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One thing to remember: documentary producers and directors have a point of view. Most documentary films are not "Truth" with a capital T. They are not the result of peer-reviewed academic research. Some are quite misleading -- on purpose.
Quote:
Originally Posted by reneeh63
Good thing that lots of folks are critical thinkers and can do deeper research on their own!
Some documentaries are simply sales pitches of sorts. Sometimes it is obvious, as Sigourney Weaver takes us through all the things that are going to happen in the future, and sometimes maybe not so obvious.
It's hard to fake Roman history and the birth of The Dark Ages. Faking and tilting the history of Africa is a little easier since most of us do not know one thing about it.
The thing that really helps is to compare one source to another, and that's easily done with Roman history and WW I history. African exploration is also easy to compare; African civilizations are not.
Thanks for your comments.
I love learning. I used to sit and read the World Book in high school. When I was about 35 years old, I moved to a college town and that's the ideal place for people like us. I audited classes (got to take all those classes you don't take in college because they won't help you get a job--archaeology, Eskimo art, graduate courses in art history, etc.)
Now I'm retired and where I live there's just about nothing. The senior center is a dumbed down sort of place where they play bingo and that's about it. Book clubs aren't too good. There's a community college nearby where maybe I could take a refresher course in something I studied 50 years ago--I've forgotten a lot of what I used to know. I've just become a member of a local museum so maybe I can refresh my art history knowledge and meet some like minded people.
I have a bunch, and there seem to be two kinds, I have video on cooking and photography, and recordings on things like anatomy. The recording is exactly like a college course, it is detailed and a little dry, the cooking course I found a little to "entry"...... Apparently I'm Goldilocks.
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I love to say I learn something new every day. And since a very frequent listener to NPR I learn so much I would never learn from watching the boob tube.,
As with Mikala, I also have quite a few; all purchased since I retired. Most often, I download them to my iPad and watch them at the gym when I'm on the cycle machine or the treadmill. Some of the courses I've found to be utterly fascinating, such as "Understanding Greek and Roman Technology: From Catapult to the Pantheon". The author has a followup course named, "Understanding the World's Greatest Structures: Science and Innovation from Antiquity to Modernity". I'm currently making my way through that course.
Also like Mikala, I have three of the photography courses. I found them to be very basic. Since I took several photography classes in college, I've found that I already know the material. However, it is always good to get a refresher from time to time.
A couple of "hints" if you are interested in purchasing a course:
1.) Check your library first. The library in my old town, (before I retired and moved), has a large collection of courses available for checkout. They were audio only, not video, so caveat emptor, (I'm also making my way through the Latin course).
2.) NEVER pay full price. They run specials all year long. Some good, some not so good. If there is a course you really want, just wait awhile and it will go on sale sometime during the year.
3.) The quality of a course is directly proportional to the presentation skills of the presenter. I found a few courses on a subject that interest me where the presenter have horrible presentation skills and it is difficult to get through the course. On the web site, read the user reviews of a course you are interested in purchasing. Read both the positive and negative reviews. Notice where the course falls on the "five star" rating system. Any course with more than four stars is probably a good one. Less than two, don't bother.
4.) The courses are addicting! It is so easy to succumb to the constant barrage of advertising from the company. Both via snail mail and e-mail. If you find you really like the courses, consider a subscription to Great Courses Plus. Kinda spendy, but they always include a half-price coupon in a box of delivered courses you have ordered. I have not myself purchased the subscription, but am seriously considering doing so.
5.) If you have a Roku, it includes a Great Courses channel where you can view your purchased courses on your television. The only reason I order the DVD version is that it comes with a printed guidebook/textbook. If finances are tight, the download version include a PDF version of the book. Personally, I much prefer paper and ink than electrons on a screen. (Roku also includes a Great Courses Plus channel, but not having a subscription, I cannot comment on it other than to say it exists.)
5a.) Within several short minutes after purchasing a course through the web site, you can start viewing it on your Roku. Slick system. Figure a week to two for an ordered delivery, especially during one of their "no shipping cost" specials.
I like learning. I always have. I'm not much of a sports fan, although I do like baseball. The rest of it is just - as I say - guys talking smack.
Retirement has brought new opportunity for me. I read, I watch documentaries, and I attend some lectures.
Since retirement I have studied WW I; The Mongol invasion; Roman History, The Dark Ages, and African civilization and exploration. I have built my own computer (using it now) since I retired.
In my working life I was an Electronic Technician, a glider pilot, an auto mechanic (fully certified), an award winning salesman, A licensed home builder, a licensed home inspector and a Class A (18 wheeler) truck driver.
I was a terrible student in high school but after school I would read The World Book Encyclopaedia to pass the time. Never went to college.
The biggest problem I have being retired is finding people like me. The banal gossip that passes for conversation around here and in my family just does not interest me, although I do tolerate it silently. My new best friend is Curiosity Stream.com
This sound familiar to anyone out there? Are there other retirees who are experiencing this?
I too enjoy learning and my intention is to be a lifelong learner.
I signed up for the Great Courses Plus through Amazon last year on the annual plan. Gives you access to all of the courses. Very diverse selection and new courses are added periodically. There are courses ranging from Astrophysics and Calculus to Knitting and Baking.
So far I've really only watched the courses related to things I have some degree of proficiency with and I'm looking to get back into now that I'm retired and have time, i.e. playing the guitar again.
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