Mike Smeen got me thinking on the question of how to prioritise our study to get the most benefit, taking account of what we already know. That's such a huge question, which goes right to the heart of things. I can't stop thinking about it.

Is there a way of visually or mentally representing what we know and what we need to know, our skills and our weak areas? A map, or a set of gauges, or a matrix of some kind, that we can fill in for ourselves as we study, and that will help determine where to make the next push? There probably is, and anyone who has studied the psychology of education must be laughing their socks off right now. People who write textbooks and compile courses must surely think along these lines.

But our education is not in the hands of a faculty committee somewhere. Our brains are not theirs to mold like a standard glob of putty. We each have strengths and weaknesses, or create them as we make choices about how to use our time. So, how do we, as humble students, know what to do next and how to do it?

A couple of simple answers spring to mind:
-- Just do a bit of everything and you'll be OK;
-- Stop wasting time thinking about this nonsense, and just get on with it.

Both good answers, but somehow not satisfying.