I posted this on the bad place a month ago, but I figured I should put an updated version here if this is my new home.
Someone asked me about my research process, so here it is.
It starts with books. I ask around, or google, for books and documentaries on the topic and just start from there.
Someone asked me about my research process, so here it is.
It starts with books. I ask around, or google, for books and documentaries on the topic and just start from there.
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Maybe I've learned everything I need about Captain Cook, so his book becomes unnecessary.
I track it all in that spreadsheet.
The most important ingredient for learning is time. It's why I'm against crash courses and kids skipping grades. Time with the material is key.
Want to memorize something? Write it down.
Dates are in green. Proper names are in blue. Anything I find elsewhere is red (if a source says May, and I look up that it's May 29, 29 is in red.)
It slows down my writing, adding time, and makes it easier to find stuff for the next part.
It reveals if a source got a date wrong, if they left out some key event that led to a decision, and generally helps me get "the full picture."
I can just look at this and know that green is Kuykendall, blue is Vowell, orange is a documentary, etc.
I publish the timeline to Patreon after the video comes out. I don't want you copying my homework to make a video before me. 😝
This isn't necessarily in chronological order, but I start talking to myself out loud and figure out which pieces fit together narratively.
If it doesn't make sense to talk about pineapples in the middle of an overthrow, I save it for later.