Learn By Doing

Juggling machetes blindfolded on a tall unicycle

Long ago, I read a little humor bit in what was almost certainly The Saturday Evening Post. (Might have been Collier's.) Had to have been in the late-sixties, because they stopped publishing the Post for a while before they brought it back as a quarterly and in other odd incarnations a few years later.

Um. Anyway, how I remember the poetry:

"Put down that physical culture magazine, Junior, and go mow the lawn!

Those bulging muscles that you vouch/ you want won't harden on the couch ..."

As an autodidact, I'm big on learning stuff myself. Before the internet, I spent many quality hours in many libraries teaching myself this 'n' that, but -- some things you can't learn from a book. Like how to swim -- you either get wet or it's complete theory.

So, in regard to assorted discussions we've have here lately on writing, martial arts, and music, my offering for the room:

When it comes to writing, riding a bike, or learning how to play a guitar, it's hands-on. You can continue to augment the doing with research and training, but in the end, if you want to write, it comes down to ass-in-chair. Same with most things that require a physical component -- reading about balance on a bike is not the same as balancing on a bike. The backstroke doesn't work as well on the living room floor as it must in the pool; if you expect to block a real punch, best you block a few practice punches.

Or, as the genius at Weiden & Kennedy advertising put it for Nike, Just Do It.