The Teaching Company

Remember sleeping through lectures in college?

OK, I didn't ever do that (cutting class, though - different story).\. Regardless, The Teaching Company found a way to learn about something new and ensure you get a quality experience. They travel the country visiting the top colleges and universities in the country, auditing the most popular, talked-about classes, reviewing professors, and then making those lectures available on CD or DVD.

I've been doing a lot of driving lately (over the past 4 months I've driven at least 5,000 miles) and finding some way to stay entertained on those long road trips can be tricky...but not with The Teaching Company. I've tried four courses so far (borrowed from friends), and each had something valuable to offer (even if it wasn't intentional).

The first was about Game Theory and Decision Making. I'd briefly studied some game theory in college statistics, and thought I'd appreciate the subject as it comes to decision making in my new role as a manager. However, I'd forgotten to take into account that appreciating a board full of equations and decision trees is impossible when you only have the audio version. After about 6 or 7 lessons I found myself getting lost quickly...and soon gave up.

The second was about how to appreciate the world's great music. I figured this would be great: it's well reviewed by other people who've listened to it, and I sure won't have the problem of needing to see the chalkboard this time. However, I was soon reminded that I simply don't care enough about the subtle differences of fugue among the great French composers. It got to be a little too much detail on a subject I just couldn't force myself to want that much detail on.

My next was Argumentation. The lecturer points out right away: THIS IS NOT ABOUT HOW TO WIN AN ARGUMENT. I was a little disappointed (haha), but rode through it, and I'm glad I have. It gets a bit detailed, but lecturer immediately backs off and explains terms when he gets too mired in detail, and it's been interesting to apply the technical framework of argumentation to the daily pitches I get on the phone, in email and in the story meeting. I've also been listening to it on the way in to work, and it's helped get me focused and thinking while I'm on my way in. I'm almost done too: I'm on lecture 19 of 24.

My favorite, without a doubt, has to be Understanding Linguistics: The Science of Language by John McWhorter! Every couple of days I'd come away from one of his lecture with some new fact about how linguistics work, or why it's easier for children to learn language than adults, or whether there's languages that use sounds we don't make in ours (btw, yes...check out Kabardian...they have 48 consonants and only two vowels, and it's one of the most complex things ever!) This guy somehow found a way to make an imposing and obscure field seem so clear and logical, and especially entertaining. He's another one of those scary smart people in the world that have a gift for being able to share their knowledge in a way that not only makes you smarter, but also makes you feel smart during the process. All 36 lessons just flew by (yes...18 hours).

I'm now on The Evolution of the English Language, but it appears McWhorter has another course posted...who'd have figured I'd end up caring so much about Linguistics??

If you get the chance, try finding one of these CDs and giving it a whirl...you could find something fascinating out there in the world that you never knew was waiting there all along.