Sequential vs Random

I was reading the Filemaker Pro 8.5 software manual PDF file. While browsing this document, I found the inconvenience of navigating the document from a human-friendly perspective. This reminds me to think on the differences between "random" and "sequential," and their subtle effect when speaking of learning processes.

The advantage of sequential learning is to follow a liner structurer from basic to advanced levels, while its disadvantage is that it takes a longer time to complete the learning of a specific advanced topic.

In comparison, random learning is usually happens to the self-taught people who need to access the specific advanced topic immediately although they might not have enough basic knowledge relating to the advanced topic.

Every book has a content list, but most of them do not reveal the information to address the relationships between sections to sections, or chapters to chapters.

To join both advantages of sequential and random, a new way of designing tutorial materials can found . The solution is to provide a prerequisite guide line for the advanced topics; thus, readers can follow this guide line to build up the whole picture right away. Afterwards, no matter readers follow a sequential structurer or choose to read in a random order, they will not lost in the whole forest.

Living in the new digital era, interactivities have played a very important role in many aspects. As digital dictionaries has really made a difference than the traditional printed ones, the instant access power turbocharged the speed of searching.

Now, back to the very beginning, regarding the Filemaker 8.5 manual, even though the document is capable for a keyword search, the feedback results have flood me already. I am so hunger for a multi-route structure which will take me from everywhere I am to everywhere I want.¶

Known • Told

Usually, these two phrases "知道" and "曉得" are interchangeable in Chinese usage. (知道 means know; 曉得 means told.) 知道 could be 曉得, and 曉得 could be vice versa. (Yeah, I know. You can tell their difference in English, but in Chinese, I don't think most native Chinese speakers recognize this difference. You can tell how huge the culture differences could be!)

Have you really think about their differences in between these two phrases? (I felt that I've never read about the difference in Chinese textbook, and even my Chinese teachers have never mentioned about it.)

Once I was experiencing my conscious in a very sensitive state, I suddenly realized these two phrases deeply from the characters themselves. Thereafter, when I am tasting and playing around vocabularies, I've learned to dissect the phrases and characters so that I can discover their original meanings. As a manner of fact, when we don't know about something, we learn it from others' explanation. Just like if you are not sure what the difference is between these two, when you read this article, I will "曉" or tell you its meaning; thus, you will be able to "得," catch, or receive its original meaning. Starting from now, you "知道" or "know" the slightly differences of these two Chinese phrases. "知道" is known. While dissecting the character "知," I learned that I tell what I already "known" from my "口" or mouth, and the words that I said act like an arrow or "矢" pointing to the people who are listening.

Therefore, "知道" expresses the "道," tao, path, or rules of how things operate, but it does not point out how we "know" about things. In comparison, "曉得" expresses the specific "we know from what we were told."

As the above mentioned, for the original meaning of the similar vocabularies such as "清楚," "了解, "明白," or "懂得," perhaps you can try to discover on your own!¶

Post script: Whenever I'm thinking why "意義" means "meaning," I have no idea what the differences between "意" and "義." I don't understand how these two Chinese characters were put together. I've searched many dictionaries, but I still found myself confused. If you know how it works, I'd like to hear from you guys. Thank you very much!