Propaganda I'm Not Falling For: Buying a Course to Learn Things That Can Be Researched
<p>Welcome back to my ongoing series on the "propaganda" I’m just not buying. Today’s topic hits close to home for anyone navigating the digital world: the pressure to buy an online course to learn a skill that can be easily researched for free.</p><p><br/></p><p>This form of propaganda works by preying on our desire for quick fixes and our fear of missing out. The message is often presented with flashy graphics and promises of a "secret formula" or a "proven system" that will fast-track your success. Marketers tell you that you'll save time, avoid mistakes, and gain an edge by investing in their curated knowledge. They make the free, self-taught path seem disorganized, slow, and ultimately, less effective. This creates the illusion that the only way to succeed is to pay for a shortcut, even for topics where all the necessary information is publicly available.</p><p><br/></p><p>I'm not falling for it. I believe in the power of self-directed learning. The internet is a vast library of free resources—YouTube tutorials, blog posts, academic papers, and forum discussions—that, when pieced together, can provide a comprehensive and deeply personalized education. While a structured course can be helpful for some, the idea that it's the only way to learn a skill is a myth designed to sell a product. The real value isn't in the information itself, but in the effort you put into finding, understanding, and applying it.</p><p><br/></p><p>Instead of seeing the free resources as a fragmented mess, I see them as an opportunity to build a unique curriculum tailored to my own needs. The propaganda of course-selling is ultimately about selling a sense of security. But for me, the real security comes from knowing I can learn anything I need to simply by being resourceful and committed.</p>
Propaganda I'm Not Falling For: Buying a Course...
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