learning by meandering

the foot bone's connected to the leg bone...the leg bone's connected to the knee bone...

but the knee bone is also connected to ligaments and tendons, and tendons to muscles. speaking of muscles,  what makes them cramp? burn? get bigger/faster/stronger? how long do you really need to rest between sets? training days? does foam rolling really work?

how did i get here again? oh right, the foot bone...

this is how i learn these days. i wonder if my brain has been morphed by the hyper-linked format of information delivery of the present, or if it was always this way and i just forced it into a paper-text-book-shaped hole in my college days. i think it's the latter: i recall working on a project one summer to create an animated, electronic text-book, replete with links. a choose your own adventure approach to learning, if you will.

it's a bit like going for a drive with no destination in mind, just wanting to visit all the side streets along the way. it's easy to get lost, or forget how you got where you are. breadcrumbs help. or notes. or a map. it's easy to follow a trail too far, without synthesizing all you've come across. good to zoom out on that google map once in a while and make sure you're at least heading in the "right" direction.

The spark that started this fire of learning was signing up to take the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Beer Judging (i.e. Tasting) Exam in December. And before then, I must take the on-line Beer Judge Entrance Exam, which requires me to know the brewing process and the various beer styles in detail. There really still isn't anything like a test to motivate you to learn, as I've been "meaning" to learn more about these topics since I began working at a brewery in November. Yeah, I've made some progress. But now there is a date, a deadline, a goal...so progress is more rapid.

This week I am attempting to "focus" on Mashing. It's related to Malting and body / mouth-feel perception, foam/head retention, water chemistry, etc. So while I will take some detours here & there, I am trying to stay on the path that leads to a greater understanding of Mashing. Huzzah.