What is an Autodidact?
In today’s world, you are expected in University, in the workplace, when taking care of a child, to self-teach. To self-teach is to be an autodidact.
An autodidact is someone who is self-educated without the guidance of an institution or a teacher. These individuals choose the subject they will study, their studying material, and the studying rhythm and time. They may or may not have formal education to complement their learning, and their study may be an alternative to formal education.
Therefore, you must have a huge appetite to read.
This is different from self-learning, which is a process that involves:
- taking an initiative — with or without the assistance of others, and
- generating learning needs, learnings goals, determine human and material resources needed, and desired learning outcomes.
The major difference between being an autodidact and a self-learner is people. Autodidacts tend to learn without the help of others.
What is the value of becoming an autodidact?
The values of being an autodidact are:
- It allows you to be self-cultured,
- It has a low cost of entry,
- It allows you to learn at your own pace,
- It develops self-discipline,
- It provides resilience against change,
- Allows you to find and work in un-discovered gaps of knowledge,
- Allows you to expand beyond your raised social condition and actively decide what information to learn, and
- Develops skills to be able to examine any subject and be able to overcome the barriers that are presented.
These are all skills that I dream about having. Yet I am aware I do not have strong self-discipline and an undeniable resilience against changes in society or industry. These are valuable aspects of being an autodidact, but it is your choice to become one. Your blood does not determine if you are an autodidact, it is your willpower.
However, there are important barriers that should be discussed regarding becoming an autodidact.
What are the barriers to becoming an autodidact?
The barriers to becoming an autodidact are:
- That there is no standardized methodology to asset your knowledge on a subject (such as grades),
- It involves more work than formal learning. By:
- having to figure out what to learn, finding the information to satisfy your goal, and learning it.
- missing key concepts on a subject matter and spending time reading unimportant resources to accomplish your goal,
- Requires a high level of discipline and motivation to learn,
- Requires strong digital literacy skills,
- Be able to find human resources, to gain a deeper knowledge on a subject.
Should you become one?
It depends on your desires, and actions to execute your desires.
If you say yes to each of the above points, then you should:
- Create a plan and follow through with it
- Be fully independent in your learning process
- Overcome challenges to accomplish your goal
- Be able to obtain information that you want by using the internet
Otherwise, you should not become an autodidact.
Conclusion
Personally, I know that I am not an autodidact and would not enjoy being one. I value learning in a structured environment, sharing my thoughts and creative ideas with my peers, solve problems with a group, and accomplishing attainable tasks.
Let me know in the comments below, what your thoughts on autodidacticism.
Resources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autodidacticism
- https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-taught
- http://www.artofwondering.com/2018/06/26/benefits-of-being-an-autodidact/#:~:text=Self%2Dculture%20%E2%80%93%20Another%20benefit%20of,Control%20your%20life
- https://www.fractuslearning.com/benefits-of-being-self-taught/
- https://www.quora.com/Why-is-self-learning-so-difficult-for-many-of-us
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263587669_e-Learning_and_undereducated_learners_barriers_and_opportunities
- https://simpleprogrammer.com/formal-education-vs-self-taught-learning-which-is-best/
