The true University of these days is a Collection of Books.

— Thomas Carlyle

CREATIVITY

WHAT THIS MEANS

A serious education can be assembled out of books by anyone with the patience for it. Not scattered reading, but a course: the difficult foundational works of a subject, taken in order, at a pace that allows you to argue with them. No institution is required and no permission, only the willingness to keep at something for a year.

Pick one subject you have always meant to understand properly and build the reading list this weekend. Six books, in sequence, starting with the hardest one you can actually follow. An hour most mornings will take you further in a year than most people expect, and nobody will ever ask to see a certificate.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

What could you teach yourself this year without enrolling anywhere?

MORE IN LEARNING & CURIOSITY

Free, with nothing to buy inside it.