How do you learn about everything?

[JackP]

Thanks for yet more great replies,
  I have been watching the MIT online lectures, 6.002 I think. Some of them seem to make sense to me, mainly the basic logic and component parts, but things like circuit analysis escape me, potentially because in 2 years I have never heard anything about it. rx8pilot, I know what you mean. After spending months learning how to blink an LED with an Arduino and code, I realised that the same could be done with a simple 555. Maybe even that could be broken down further (I have heard about transistor oscillators). SL4P, as I'm sure is a common problem, I do not know anyone who can do that. While my uncle is a very clever man with some knowledge about EE, he is unable to visit often, and his field of expertise is in mechatronic design I suppose. My father is an avionics engineer, and he is able to help me with basic soldering, but he has very little knowledge of the basics, not having need of them.
Jack

[hamdi.tn]

How do you learn about everything? 
well two way ...
Hard way ,read and search and be curious about everything you see
Easy way ,be religious and take information from ppl who clams to know it all 

i don't think you need to learn about everything , you need to have an idea about most of things but you only need to learn about something and be good at it.

[Stupid Beard]

I have been watching the MIT online lectures, 6.002 I think. Some of them seem to make sense to me, mainly the basic logic and component parts, but things like circuit analysis escape me, potentially because in 2 years I have never heard anything about it.

Regarding circuit analysis, it's mostly just relatively simple math. The thing that makes it sound complicated is all the explanations of how it's derived, which you don't really need to care about in order to use it. If math is kicking you in the nuts then go have a look at the Khan Academy; his videos will almost certainly help you immensely.

[JackP]

Sorry, I should have called the title 'how to learn to learn about everything' if that makes sense. And I'm OK with the math, its just the actual information gets lost in the explanation, as you said.
Jack

[Lukas]

The HP Journal archive is a great source of knowledge. Some content is still relevant after more than 15 years, some is obsolete (Stuff like CRTs drives and  most software-related) http://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/pdfs/IssuePDFs/hpjindex.html

[tautech]

Sorry, I should have called the title 'how to learn to learn about everything' if that makes sense. And I'm OK with the math, its just the actual information gets lost in the explanation, as you said.
Jack

Theres a zillion Electronic text books "out there" and each lecturer will have a different opinion of each.
You need a few.
Don't be  to get some "For Dummies" books, often a simple explanation opens more doors. 
Build a physical library AND a bookmarked library AND a "saved" library.
Multiple monitors on your PC can be very usefull.
Download stuff, get a few USB sticks or a portable drive.
Categorize stuff for reference later
Read, study, surf, get more internet bandwidth, talk to teaching staff, build stuff, get some gear......which comes first?....whatever you need at the time.

And as Tim has mentioned in the next post Maths, Maths and more maths.

Your ability to use a search engine well will help progress.

But break it all down to the many "building blocks" as has been mentioned earlier.
Dave's Wiki has some good stuff: http://www.eevblog.com/wiki/

Concentrate on 1 build project, talk to the uncle, he will have great interest in his nephew's progress. 
The "base" knowledge is the key for bigger things.
Document your projects with circuit descriptions, describing "in detail" the circuit's function, block by block. This is of IMMENSE help in understanding AND a demonstration of your knowledge.
Wording and terminology is crucial here if you wish to be in the industry long term.
Hunt out an old Tek service manual to see how this is done.

[T3sl4co1l]

I learn about EVERYTHING because I'm curious and (usually) read about everything.  I've also *done* a number of things, which is extremely important for reinforcing that knowledge.

Examples from my past:
Metalworking.  Why?  Building stuff.  Ok, so you use metal and stuff for that.  Cut it, drill it, screw it together.  Bend it to shape.  Want more?  Braze it, weld it.  Cast it.

Casting?  Foundry.  Metal melting.  Oh, but then you need to think about alloys, because not everything is good for that.  Metallurgy.  Microstructure.  Chemistry of metals.  Corrosion resistance.

Lots of fascinating stuff just there.

Oh, but chemistry.  Everything is made of chemicals.  How the heck does that work?  Inorganic chemistry, the study of "everything else": metals, salts, rocks.  The Earth's crust is made of rocks.  The oceans are made of water (and some salts, and some other things).  Metals corrode to inorganic salts under the influence of air, water, and usually some salts.  Batteries corrode metals intentionally to produce electricity.  Electrolytic cells can create interesting chemicals, like strong reducing and oxidizing agents.  Things that are used in pyrotechnics.  Pyrotechnics create interesting colors and patterns using metals and salts.  Organic chemistry is primarily the reactions of carbon with itself, hydrogen, oxygen and a few others, rarely bringing in the rest of the periodic table.  Just from those atoms, it's incredibly rich (which, however, I didn't get much into, but there are some fantastic amateur organic chemists out there).

And electronics.  Practically everything we do, every day, involves high technology on some level.  What's inside that silicon chip?  Chemicals.  Fabrication is intensive with chemical engineering and physics.  Cool stuff.

Of these, obviously, I've stuck with electronics the most, but all these are intimately connected; life is inherently multidisciplinary.  Investigate something deeply enough and you will always find something different or new down there, and probably connected with many other things.

Oh, needless to say: math underpins much of this.  Not necessarily actively, but my knowledge of calculus and complex analysis comes in handy for understanding and connecting many of these things.  Signals, systems, functions, they all belong together.

Tim

[Dave Turner]

Without trying to sound trite the true answer to the question " How do you learn about everything?" is to  live forever whilst learning continuously.

If you recognize that practically you can't know it all then you can try to direct your research towards those areas that you are interested in.

[SL4P]

There is another way to burn your fingers....
While they are getting scarce - try some of the project/kits in Silicon Chip or other rags.
There is a community and the authors are often available for questions.

Also - you mention Arduino - there are a huge variety of modest projects you can play with that interface to the real world (motors, sensors, displays) - where you can learn and test the boundaries of clipping, fail-safe, feedback, limits etc.

While you're learning - keep your projects fused - under 48V or 20W, whichever comes first! - except for audio projects (more power!)...  you can do a lot. before you burn the house down.

[Galenbo]

The OSI model is little more than an academic tool that lecturers use so they don't have to change their syllabi and exams every year to keep up with technology.

I learned it formally at university 30 years ago and to be honest my life would have been better without it ever existing, it added no value to my understanding, and if anything it confused things later on. Being aware of it, is worthwhile, yes, but learning it parrot fashion like I had to do to pass my exams, no use whatsoever...

For me, it helped a lot. I was programming PLC's and everything that was "network" just clicked in and it "worked", except when it didn't.
During my studies in electronics and electromechanics it was never mentioned, so early in my career the only thing I could do is checking some voltages and mass connections.

The model shows the big gap between the one-and-zeroes voltages (that everybody understands) and the variables that are shared after clicking the right box (that everybody knows how to do)

I remember a new guy mentioning that he could connect an industrial camera to the network, together with a drive and a PLC, and a PC to do some logging and error reporting. An old collegue told him to do attention when exceptions occur, but he was cock-sure about his fast "solution" The manager was too stupid and avoiding to ask a question.

So I did. Who in the network is the master, who is the slave, and when. What unit is the server, what's the slave. Who will look for network errors, and what will he do with it?


 

[JackP]

I do like kits of that style, they allow me to practise and improve my soldering, as well as learning new concepts. I am also trying to move away from Arduino, as I did no work of my own and just copied someone else in the projects I would make. I also didn't understand the basics (well, don't) so I wasn't learning electronics, it was just a gateway IMHO. To be fair, it does allow an easy way to understand C fundamentals, as well as controlling external peripherals like you said.

[Electric flower]

I did one mistake in my learning curve, i rushed way to soon with experiments and building stuff without good theory, i knew how transistors, oscilators, amplifiers... and i thought i knew enough theory for real world because i was disappointed with stuff i got at school, even books there are crap.
I did learn quite a lot by taking stuff apart and checking datasheet to see parts and some other stuff, but i was lacking good quality theory background to go even further with my knowledge and experience. Now i'm reading some really good books and i wish i did it earlier.

If you speak Croatian, Serbian or Bosnian language PM me, i know some really good books.

Both theory and taking stuff apart is important, but don't let one of these things overthrow the other one.

Just my advice, don't take my reply strictly as a guide.

Edit:
I prefer electronics as a hobby from time when there was no programming, i hate programming. I do something but i don't know what i am actually doing. However programming is very usefull, i wouldn't be able to send this message if it wasn't for programming.
I dislike kits because you miss few big steps of actually designing circuit and making layout board, you can practice soldering even on scrap boards or DIY stuff on variboards. Its like if someone got drunk both you and some girl and in 9 months you got a child but you don't know how you made it or even if you enjoyed it.
If you stick to electronics, get an scope. One of my mistakes is spending to much time on looking for one.
 

[tggzzz]

I did one mistake in my learning curve, i rushed way to soon with experiments and building stuff without good theory, i...

Both theory and taking stuff apart is important, but don't let one of these things overthrow the other one.

Exactly.

Sometimes that important balance is missing in posts in ths forum.

[jlmoon]

From a now somewhat famous quotation: "Don't turn it on, take it apart!" 
That is how you can learn a lot about things in general, along with reading, more reading (ie. device datasheets, specifications.. etc.).
Another way to learn about everything is if something prompts a thought and you can not understand it in detail, ask questions.  There is a wealth of talent on this forum.
Best of luck to all of your endeavors!

JM
 

[JackP]

Thanks again you guys, very helpful to me. Unfortunately I only speak English and a little French. I do have another side question though: how did you choose (or be chosen by) your specific discipline. I know this can change with time, but can anyone enlighten me on the factors  that went into your decision. For example, I quite enjoy programming, coming from a web design background, but have found it tough to change from languages such as HTML, PHP and Javascript to C. Therefore, I am unsure if this is the direction I want to go in, embedded microcontroller development.
 
  I want to start repairing gear, to help me understand how it works (as well as having some working gear to use later on) but it is difficult for me at my age to purchase such equipment; not just fund restrictions, but the logistics in which I buy this stuff. So again, not sure if I should focus on the repair aspect.

  I enjoy working with logic and basic analogue circuitry, making simple systems, oscillators etc. However, I'm not sure where I can go with this and if it is a valid option to spend most of my time on. Do you all focus on a few specific sections of EE, or is it necessary to be good at everything, master of nothing? Thanks again for your time,
Jack
 

[IanB]

...it is difficult for me at my age...

Can you tell us more about your age and situation? I get the impression you are in the UK? And still at school?

Can you tell us what year you are in, and whether you are thinking about college or university? Do you need help choosing what to study?

Knowing some of these things will make it easier to provide helpful advice.

[MFX]

I've been learning for over 30 years and am still learning, and will never stop learning. Build stuff that is useful/of interest to you, it will have more meaning to you then. Don't be too ambitious, your next project should draw on previous experience and also build on it. Don't be afraid to take risks (except maybe with mains electricity BTDT) Always order spares because you WILL blow parts you then learn by figuring out why those parts blew and how to prevent it next time. Don't be afraid to ask, no question is to stupid (except maybe what is an Aardvarks favourite colour). Just be grateful that it's a lot quicker and easier to learn these days, back when I started I had no one to ask, I had to wait a month for the next electronics magazines to come out and/or spend ages searching through back issues or visit the library, now I just Google it or ask in a forum. With regards to your camera project, don't run before you can walk, break it down into smaller manageable chunks. maybe learn to drive the OLED first and play about with that for a bit until you are comfortable with it, then play about with SPI/I2C and combine that with your display (e.g. display the temperature from an I2C temp sensor on your OLED) and gradually work upwards. Yes it's frustrating not to be able to build your masterplan project in a week but that's just life like anything else e.g. learning a language or a musical instrument, learn the basics first and then build on them.

[MFX]

... Arduinos are a double edged sword, they are great at simplifying thing for beginners but that simplification is achieved by hiding away a lot of stuff you really need to know if you want to progress. For example the LCD library allows you to configure and write to an LCD in just a few lines of code but your aim should be to understand exactly what that library is doing to set up the display and send data to it to display your text. There's nothing wrong with libraries as such but you should have a good understanding of what they are actually doing "under the hood" (in an ideal world you would write your own library rather than rely on someone else's but that's not always practical). Many of us "oldies" had no option when we started out but to program chips in pure assembly language so we have a good grounding of what makes the chip tick, people starting out on Arduinos have none of that understanding and it is essential if you want to progress beyond simple projects. Note I'm not saying it's necessarily essential to learn assembly language but it is essential to understand the architecture of the chip and how all the registers/ports function at a fairly low level. One particularity key thing to get your head around with microcontollers (Arduinos etc.) is interrupts, something that the novice Arduino user is very well shielded from but is essential to understand when you find your sketch (program) isn't working quite how you expected it to.

[MFX]

Thanks again you guys, very helpful to me. Unfortunately I only speak English and a little French. I do have another side question though: how did you choose (or be chosen by) your specific discipline. I know this can change with time, but can anyone enlighten me on the factors  that went into your decision. For example, I quite enjoy programming, coming from a web design background, but have found it tough to change from languages such as HTML, PHP and Javascript to C. Therefore, I am unsure if this is the direction I want to go in, embedded microcontroller development.
 
  I want to start repairing gear, to help me understand how it works (as well as having some working gear to use later on) but it is difficult for me at my age to purchase such equipment; not just fund restrictions, but the logistics in which I buy this stuff. So again, not sure if I should focus on the repair aspect.

  I enjoy working with logic and basic analogue circuitry, making simple systems, oscillators etc. However, I'm not sure where I can go with this and if it is a valid option to spend most of my time on. Do you all focus on a few specific sections of EE, or is it necessary to be good at everything, master of nothing? Thanks again for your time,
Jack
 

Repairing equipment is a bit like solving a puzzle and can often be done with basic equipment, most of my repair work only needs a multimeter but there are times where more advanced test equipment is needed. It requires logical thought and common sense, at a basic level if you had a TV with a picture but no sound you would concentrate on the audio section, that example is obvious but the same principle applies to equipment where it's not so obvious e.g if a fuse has blown or resistor has overheated then the fault is most likely (but not always) somewhere after the blown part. Repair work will throw you curve balls, that's what makes it fun and interesting.

There is a spectrum of expertise, I would consider myself to know a little bit about a lot of things, some are expert in a narrow field, some are lucky enough to be expert in a wider field you have to consider if you want this to be a hobby or a career, for me it was a hobby and is now a reasonably profitable sideline but not a career (although my day job does involve electronics repair) I'd say keep at it as a hobby and see where it takes you.