What it Means to be an Autodidact

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If you’re a multipotentialite with learning as your hobby (like yours truly), there’s a high chance you’re also an autodidact unless you’re a multimillionaire who can afford to spend your fortune to hire teachers in every subjects or skill you want to learn.

According to the dictionary, an autodidact (also known as a self-taught or a self-educated person) learn without the guidance of teachers. They choose the subjects or the skills they want to learn, assemble their own resources, establish their own pace, and determine the depth of their learning.

In this time period where we’re blessed with Google, Wikipedia (although they may not be accurate most of the time), YouTube, and many platforms providing limitless information, it spurred an ongoing debate. Can we still refer to ourselves as autodidacts or self-taught people if say we learn drawing from watching video tutorials on YouTube?

The short answer is yes.

But we’re learning from books, videos, audios, and whatever forms of materials that are derived from someone else who may or may not be experts in the subject, how is that self-taught?

Okay, when you’re in the classroom with a teacher, do you just sit there listening to the teacher without any visual aids? No books? No additional reading materials or handouts? No demonstration?

Get it? You use all those resources to learn despite having a teacher to guide you! Being an autodidact means you’re now playing the role of a teacher as well. There’s more to it. There are some key features to identify an autodidact.

The Key Features of an Autodidact

1. You’re Curious

When you take on a liking to certain topics, you just have the urge to learn everything about it. You started going rampage on finding for resources online, seeking out people who have similar interests and you can talk about it excitedly around the clock.

2. You’re Self-Initiated

You seek out available resources to learn without depending on others. If there are no pre-existing resources available, you find alternatives or launch your own experimentations. If you can afford, you’re willing to pay to acquire that knowledge and resources that you could use.

3. You’re Open-Minded

If you look hard enough, most bodies of knowledge are interconnected. If you’re only learning whatever it is you’re learning and not look beyond that particular subject, you’re limiting yourself and will ultimately hit a dead end. You need to have an open mind in order to unlearn and relearn so you can connect the dots.

4. You Personalize Your Learning

You watch TedTalks, documentaries, attend seminars, local workshops, and online classes (Coursera or EdX). You sketchnote, write journals, blogs about it, and participate in online forum discussion.

5. You Enjoy Learning

Being an auto-didact obviously means you’re in love with learning. You don’t need a teacher or a guru to push you to learn, you just enjoy learning so much that it becomes like a life mission to gain that knowledge and obtain that skills.

You Can Become an Autodidact!

Anyone can easily watch YouTube videos or look for information online to learn how to bake or cook, how to use Illustrator, how to fix a leaky pipe, etc. These are all examples of autodidacts. Therefore, you’ve probably engaged in autodidacticism without knowing it. Becoming an autodidact can be beneficial to anyone. It’s a great habit to acquire as you’ll become more self-reliant and knowledgeable in many areas. Pick a hobby, a skill, or a craft that you have an interest in and try to learn it on your own.