Knowledge: a mind-expanding drug

by Nikki Logan

Being a writer can be at once mind-expanding and mind-limiting. Our imaginations get to run totally rampant (no idea too crazy!), but our real worlds can easily shrink if we don’t take care. They shrink to about the size of our writing spaces. Or maybe the path between our writing space, the kettle and the bathroom J

In an attempt to force my world back out, I’m undertaking a year-long marathon of ‘Something New Every Day’. I’ve signed up to a range of university lecture-series with GreatCourses and do one every day (and then I blog about some particularly interesting aspect over at my website simply because writing it down helps me lock it into my crowded brain).

I now have a new pile next to my TBR pile. I call it my TBL pile (to-be-learned) and here's a little glimpse:

BIG HISTORY - a fascinating big-picture view from the moment of the ‘big bang’ through 14billion years of the creation of space, suns, planets, earth and the (comparative) 5 minutes of mammals and the 12 seconds of human history. And then onwards to look ahead 1000 years and then to the eventual end of our planet. Just the most AWESOME course. And presented by an Aussie. Yay.

MEDIEVAL ENGLAND - the 1000year history of England spanning from the fifth-century to the fifteenth. A really fascinating time of endless wars and invasions and death and misery, but also the time when our language and legal system and social systems were founded.

GREAT WORLD RELIGIONS - crash courses in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Because I’ve always been interested in what these essential faiths have in common at their core and (particularly in light of BIG HISTORY) how they might have evolved from some common faith-based themes.

What else... *rummaging*

CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY - greeks, romans, Trojans, Spartans, gods, goddesses, mythical archetypes, how the myths were woven into contemporary societies…. Awesome! Looking forward to this one so much.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WORLD - Because I’ve heard so much about this as a book. Will get into some of the detail that BIG HISTORY had to gloss over.

Every course at GreatCourses goes on significant sale at some point each year so don't gasp at the regular prices. Just wait...it will come round on sale soon. I don't think I paid more than $60 for any one of the above. That makes my my year's worth of learning excellent value as well as easily managable.

The knowledge has already come in handy in two of my books, for background or interesting historical aspects to settings or character enriching.

And I'm loving expanding my mind externally as well as internally. When I'm done there'll be nothing I don't  know. Nothing! Bwahaahahaaa *maniacal laugh*

Go ahead...ask me anything :)