How to Improve General Knowledge

General knowledge refers to valuable information related to common interests in a society, culture, civilization, community, or nation, gathered from a variety of media sources. This knowledge is not specialized information about a specific topic but encompasses various areas of human life such as current affairs, fashion, family, health, art, and science. Although acquiring general knowledge requires time and effort, many qualities and skills, including intellect, problem-solving ability, confidence, and open-mindedness, are evaluated based on the amount of general knowledge one possesses. Moreover, general knowledge plays an essential role in personal growth, becoming an outstanding citizen, and contributing to the creation of a more sustainable society.

Read books. Reading is the foundation for gaining general knowledge. There's no specific requirement about which book or topic you should focus on, as general knowledge spans a wide range of subjects. The most important part of reading is to make it a daily and consistent habit.

• Sign up for a library membership at your local public library. This is often free or low-cost, giving you access to thousands of books with generous borrowing terms.
• Attend events or visit second-hand book fairs. You can purchase books on various topics at very affordable prices, often much cheaper than their original retail price.
• Buy an e-reader device to download reasonably priced books and articles from various websites. This will quickly satisfy your curiosity and broaden your knowledge.

Subscribe to a newspaper. Newspapers are an excellent source for local, national, and international news. While some papers are better than others, newspapers generally provide timely information across politics, sports, fashion, food, and many other diverse topics.

• Try to make reading the newspaper a part of your morning routine. Papers will be delivered right to your door, sometimes even before you wake up. This can be a great reason to consider newspapers a valuable source of information for building general knowledge.
• Most newspaper offices offer digital subscriptions at a lower cost. If you prefer receiving news in digital form, consider subscribing to one of the many media outlets available online.
• If you work for a company, they may already have subscriptions to newspapers like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, or Washington Post. Take advantage of this free resource to enhance your knowledge right at work.

Browse a magazine. Visit a bookstore, and you'll find a wide variety of magazines for you to choose from. Magazines are sold everywhere and cover numerous topics. If you don't want to subscribe to a particular magazine publisher, you still have many options.

• Pick up a magazine from your local grocery store while your family shops for food. No one has ever been kicked out of a supermarket for standing at the magazine stand for 30 minutes.
• While waiting at a doctor's, dentist's, or auto shop, read the magazines available there. They often have specialty or entertainment magazines for you to browse while you wait.

Sit down and read a specialty magazine. Specialty magazines contain academic research articles, typically longer than those in general magazines, with extensive citations. These magazines provide highly specific information on a particular field. Compared to books, newspapers, and general magazines, specialty magazines are harder to obtain and often more expensive, but they offer much more detailed and accurate information.

• If you enjoy the academic nature of specialty magazines, you might consider joining a research group in areas like history, biology, or sociology. These groups often sponsor specialty magazines and send them to interested members in the field.
• Visit a university library to access hundreds of specialty magazines on various academic topics.

Connect with friends, colleagues, and experts. The more people you connect with, the more likely you are to engage in intellectually stimulating and informative discussions, which can further expand your knowledge. People generally prefer conversations that are both informative and casual, and such discussions often help them learn faster.

• Maintain friendships with intelligent, educated, and experienced individuals. These friendships will provide engaging conversations on various topics, helping you gain new ideas, perspectives, and understandings.
• Try to arrange weekly coffee or tea sessions with your friends to discuss new things you've learned or talk about current events.

Purchase audiobooks. While audiobooks cannot completely replace traditional printed books, they allow listeners to access a large amount of general knowledge while commuting to work or exercising. Audiobooks also help expand your vocabulary, offering another way to process information and improve your learning ability.

• Audiobooks often include the author's commentary, which helps you understand their thought process when writing the book or the reasons behind each section. This information not only broadens your general knowledge about the book's content but also provides insight into the author's writing and thinking process.
• You can purchase, rent, or borrow audiobooks from various sources. Instead of listening to music while commuting or exercising, consider swapping it for an engaging audiobook.

Attend a seminar or specialized research session. Listening to experts at specialized seminars or research events provides you with in-depth knowledge on a specific topic. This is valuable because speakers share their methods, approaches, and experiences in creating a report that may have taken them years to complete and achieve results.

• Whether you attend a seminar or a research session to hear experts speak, make sure to take notes. Listening helps you grasp information, while taking notes ensures you can preserve it.
• Focus on the key points of the presentation. While details can be captivating, to acquire general knowledge, you need to understand the broader concepts and ideas the speaker is addressing.

Join a book club or social group. Try expanding your experience and building friendships with people who share your interests. Discussing books, news, history, or politics with others forces you to rely on your general knowledge and synthesize new information.

• You can find these clubs and organizations through various sources, such as online platforms, newspaper columns, or through friends and family.
• Joining new clubs and organizations helps you meet new people and expand your network, creating opportunities for you to learn from others.
• People often read and write about things they enjoy. By joining a book club, for example, you may be encouraged to do things you normally wouldn't, like reading a book you weren't initially interested in.

Watch television. Television is one of the most widely used sources for expanding general knowledge today. While some content lacks quality, you can still access a wide range of information through entertainment and current affairs programs.

• Watch a variety of television programs such as news (CNN, VTV1...), game shows (Wheel of Fortune), educational shows (National Geographic, VTV7...) with documentaries, films based on true events, and instructional programs (Living Happy Everyday, Vietnamese Cuisine...) to broaden your general knowledge.
• Watching TV is generally a passive form of learning that doesn't require much thought. That's why you should limit the time spent watching TV.

Using Search Engines. Search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing provide instant answers to any question within seconds. You should frequently use these websites to stay updated on current events, trends, and topics that interest you.

• Many search engines can serve as your “one-stop” source of information, where you can not only find the latest news but also explore entertainment, fashion, sports, and trending topics online.

Subscribe to Newsletters. Some organizations regularly post updates and offer a notification system you can subscribe to. Whenever new content appears in the category you’re interested in, you will get alerts on devices like your mobile phone, ensuring you stay informed with the latest news.

• News sites offering subscription features include Google, Fox News, BBC, AP News, and several reputable Vietnamese news outlets that you can explore on your own.

Play Video Games or Use Online Programs to Test Your Knowledge. Choose games or programs that challenge you with new information, strategies, or rules. There are numerous websites where you can engage in word puzzles, trivia games, or general knowledge quizzes.

• Some websites offer quizzes on general knowledge, current events, and history. You can take these quizzes daily to assess and improve your knowledge.

Enroll in Online Courses. Nowadays, with information accessible from anywhere, you can join full university-level programs at very low or no cost. Top universities like MIT, Harvard, and Stanford offer high-quality courses in every field, from philosophy to politics, through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

• Currently, over ten million people are enrolled in MOOC courses. By joining, you will connect with individuals from all around the world.
• MOOC courses provide you with updated information on various fields and help you discover new interests.
• MOOCs also allow you to learn alongside experts from various industries worldwide.

Identify a Liberal Arts Program. Almost every college or university offers a liberal arts program or courses that cover a range of topics beyond a single field of study. The materials taught in general education courses typically focus on interdisciplinary knowledge, allowing you to apply what you learn to real-world situations.

• If you choose to attend university, make sure to engage in a variety of courses to broaden your general knowledge.
• Taking a variety of courses has been shown to improve your performance in job interviews, collaboration with colleagues, and contributions to the community.

Join Clubs, Organizations, and Volunteer Groups. Universities offer a wide range of opportunities to join clubs that align with your interests. Being around people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and with different interests can greatly expand your general knowledge.

• Extracurricular activities help relax both your mind and body, which in turn enhances your ability to access new information.
• Look for additional ways to broaden your knowledge by joining service projects, planning events, or writing newsletters. These activities will keep you updated on related information.

Connect with Your Department and Faculty. Your department is likely the best source of information on how students are performing, or at least they know more than anyone else. It’s common to see students in the department office during group study hours discussing lectures, assignments, or other concerns. Become one of those students who visits the department office during office hours. You’ll learn more than you think.

• Check the course schedule. Professors post their office hours for the semester, and you’ll often find this information on their office door or the door of the department assistant's office.
• If you can’t meet them during those hours, call or email the professor to schedule another time.

1. TED or TEDx Talks are in-depth lectures on topics that are meaningful to people and contribute to spreading knowledge on those subjects.

2. They have over 100 million talks available on their website or YouTube channel for you to choose from.

3. Visit ted.com/talks, where some videos are less than 3 minutes long.