What skills have you learned through reading?

When I want to learn how to do something, I read a book about it. And then I read more books about it, and then more. In this way, I've learned to do a number of things.

I learned how to ride a motorcycle by reading a book. I never spoke to a single human being about motorcycles. I read a book, rented a bike on three successive weekends and tooled around the Shea Stadium parking lot, trying stuff they talked about in the book. When I could do it all, I scheduled my test and got my motorcycle license.

Then I bought a bike and read the manual. I never in my life spoke to another human being about motorcycle maintenance, but my bike was always in perfect condition because I learned how to take care of it by reading the manual. (I also have a good work ethic and did everything the manual suggested.)

There was a time in my human rights work when I became aggravated by the mistakes that always appeared in our published works. Someone on the production end muffed it every single time, often killing the very point of the publication. So I bought books on desktop publishing and the elements of good page design. I read them all, practiced each lesson they taught me, and was able to create four good-looking newsletters, tons of flyers and reports (and many funny things for my friends). I learned it all from reading. (Same with software. I'm the guy who actually read the manuals. You may have heard of me.)

Enough from my end. What skills have you learned from a book?

Hands and minds

There's an article today on Science Daily about the value of hand gestures. I knew about this already but it's good to see more work being done on the topic. Gesturing with our hands helps us to think and learn.

This is something we all should be familiar with, and it's a useful bit of information to pass on to others. When you speak with an older person who is having memory difficulties, encourage them to use their hands as they speak. It will help them connect with the words and ideas they're searching for. I've done this with my mother and it works. According to the article (which you can read by clicking on Science Daily, here or above), it also should work for kids who are trying to learn new things. (It will work for anyone, of course, not just old people and kids. They're just focusing on learning environments in this article.) So spread the word. Tell people about this.

While I'm at it, here's another useful nugget of information. If someone has a stroke in your presence, tell them first what you're going to do (so they don't freak out) and then gently touch their lips, their face and their fingers. Stroke them ever so lightly and keep doing this, moving from area to area (fingers, lips, face). You may prevent brain damage with this simple act so it's a great thing to do while you're waiting for the ambulance.

Here's a link to the study. Couldn't hurt, right? And it might really help. I'm certainly going to do it if someone has a stroke in my vicinity.