Dear LPG,

I found the article you posted on the 9^th of January entitled ‘Learning how to learn at our age?’ quite interesting but I think that I may have something to add that helped me and I hope will help some other readers.  Using KN’s information from that article post I have worked out that I learn best by reading.  I have always written notes and used them to learn anything new.

 Since I retired I have started to learn how to use a computer.  Being the reader that I am, my way of making sure that I get it right when the teacher is not around is to write everything down  so that I have a full list of instructions to follow when I practice on my own at home.  There are two main problems with working this way though.  The problem with this is that the list of instructions can take ages to work through at times and I also found that following my notes to the letter would work perfectly sometimes but on other occasions when I was trying to do exactly the same task, and achieve exactly the same result, there would be a new variable thrown into the mix that my notes did not cover.   If I was on my own that would really throw me and leave me with the frustration that I know so many of my fellow newly-converted computer learners feel.

I understand why some people just give up altogether, but someone told me something that I have taken on board lately and which has really helped.  She told me,  “notes help but it is important to remember that different computers and apps (programmes)  react in different ways ”

It makes sense to me now.  What she was trying to say is that our home computers, tablets and phones are just like any other domestic appliance that we have at home inasmuch as they all have quirks of their own.   Do you remember when you last had a new microwave or TV?  They all allow us to do the same things but the controls are often different from those on the old one we had before. 

So, with computers, while notes are helpful it is important to be aware of what the screen is telling you.  It is sometimes necessary to outthink the computer as it were.   It all sounds really technical and undoable but think of it this way.

You don’t make notes to work out how to communicate with a friend and we don’t say or do exactly the same things to get the answer to questions we need to ask them.  If you drive, you know exactly what to do to i.e. turn left but, every time we approach that same corner, the way we turn depends on the position of the other cars approaching it, how busy the road is at the time, what the weather is like and if there is a pedestrian trying to cross.  I hope that you understand what I mean.

So I have concluded that while my notes are a really necessary guide I am working on instinct as well.   If you are on the point of giving up with your computer don’t!  All you have to do is show it who is boss.

 OG,  Greenwhich