The NY Times.

I’ve been to three such events (each had 6 lectures) and it was amazing

OP - Thank you! I just googled it and signed up for the 1st month - so many of the topics sound super - PT Barnum and World War 2 in the next few days - I have never heard of One Day University before - this will really be a pleasure!

I love continuing to learn, OP. It's fun and fascinating.

My latest thing is the history of Malta, which is shockingly amazing for such a small, seemingly insignificant island- archipelago in the Med. It's tiny neighbor Gozo is smaller than Manhattan Island. Malta was the most bombed place on earth in WW2 - 15,000 tonnes of bombs fell there - even though it's only 17 miles long and 9 miles wide. It's the only country in the world to be awarded the George Cross. The George Cross was very rarely awarded as a rule, but the entire population of the island was given the GC. That's how amazing their WW2 story was.

Even before that, tiny Malta was a byword for bravery across all of Europe. The Maltese stopped a massive Muslim invasion of Italy in 1565, with only 500 Knights and about 3000 untrained locals who somehow fended off 40, 000 Ottomans. That alone is an incredible story of unreal bravery and heroism.

It's wonderful to fall in love with a subject. I hope you find a few subjects you really love OP, and happy learning!

Woo-hoo, DL. I just went to One Day University's homepage and the first thing I saw was "Four Memorable Musicals that Changed Broadway", with a poster for Company.

Australian company Academy Travel has been doing online lectures and courses to keep their tour guides in work since the pandemic started. They're all academically qualified, and many are part-time academics when not travelling, so they know plenty about the history and culture of the places they speak of. Prices are from $AUD25 to about $200 (that's 20% less in USD), depending what you sign up for. There are also free podcasts called The Thinking Traveller. I'm a fan, not a shill.

I love One Day University! It chooses university professors that have won teaching awards so they are all so engaging.

The only thing is very America-centric. I would want some courses about the history of other countries.

R7, interesting info!

I used to hate school, because I felt like a lot of the stuff I was being taught wouldn't be useful to me in my life. I mean, when was I ever going to use algebra? But as I've grown older, I'd discovered myself becoming more and more curious and learning on my own. I read more for pleasure than I did back then.

The Open University in the UK has hundreds of free taster courses for people to try, and they are in a broad range of subjects.

I forgot- when I lived in London I often went to lunchtime talks at the National Gallery. It was terrific to hear experts discuss notable paintings in great detail, explaining the history and context of the times they were painted. I learned a huge amount.

Love art lectures!