Common Sense Observations

Learning Things on YouTube

If you’ve never visited YouTube (http://www.youtube.com), or if you’ve just casually stopped by and clicked on a couple of the items on the first page, you might be missing one of its greatest values.

 

YouTube is a site where anyone can post any video – so long as it does not violate the rules of YouTube, which are quite liberal. People post everything imaginable on YouTube. There are videos of birthday parties, dogs and cats doing tricks, car wrecks, stupid stunts, and anything else you can think of. Most of it is, in my opinion, not worth the bandwidth.

 

But YouTube also offers an extensive library of very helpful and/or educational videos. Some are done by amateurs, others by professionals. The list of topics covered is endless.

 

If you like to cook, YouTube is rich with videos on how to make different things. Everything from grandma’s biscuits to fast beef stew and grilled cheese sandwiches are on line to watch. You can also learn how to use your Cuisinart or Dutch oven.

 

Wanna learn about economics? Try visiting Americanpublicmedia and watching a video on hedge funds or mortgages. Paddy Hirsch does a great job of making complicated things easy to understand.

 

Do-it-yourselfers will find anything they could want to know on YouTube. How to change light switches, build walls and install air conditioning are all there – and too many more to list here – or anywhere.

 

There are also videos covering things like: how to play the guitar, and numerous other instruments; how to invest; how to do your hair and makeup; how to solve your Rubik’s Cube; how to use your video camera; everything conceivable about computers and video game playing – and the list goes on and on. 

The next time you’d like to learn by watching, you might check out YouTube. Just search for your topic and then find the videos that best suite your interest.