ok now that is the most awkward intro..

Marshall is the best human being in the world

This was a great conversation and not nearly as randomized as you said it might be. I even took notes :) I currently get my art community by hanging out on the Draftsmen podcasts.

@Stan Prokopenko This wicked learning idea put forth by @Marshall Vandruff reminds me a lot of Problem Based Learning like you find in some medical and veterinary schools. Basically you're given a problem and along with your group you brainstorm ways to solve it and do tons and tons of research on anything that you think will help shed light on the issue. Like maybe the teacher tells your group "A dog is coughing. Find out why and what you're going to do about it." And like you go and research all the possible reasons a dog would be coughing like kennel cough, heart failure, something stuck in the throat, etc. And you'd find out different things in your research like how different types of coughing indicate different things. And what medical tests to do and what the treatment options are etc. etc. etc. It's a very active type of learning because everything you learn you're able to apply immediately. This is basically how I learned to code. I wanted to make a very specific type of browser-based game and there were no help guides specifically on that. There were just guides about how to make sites, how to program, how to manage databases, etc. and I could observe other similar sites from a user's perspective but I couldn't actually ask their site owners how they made their sites--that was top secret. So from all these things, I had to infer how to build my own game and oh my gosh it was the hardest thing I ever did in my life. The logic... oh my gosh... I had to think so hard I got headaches. It took about two years of blood, sweat, and tears before I felt like I even kind of knew what I was doing. But eventually I became very adept at using code to solve problems and also at solving problems within code. I learned how to be a downright detective when bugs appeared.I taught myself how to investigate! Well, I'm proud to say that while some bugs were much more wiley than others, there wasn't as single one that I didn't eventually squash :)

You guys talk a lot about community so often, and I deeply appreciate your efforts at creating one here. One thing I think would be really helpful to address, is what happens when your goals, your drive, your resources, your progress, whatever, begins to outstrip those of your friends, and they begin to feel uncomfortable. Personal growth literature/programs talk about this a lot, and the need to be ready to let go of those friends who don’t like that you’re improving your life - breaking addictions, losing weight, leaving the abusive relationship - and they drift away. If you have a new community to move into, it may not be so bad; but for the interim - when you’re improving skills and you’re kind of between worlds, where do you find those new friends, and how do you cope with that isolation while you’re waiting? Oh, also, is that course about improving teaching online only available to FCC professors, or can anyone have access to it?

Best podcast episode yet! Very helpful idea take aways for me. I also find a “whiteboard” style of note taking personalizes the way to absorb new ideas.

Who is doing your portraits at the beginning of these? I love these! I think this one is my favorite so far.