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About GuideScape

Introducing GuideScape​

Published: April 2nd, 2023
Last Updated: November 17th, 2024


GuideScape hosts life advice and self-education content, that you can use as a self-improvement resource to streamline your ability to develop cognitive assets and support a life full of sustainable prosperity, contentment, and general well-being.


Newsletter FYI:

  • Only 6 of 22 articles have been published so far, most of the content is a work in progress.
  • If you want to be informed of when new content gets released, then subscribe to the email newsletter: sendfox.com/guidescape.

New Users​

Desktop View is Best​

  • GuideScape's "Desktop View" offers the best user experience.
    • This requires viewing the site from a browser window that's at least 997 pixels wide.
  • Note: Most phones will only see the "Mobile View", as their high resolution screen's pixels get converted to px (virtual pixels). This results in phones rarely reaching the 997 px threshold.
TIPS:
  • All content can be accessed using 3 methods:
    1. Browsable Tree
    2. Browse by Tags
    3. Search
  • Desktop View - Navigation Tips:
    • Top Menu's notable links: Browse Tags and Dark Mode.
    • Left Menu contains a browsable tree with links to articles.
      • You can collapse and expand sections of the tree.
      • Bottom Left Button can collapse the left menu.
    • Right Menu contains a Table of Contents.
  • Mobile View - Navigation Tips:
    • Top Left Button with 3 lines contains the browsable tree.
    • Back to main menu appears at the top of the browsable tree.
      • Main Menu's notable links: Browse Tags and Dark Mode.
    • Top Grey Bar with a dropdown caret contains a Table of Contents.
  • Table of Contents:
    • Contains clickable anchor links that jump to section headings.
    • Are unique to each article, as they're generated from section headings.
    • Offers a significantly better user experience in Desktop View.
  • Search Tips:
    • Search is located in the top right for both Desktop View and Mobile View.
    • Search will prioritize heading text over inline text.
    • You can visit guidescape.org/search for a full windowed search experience.
    • "Double quoted string matching" works.
    • Minus sign works as an exclude operator. You can use it with words or quoted strings.
    • Browse Tags has a limitation of only allowing you to search 1 tag at a time. (If you want to search for the union of multiple tags, you can do so by typing the tags in the search box.)
    • Edge Case: If text shows up via search, but doesn't appear on the page via ctrl+f. Then that text is likely hidden within a:

      Blue Expandable Content Box:

      • Their purpose: is to signal - click to learn more.
      • Info seen by default: is worth skimming through.
      • Info hidden by default: adds elaboration or is for a limited audience.

      This helps balance the preferences of:

      • Most people: who just want a high level summarized overview of information.
      • The few: who are members of a limited audience, curious, or interested enough to appreciate additional information.

About GuideScape​

The following sections answer 2 useful questions:

  1. How does GuideScape differ significantly from other websites?
  2. Why is GuideScape's content worth your time?

Motivation and Goals​

  • Become a self-education resource for content that can be used to:
    • Streamline self-learning of critical thinking skills, good habits, and practical knowledge. (With a focus on topics insufficiently covered in the curriculums of compulsory education systems.)
    • Help self-improvement and development of cognitive assets needed to support a life full of sustainable prosperity, contentment, and general well-being.
  • Invest a few decades worth of persistent effort into transforming nearly impossible dreams of an Ideal Education System into an inevitable reality.
  • Develop an Education System, based on Pragmatic Idealism, and nurture it to be awesome enough to encourage the natural extinction of all other unsatisfactory education systems.

What to Expect​

High Quality Content​

Content isn't published on GuideScape until it becomes high quality.

  • High quality content aims to be:
    • Worth reading: Full of practical knowledge and advice that can help you develop cognitive assets and improve your overall wellness.
    • Logically Sound: With accuracy, correctness, and relative safety all logically reasoned through.
    • Polished: Well written, organized, and presented.
  • Expect slow updates:
    • It's normal for WIP (Work in Progress) content that's good, but not yet great; to stay unpublished for months or years, until it meets quality standards.
    • Content stays unpublished when there are concerns over:
      • Level of Polish and Quality
      • Correctness and Accuracy
      • Relative safety (regarding information hazards)

Long-Form Content that Focuses on Streamlining Comprehension​

Long-form content is the norm on GuideScape, because comprehensive explanations best support:

  • The Content's Goal: To streamline your ability to self-educate, comprehensively understand practical knowledge, and develop proficiency in knowledge based skills.
  • The Content's Focus: On Compulsory Education's Curriculum Gap Topics:
    • Topics like Personal Finance, Investing, Critical Thinking, Pragmatic Idealism, and anything else that's useful in life.
  • The Target Audience: Self-motivated learners who:
    • Initially skim for content that looks relevant, useful, or interesting.
    • See value in returning for a deep-dive reading session, when they feel ready for it.
  • Curriculum Gap Topics:
    • Are topics I intuitively feel would be ideal for all students to learn about, yet are missing or glossed over by traditional education's list of topics students are required to study.
    • Most curriculum gap topics having a learning difficulty similar to that of Algebra.
      • These subjects don't need to be hard to learn, yet many people have a hard time learning them.
      • As a formerly Licensed Algebra Teacher:
        • I believe there are 3 critical factors that predict how difficult Algebra and subjects of similar difficulty will be to learn:
          1. Access to high quality comprehensive explanations and educational resources.
          2. Consistent use of highly effective teaching strategies and practices.
          3. Consistent use of highly effective learning strategies and practices.
        • When developing content, I try to maximize, as much as practical, my use of applicable pedagogical best practices.

A Great User Experience​

  • Long-form content tends to be intimidating and avoided in cases of questionable value.
  • GuideScape helps users quickly judge its content's value, by:
    • Only publishing high quality content.
    • Focusing on content that's practical, useful, and interesting.
    • Using a skim friendly website design, so you can quickly find content that's relevant and worth your time.
Skim Friendly Design​
  • A table of contents on each page and text formatting are used to make the content skim friendly.
Guided Learning​

Some guides will have a "Prerequisite Reading" section with a recommended reading order for a series of related content. Reading in order can streamline comprehension.

  • Related articles tend to be listed sequentially.
  • If you plan to read an entire series of articles, then consider reading from top to bottom.
  • The thinking behind why reading in order can streamline your comprehension is.
    • Articles at the top of the order are intended to establish foundational knowledge.
    • Foundational Knowledge can then help make advanced knowledge and composite concepts covered further down easier to understand.