Survival Skill #8 Knowledge (Part 8 of 10)

This actually should be moved up towards the top of the list as, in many survival situations, you may be left with absolutely nothing except what's between your two ears.  Your stockpiles may have been washed away, your BOB may have been stolen, and you may have nothing but the clothes on your back however, if you have a a wide range of knowledge, you will be well on your way of recouping what you need to survive after a disaster.  Here's how to obtain the most useful knowledge out there:

• Read voraciously.  Read everything you can get your hands on and read on a wide range of topics.  Yes you may love murder mysteries but by throwing in a couple of non-fiction books each week you will greatly add to your store of knowledge.  You should definitely have a library card and, bonus, many libraries these days have an online loan system which allows you to download thousands of ebooks thus reducing the need to even travel to the library in person.
• Pay attention to the news each day.  You don't need to be obsessive about this, but you should at least peruse your local online newspaper, catch the local evening news, the local national news, and even a financial news program as well.
• Use the internet to gather more information.  I do this by perusing news aggregators like this, this, and this.
• Also check out websites that will help you increase your knowledge on a wide range of topics like this, this, and this.
• Take classes in your community.  There are many ways to increase your knowledge on survival topics in your very own community.  Local colleges offer everything from SCUBA and mountaineering classes to business and wood shop classes.  Also check out the class schedule at your parks and rec center and at your local tech/hacker space to see what's available.
• Join groups with others who are interested in learning more about a topic.  In my own city there are groups on every topic imaginable from peak bagging to hiking to tech meet ups to HAM radio.  The great thing about these groups is that you don't need to be an expert already, in fact these clubs are usually very friendly towards beginners and those who want to expand their knowledge on their topic.
• Google.  When you are sitting at your computer and are bored, simply Google any topic that interests you.  Within minutes you will have tons of resources at your fingertips to increase your knowledge.