Three observations on textbooks: 
  1. Sometimes people at work give me a math-related textbook and say, "Here, read this."  In my head, I laugh at them.  I don't read textbooks.  I've never read a textbook.  I'm one class away from a graduate degree in mechanical engineering, and I can say with certainty that textbooks weren't meant to be read.  They're written as a reference, as a how-to.  No human being should ever sit down and read through a textbook.  That's insane.
  2. Sometimes people at work give me a math-related textbook and say, "Here, learn from this."  I usually say, "Ok, sure.  I'll give it a shot."  That's when I'm reminded how impossible it is to learn from a textbook when you don't already know the subject.  If you gave me a physics or calculus book, I could leaf through it and understand what's going on.  That's because I know physics and calculus.  But if you gave me a textbook called "Digital Signal Processing", you might as well be giving me an Arabic dictionary.
  3. In college, I sold all my textbooks online after the semester ended.  This was the best decision I ever made.  I work at a place where most people have all their college textbooks lined up on shelves at their desk, collecting dust and making moving inconvenient or impossible.  These textbooks are often relevant in my line of work, but they're still not all that useful.  So while I was making money selling my stuff in college, these dopes were hording thick, heavy, depreciating pieces of junk.  I finally won at something.
#entertainment