Answer: What kind of art is this?

When I see something out of the ordinary my curiosity kicks in ... 

A section of the painting showing the disarmament of the soldiers. P/C Wikimedia

It's not every day you walk past a hexadecagon (16 sides) building.  Especially one that's encased within a fairly square modernist square building.  

P/C Dan--captured from Google Maps satellite view

As mentioned, I went inside and found a completely remarkable painting of an important event in Swiss history--the internment of the French Armée de l'Est in neutral Switzerland at the end of the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War. 

It really is remarkable.  And led to our Challenges for this week:  

1. What is this kind of art installation called?  

I just did a simple Search-by-Image (with the pic above) and found the Wikipedia page about the Bourbaki Panorama in Lucerne.  On that page I learned that: 

The Bourbaki Panorama is a circular panoramic painting depicting the internment of the French Armée de l'Est in neutral Switzerland at the end of the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War. The army, led by General Charles-Denis Bourbaki, had been defeated in the field while attempting to raise the Siege of Belfort and fled to Switzerland in the aftermath. The Swiss admitted the French soldiers, and local villagers and the Swiss Red Cross provided aid. 

The Bourbaki Panorama is more than just a painting; it is a powerful denunciation of war and a testament to the first humanitarian actions of the Red Cross. Originally spanning 1500 m², the preserved 1000 m² of the painting vividly depict the harsh realities of war and the compassionate response of the Red Cross. This makes it a significant historical and humanitarian site for visitors to explore.

I happened to notice at the bottom of the Wikipedia page.  When you're doing research in a somewhat-unknown area, be sure to check down at the bottom of the page.  That's where you'll find the Categories section for the article.  

Each of these links is to another Wikipedia page that is a category for the topic.  In this case, the Bourbaki Panorama page is referred to by the pages "1877 paintings" and "Museums in Lucerne" "Cycloramas" ... etc.  

All of those categories make sense.  But you might not recognize the term "cyclorama" (I didn't).  It's worth clicking through to the Cyclorama page where you will learn that it is "A cyclorama is a panoramic image on the inside of a cylindrical platform, designed to give viewers standing in the middle of the cylinder a 360° view."  

This is an interesting distinction from a panorama, which is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space.  My phone camera can take "panoramas" and you've probably seen other 180 degree images that are also called "panoramas."  

But this kind of art installation is specifically a cyclorama, a panorama that you can walk in.  

A view from inside the Bourbaki cyclorama, with a railing and seating for longer contemplation.

2. Are there any of these giant 360-degree paintings still in use somewhere in the US?  (If so, where? Any in the eastern US still around?)  

Now that we know that this is cyclorama, it's an easy search to find other cycloramas.  (A big list is at the Cyclorama Wikipedia page.)   

I thought that searching for a cyclorama near me would be as easy as opening Google Maps and doing [cycloramas near me] -- but I was surprised.  I REALLY didn't work.  What I got was a bunch of photography studios and custom imaging places.  

Just out of curiosity, I clicked through to one of them and learned something fascinating:  A ‘Cyc Wall’ is an abbreviated term for “cyclorama,” also referred to as a cyclorama wall or cyc wall. It’s essentially a curved wall used as a photo or video background to suggest unlimited space.

All of the places shown by the query offered "cyc wall" services, either as a photographic service or as a display format.  (Yes, you can hire one of these companies to set up a "cyc wall" for you or rent one to you.)  

But that wasn't really what I meant.  So I did a regular Google query:  

     [cyclorama building near me] 

and learned that there IS a cyclorama in Los Angeles--the Velaslavasay Panorama (with its own Wikipedia page).  (I hope to visit it in late October.  If I make it, I'll let you know.)  Oddly, the Velaslavasay cyclorama is NOT listed in the cyclorama categories Wikipedia page.  Imagine that: someone is wrong on the internet.  Inevitable XKCD reference.  

The Velaslavasay Panorama (cyclorama) at 1122 W 24th Street, Los Angeles, CA

3. How many of these things have survived from the 19th century into modern times?  (And... is there one you can visit near me?) 

Of course, the query:

     [ cyclorama building in the US ] 

gives several hits, including several in the eastern US.  Most famous is the Gettysburg cyclorama by the French artist Paul Philippoteaux depicting Pickett's Charge, the climactic Confederate attack on the Union forces during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.  (How to visit the Gettysburg cyclorama.)

Accepting that the Wikipedia entry is incomplete, it's easy to see that while we're no longer in the age-of-cycloramas, a fair number still exist and can be visited.   Many of these are from the 19th century--but you have to check each one to determine its date of origin.  

You can do the same trick to find a cyclorama near you.  

4. What was the effect of this internment on the development of Switzerland?  Why was it such an important event?  

In the Wikipedia article it mentions that "...the reception and distribution of nearly 90,000 exhausted men internment across almost the whole of Switzerland was the first major humanitarian action of the very young Red Cross (founded in 1863), and was part of Switzerland's policy of perpetual neutrality."  

This kind of questions is actually an ideal use for an LLM, which can integrate information across multiple sources.  So I asked Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity this same question.  

[ At the end of the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War, the French Armée de l'Est was interned in neutral Switzerland.  The Swiss fed and medically cared the French army by the civilian population and housed in Swiss communities. What was the effect of this internment on the development of Switzerland?  Why was it such an important event?  Give citations for follow-up and validation. ]

The good news:  They all gave small variations on the same answer.  My summary of the AI answers is this: 

The  French“Armée de l’Est” had been defeated in the field while attempting the Siege of Belfort and fled to Switzerland in the aftermath. 

Besieged by the Prussian army, over 80,000 French troops crossed the border into the Vaud and Neuchâtel Jura regions to take refuge in Switzerland. 

The internment had a profound effect on Switzerland, primarily by strengthening its national identity and solidifying its foreign policy of armed neutrality.

The act of caring for a foreign army (that was about 3% of Switzerland’s total population) so quickly ended up uniting the Swiss people across linguistic and regional divides. Citizens from all cantons, regardless of whether they spoke French, German, or Italian, worked together to provide shelter, food, and medical care to the interned soldiers. This shared national effort fostered a sense of unity and collective purpose in the young federal state.

The experience also highlighted weaknesses in the Swiss military's logistical and command structures. The need to quickly mobilize and manage such a large number of troops led to significant reforms in the Swiss armed forces, strengthening the concept of a national militia, and ultimately reinforcing their sense of neutrality.  

The Bourbaki cyclorama was a key piece of national history-telling.  The event didn't just slide into obscurity, but was held up by the government as part of national identity.  

* 

Since the days of the cycloramas technology keeps evolving.  Now we have IMAX theatres with a huge field of view display.  And more recently there's the Sphere in Las Vegas with an extremely large immersive display space.  Doubtlessly the technology for large immersive displays will continue to evolve.  One of my favorites is Disney's "Soarin' Over California."  (YouTube video to give you an idea... but a small video is NOT the same as complete immersion.)  

SearchResearch Lessons

1. Be curious about what you find!  Reading all the way to the bottom of the Wikipedia page led us to the Categories... that's a useful thing to know.  

2. Note important term distinctions. A "panorama" is any wide-angle image.  But a "cyclorama" is specifically a 360 immersive panorama.  

3. Use the specialized terms for your searches.  Obviously... the more precise your language, the better your results. 

4. A good use for LLMs is to summarize text and concepts across a number of resources.  The last Challenge was a good example.  Naturally, you'll want to check the sources (I did), but in this case they all were in agreement.  

Keep searching!  

A short video about the Coffee Sniffers (a test video summary)

... so... I thought I'd try a little experiment with NotebookLM's video overview... 

  

I created a Notebook and then gave it the text of my post answering the Coffee Sniffers question.  (From July 30, 2025) 

After pouring it in, I asked for it to make a Video Overview that would summarize my post. Here's the result:   (Link)  

This is the kind of video I've wanted to make ever since this blog began.  But as you know (and as I know all too well, having edited a LOT of videos over the years), making one of these video shorts takes a long, long time.  

For those of you who've read the post, how does this compare with the text experience?  Good?  Better?  Less satisfying?  Did you take away anything new or more interesting from the video version?  

I'm looking for feedback here.  If you like it, I'll do more in future posts (and I'll talk about how much work this was--I admit to editing the raw video output from NotebookLM).  

Let me know in the comments!  

SearchResearch Challenge (9/3/25): What kind of art is this?

 While wandering around downtown Lucerne, Switzerland... 

A section of the painting showing the disarmament of the soldiers. P/C Wikimedia

... I came across a really interesting building.  It was clearly an old building in a regular polygonal shape--looks like a hexadecagon (16 sides).  It's obviously been embedded within a fairly square modernist building.  

P/C Dan--captured from Google Maps satellite view

I went inside and found a completely remarkable painting of an important event in Swiss history--the internment of the French Armée de l'Est in neutral Switzerland at the end of the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War.  (Note: in this case, "internment" doesn't mean being an intern for the summer, but rather describe a neutral country detaining belligerent armed forces and equipment on its territory during times of war, under the Hague Convention of 1907.)   

The thing is... the painting is huge, and in the round--it takes your breath away, it's that dramatic.  

You enter into the center of the vista from below and are immediately surrounded by a 360-degree view.  It's a 19th century version of VR.  In a world without movies, videos, 3D computer graphics, virtual reality, or augmented reality headsets, it was the closest thing you could get to being there in the middle of the action.  

Being in the middle of this circular painting reminded me that I'd visited another, similar installation a few years ago--although that visit was somewhere in the eastern United States.  But, I wondered, where would I have seen something like this? 

This makes a great SearchResearch Challenge for the week.  

1. What is this kind of art installation called?  

2. Are there any of these giant 360-degree paintings still in use somewhere in the US?  (If so, where? Any in the eastern US still around?)  

3. How many of these things have survived from the 19th century into modern times?  (And... is there one you can visit near me?) 

4. What was the effect of this internment on the development of Switzerland?  Why was it such an important event?  

The first 3 Challenges are pretty straight-forward, while the last one calls for a bit more thinking.  

As always, let us know how you found the answers.  (If you just know off the top of your head, that's fine, just say so.  If you called your favorite Swiss historian, let us know that as well.) 

But please share your method with us!  

Keep searching!  

Update: What are those bright patches of water without ripples?

 I was walking on the bluffs along the Pacific this week...

A very clear region of lighter water. P/C Daniel M. Russell.
Taken at Black Point Beach, Sonoma county, CA looking north.

... and saw another of those long, meandering regions of lighter water... pieces of the sea surface that seem to have much fewer ripples than the surrounding water. 

You might recall that we discussed this a while ago (July 25, 2019--"A couple of questions about Polynesia").  In that post, I decided they're called Langmuir circulation lines, formed when wind blows across the surface of water.  

But as you might also recall, a couple of weeks later, I recanted that opinion in the post "Rethinking Langmuir Circulation lanes."  

Why did I change my mind?  Because on that very day I'd driven past some very clear Langmuir circulation lanes in a nearby lagoon... and they didn't look like the "long, meandering regions."  Langmuir circulation lanes, I learned, are absolutely straight.  

But in the image above (or the images below), you can see that the "regions of lighter water" don't really fall in straight lines.  

I've taken multiple photos over the years as I've thought about this Challenge.  You can see the variety of lighter water forms, all caused by a clear lack of wavelets in the water.  

Near Split, Croatia.

Cozumel, Mexico.

The Golden Gate, near San Francisco, CA.

Meandering lanes of brighter water. I've even kayaked through some of these, and there's nothing obviously different in the lanes.  So.. what's going on? 

The memory of that old post reminded me that I was still uncertain about what was causing these...things.  I wasn't even sure what they're called.  (And as I've said about a thousand times, having a name for something is incredibly useful when trying to learn about a topic.)  

Since we're living in a new era of multimodal AI abilities, I thought I'd ask the AIs what's going on in these images.   

Short answer: My searches with AI tools totally flopped.  I couldn't get any of the AI tools to tell me what these things are. I got a lot of very confident answers... that were completely and utterly wrong.  

BUT.. regular search has improved since 2019 as well, so I thought I'd try regular search again.  

This time I searched for [light patches on ocean] 

Which led me to a Reddit thread on this exact question: "What are the brighter parts in the ocean called?"

As you know, Reddit can be a mixed bag, but as I've also said a bunch, even low-quality results can give you a great lead. 

In that Reddit post I found a reference to something I hadn’t seen before – Redditor Smellzlikefish  (a SCUBA diver and at least part-time marine scientist) wrote that “These are called surface slicks, and they serve as important nursery habitats for developing fish. You can read more about them here" with a link to a NOAA article entitled “Surface slicks are pelagic nurseries for diverse ocean fauna” (the article is worth reading... it has a great time-lapse video of surface slick formation and movement over the course of a day).  

A quick trip to Google Scholar showed me that Smellzlikefish is right: this really IS what these lighter-colored regions are called.  

As that NOAA article points out, they are basically biofilms that are accumulated fatty alcohols and acids produced by animals and plants living in the water.  This causes a thin, near monomolecular, film on the sea surface. The thin film causes a suppression of the tiny wavelets (aka "capillary waves") in the area, making water surface seem brighter (and with far fewer wavelets). 

And now I know what they are… and why they make long, meandering lines of brightness in calm seas.  

Thought you'd like to know. 

Keep searching!  

Answer: Best ways to do just-in-time learning. Part 3: getting a teaching summary with NotebookLM

 Last time... 

A woman studying a complex anatomy topic. P/C Pexels.com by RF._.studio _

      

we talked about asking your favorite LLM to give you a summary (say 500 words on a specified topic).     

But maybe there's a way to be even MORE specific.  Remember our Challenge:  

1. What are the best AI-inspired (or AI-driven) new Micro- and Meso-learning that you've found?  Have you actually tried this method?  How well has it worked out for you? 

Asking for an essay, especially one that you can have read aloud, is pretty handy.  

The downside is that you're getting the full LLM, and that may (or may not) be what you're looking for.  

Using Google's NotebookLM lets you start with a specific set of resources--presumably ones that you've hand picked to be reliable, accurate, and on-topic--and then create a summary in text, audio, or video formats!  

Here's what I did.  

1. Start a new Notebook.  Visit NotebookLM and create new notebook.  Then add sources by clicking "+ Add" in the upper left corner.  As you can see, I've added 5 papers I found by using regular Google Scholar 

The papers are summarized in the main Chat window (in the center).  In short, they're: 

1. Selgrath et al. (2024) reconstruct kelp forest changes over centuries in central California

2. Leichter et al. (2023) examine the impact of nutrient availability

3. Garcı́a-Reyes et al. (2022) demonstrate the predictive power of winter oceanographic conditions on summer bull kelp canopy cover in northern California

4. Butler et al. (2021) document the soundscapes within and around a marine protected area off La Jolla 

 

(A minor hassle here in the design of NotebookLM.  The references in the Chat window are all correct, but it's hard to know which of the links in the Sources window map onto the refs in the Chat.  You have to click on the source to see which is which, and it's not an obvious mapping. It also didn't tell me that source 2 and source 4 are duplicates, which is why there are only 4 sources listed in the summary. Argh!) 

In any case, if you click on the "Video Overview" in the upper right corner, NotebookLM will create an 8 minute video summary of the contents of the sources.  Link to the YouTube video.  

You'll see the effect in  a minute or so... 

Let me repeat--the summary (while great to use for learning)--is NOT a replacement for reading the papers.  There's all kinds of detail that's not covered in the video overview.  That's why it's an overview, and not the papers themselves. 

As we mentioned earlier, you can also generate an audio overview.  Here's the M4a file of the summary of these papers. (14 minutes)  This is handy for putting onto your phone and listening as you walk.  (One minor annoyance--Google speech doesn't know how to pronounce the city name "La Jolla."  It's NOT "la-jala," it's "la-hoya.")  

ALSO note that you can customize both the video and audio overviews.  Click on the 3-dots in the upper right and you'll get a set of customization options: 

Obviously, you can get the overview in another language (handy, if you're studying that language) OR you can get it focused on a particular learning task, such as preparing for a quiz on the topic or a specific sub-topic within the collection of papers.  

I have to admit, even though I know a fair bit about this topic, I learned something by listening to the audio summary.  NotebookLM really does a good job of synthesizing something coherent and useful from the sources. 

 Last time we also mentioned using the Feynman technique for learning.  Using the prompt: 

[tell me about the Feynman technique for effective learning] 

.. this will cause Gemini to jump into the "Feynman teaching mode" on the topic of California kelp.  

If you give NotebookLM this prompt, it will give you a summary of the material, which you can then use to guide your own Feynman method. 

How use the Feynman Technique with NotebookLM

After you've uploaded your sources (documents, articles, etc). You can select a topic you'd like to understand in more detail.  

Prompt NotebookLM to explain: Ask the AI to explain the concept as if to a child or a beginner to force simplification and the creation of analogies. For example, you can use a prompt like, "Explain the relationship between purple urchins and the loss of bull kelp in California using the Feynman technique, as if teaching it to someone with no background in the topic."  (Don't worry about marking off the concept from the query--NotebookLM will figure out what you mean.)  

Evaluate the explanation: Review the AI's explanation for clarity and accuracy. Does it all make sense to you?  If not, you need to... 

Identify gaps in your understanding: If the explanation is still unclear or if it highlights weaknesses in your own understanding, make a note of these areas.  Once you've identified these issues... 

Return to your sources: Go back to your original documents within NotebookLM to find the information needed to fill those knowledge gaps. 

Refine your explanation: Go back to NotebookLM and re-explain the concept, incorporating the new information you've and simplifying the language further. 

Repeat the cycle: Continue this process of explaining, identifying gaps, researching, and refining your explanation until you fully grasp the concept. 

Make sense?  That's the value of having your own tutor on the topic you choose.  

Of course, your next step would be to find additional resources to extend your learning.  You could ask NotebookLM to: 

     [ recommend other papers to read on this topic] 

Or, you can use the Discover button (upper right of the Sources panel) to add additional sources.  

 

SearchResearch Lessons

This is Part 3 of our "how to learn rapidly" series.  We learned that: 

1. Using NotebookLM can give you control over the content you're trying to learn. Add the materials you need to learn to the Notebook, then ask for a summary, or ask questions of it as you wish.  

2. You can create audio or video summaries of the Notebook sources. This is remarkably handy as a way to learn-on-the-go.

The NotebookLM method promises to give you much higher quality summaries since it's basically answering questions (or generating your summaries) from the materials that you've selected. (Which you presumably selected for their accuracy!)  

There are many more AI-augmented learning methods out there.  Keep your eyes open and let us know if you find any that are particularly effective for you.  Keep those comments coming! 

Keep searching!    

Answer: Best ways to do just-in-time learning. Part 2: conversation with a chatbot

  As mentioned... 

A woman studying a complex anatomy topic. P/C Pexels.com by RF._.studio _

      

There are a huge number of methods to quickly learn something, especially today.  This is the next in a series of posts about methods I've tried.    

Remember the Challenge: 

1. What are the best AI-inspired (or AI-driven) new Micro- and Meso-learning that you've found?  Have you actually tried this method?  How well has it worked out for you? 

Last week I wrote about just searching for pre-existing tutorial content.  That often works quite well and is a good first place to start.  

But sometimes you want something that's bespoke and tailored to you interests at the moment.  Here's a way to use the chatbots to do that.  

You can put both ChatGPT and Gemini (and many others) into chat mode that lets you have a conversation with the AI. Here's my example using Gemini.  To start the conversation, click on the button with the vertical lines (lower right) to get started.  

The key idea here is to ask the chatbot to read you an essay on the topic of interest.  Here, I continue the quest to learn more about kelp with my prompt: 

[Give me a 500 word essay on the natural history of kelp along the California coast]

Note that it reads around 120 words/minute, so I'm asking for a 4-minute reading. Ask for 1000 words if you want a more detailed version. 

Be sure to be as specific as you need.  Note that I wanted info about the "natural history" and specifically to the "coast of California."  (I know that kelp lives in many oceans, but I have a parochial interest in local kelp. See picture at the end of this post.)  

NOTE: As you listen to your topical essays being read aloud, note that you can interrupt it and ask a follow-up question.  (Such as, "what is the role of pollutants in damaging the kelp coverage?")  You don't need a special hot word (like "Hey Google!"), just start speaking when you want to drill into the topic. 

After you've done that,  you can say something like "... let's go back to the previous topic."  It really does feel like a conversation with a subject-matter expert. 

Of course, each of the chatbots will create a somewhat different essay. Here's the one that Gemini created and the essay ChatGPT created.  

Here's a visual for you (typography by me):  

Click to see in full-size

 
Notice that Gemini wrote 407 words, while ChatGPT wrote 530 words.  Gemini neglected to mention bull kelp at all, while ChatGPT gives it a prominent place.  ChatGPT also included information about Seasonal Cycles and the historical Human Use of kelp in California as well.  For my money, a much better job. But some might prefer the lighter touch of Gemini.    

I've found myself asking for short essays on topics that I'd like to know more about, especially when I'm about to do something (visit a museum, attend a seminar, go to a particular part of the city).  

As remmij pointed out, you can even use this chatbot conversational style to ask questions about learning method.  When I asked the bot: 

[tell me about the Feynman technique for effective learning] 

Gemini not only told me what it was, but then jumped into "Feynman teaching mode" on the topic of California kelp.  

But we'll talk more about that next time.  

 

SearchResearch Lessons

This is Part 2 of our "how to learn rapidly" series.  We learned that: 

1. Chatbots can read on-topic essays to you. Use this as a way to delimit what you'd like to learn.  

2. Think of a chatbot as a way to have a conversation with the material. In particular, you can drill down deep into a topic in a very natural, conversational way.  

But AS ALWAYS validate what it tells you.  Thus far, the conversations I've had all seem pretty high quality and accurate.  But that's not a guarantee.  If you have questions or hear something that sounds a bit...pardon me... fishy... be sure to check!  

Diving in the giant kelp in the Channel Island, California. P/C Dan.

Keep searching!  

Answer: Best ways to do just-in-time learning. Part 1 - search for tutorial content

  What's a great way to... 

A woman studying a complex anatomy topic. P/C Pexels.com by RF._.studio _

... learn something relatively quickly?    

As I said in the Challenge last week, in my line of work, I often have to be a fast learner and become an instant expert (or as close as possible within the time I've got).  

This motivates the Challenge: What are some new (largely AI-driven) ways to rapidly learn something?  

So here was the Challenge: 

1. What are the best AI-inspired (or AI-driven) new Micro- and Meso-learning that you've found?  Have you actually tried this method?  How well has it worked out for you? 

There are SO many ways to answer this Challenge that I'm going to give it in parts.  Here's Part 1.  I'll give some more ideas next week (instead of another Challenge).

 I AM mindful that real learning takes work.  As Andrej Karpathy wrote (Feb 10, 2024): 

Learning is not supposed to be fun. It doesn't have to be actively not fun either, but the primary feeling should be that of effort. It should look a lot less like that "10 minute full body" workout from your local digital media creator and a lot more like a serious session at the gym. You want the mental equivalent of sweating. It's not that the quickie doesn't do anything, it's just that it is wildly suboptimal if you actually care to learn.

That's all true.  But there are times when we need to learn something rapidly.  How can we do that?  I'm happy to sweat and do focused work, but sometimes I need a micro-learning or meso-learning experience.  How can we do that? 

Here's my approach.  (Next week we'll talk about other approaches.)  

1. Identify what you're trying to learn. Does it have a name?  Do you have a fairly clear learning goal? Just flailing around watching short videos isn't the same as having a plan.  This is often the hardest part of the learning task--especially if you don't know what you're really trying to learn.  As a way to clarify the task... 

2. Write down your goal. What I do is to write down (usually in pen on paper!) what I'm trying to learn about.  

Example: Last week, after meeting a kelp researcher on the beach in northern California, I wanted to learn about the different kinds of kelp that grow locally. I literally wrote out, "Learn: kinds of kelp in N. California. How many varieties? Ecology. Threats. Current condition."  

(That's Russell-ese for "Learning Goal: To learn about the different kinds of kelp that grow off-shore in California. Learn about the different species of kelp, what kinds of ecosystems do they grow in, what are the current threats to their growth, what's the current condition of kelp beds in 2025?")

In essence, I'm outlining a topic and a few relevant sub-topics. In the past, I would have started classical searching, and pulled together a few articles to read, then spent a happy couple of hours reading them, digging deeper as interest led me.  

Here's my first search.  Note that I've opened the AI Overview as a way to get a first-glance at the topic:   

This quick search tells me a lot. There seem to be only 2 species of kelp along California, NOAA is doing research, there is an effort in kelp forest restoration because of multiple threats.  

3. Do a quick search for pre-existing edu materials.  It's worth doing this first--you never know when someone out there will have already made exactly the right tutorial for you.  No matter how obscure the topic, someone might have already put together a package for you.  As my friend Leigh says, "Dan, it's the internet... there's always someone who is interested in that."  Time has proven him right. 

Point is: Check for pre-existing tutorials (or lectures, or lessons, or lectures) first. 

Looking at the videos, it seems there are a couple of potentially useful ones already.  

To scan a video like this, I'll typically open the video and look at the transcript. (Sometimes the link to the transcript is a little buried. See below for a useful tip.)  

Then, once that panel is open, you can click to open the transcript. 

Then, once that panel is open, you can click to open the transcript. Click on the magnifying glass to search in the transcript.  (Or use Control-F / CMD-F.) 

I then do a few searches inside of the text to make sure that the video really is on-topic and discusses what I want.  (For instance, does the word "ecosystem" appear in the video?)   

Alternatively, you can ask Gemini to summarize the video (again, to see if it's really what you want to learn.. keep in mind that you want to watch the whole video, not just read the summary).  Looking at the summary below, it seems like a great video to watch--it's nearly an hour long, and probably worth the investment of time.  

When you've scrolled down a bit, you might well find the "People Also Ask" section... which is another way to see what relevant topics you might learn.    

Of course educational materials can be more than just YouTube videos.  Using the term "lesson" is often useful, though I've found that they're often oriented for 6-12 grades.  (Which might be what you're looking for.)  

For more advanced learning units, I'd use the terms "university" and "class."  That will often find entire semester-long classes, with a syllabus and everything.  

4. Create a quiz to help test your knowledge. As we know, self-tests are a very useful way to ensure that your studying has paid off.  In a great tip from Ben Gomes at Google, he suggested using Gemini to make a quiz to check.  You can do this with either a video OR a longer text document.  

One of the documents about kelp I read was this one from California State Fish and Game - you can see what I asked Gemini to make a quiz for me (look on the left hand side... I said "Here's a document... <URL> ... create a study quiz from this file." 

You can do the same thing with videos.  Here, I dropped in a link to a YouTube video about kelp.  

SearchResearch Lessons

This is Part 1 of our "how to learn rapidly" series.  We learned that: 

1. Identify your task. Use this as a way to delimit what you'd like to learn.  

2. Write down your learning goals. A great way to do this is to literally write down what you'd like to learn.  As you write, you'll learn what you don't know--identifying knowledge gaps is a great method to figure out how to proceed. 

3. Search for already existing learning materials on your topic. Don't skip this step!  

4. Create self-test quizzes to ensure that you've learned the material. 

Keep searching!