Thanks Eskielover, you speak to my experience also.
My best learning is through putting myself into situations where I want something but have to find out how to go about it. That finding out means asking people around me, researching on the net, trying things out, taking notes (should do more of that). I keep hammering to get closer to meeting my needs.

My worst learning is "being told" with no context whatsoever. I start by following the instructions faithfully but over time my brain starts working around the context, I get bored and lose focus.

Interesting how opposite people's learning patterns can be. Good thread!