I must give credit to ABP for yet another “aha!” moment. Turns out learning to think by thinking, the right way hones our abilities to learn just about anything and everything. There is a right way to think about things that enables one able to grasp concepts more easily. I term it “the right way” because it works, when applied properly.
The ability to learn anything, is simply related to how well one is able to think about and analyze it. I would be honest, being privy to the knowledge and tools that can help one learn anything, does not assure the proper application. Application is always a bit more tricky than just knowing what to do. However, knowing what to do, is half of the journey. Let me also state that, ABP is most responsible for this realization.
Of course, it is not black and white. There are a lot of factors that affect thinking right about a given concept;
- The volume of information.
- The volume of information makes it much harder to sieve through to the important bits.
- Knowing the important bits to look out for requires a skill.
- This skill can be harnessed through intentional and guided thinking.
- Being intentional about what information to absorb, helps eliminate noise and biases.
- be eliminate noise and biases, one is able to have enough headspace to joggle through the important bits only
That is why you must;
ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
When reading up or gathering information there are questions you must ask in order to gain mastery of your subject;
- WHO?
- WHAT?
- WHERE?
- WHEN?
Then, to the above four questions, you must apply the “how?” and “why?” questions repeatedly. The how and why questions drive us to a place of curiosity that births questions we were previously unaware of. Ask them until you are without a doubt that you have cracked the given subject of study beyond reasonable doubt. Continue to ruminate until you are certain of the facts, to the point that you are able to differentiate between what is true, and what is not.
It is important to keep asking these questions because, the more you know, the more you are able to decipher between the good and the bad information. This will facilitate personalizing the subject. And, help you improve upon the currently available information and school of thought.
The need to learn and know new things is instrumental at a very basic level in our daily activities. For one, the decisions we make are only as good as the information we have at the time we make those decisions.
HOW TO GET GOOD INFORMATION
Research plays a very crucial part in gathering good information. Its contribution is very profound in ensuring you are able to have a good insight. Traditionally, it involves reading and asking experts questions. However, in modern times additional formats are available in the form of audios and videos – which creates an avenue for easier interaction with information.
WHAT TO DO WITH INFORMATION
All information collected must be processed. The information must be evaluated and ranked in order of importance. Apply these steps may seem mechanical at first, and require you to execute them systematically. Though, in time, it will become smoother and just flow into one another as it registers in your system 1.
Finally, it is very important to be able to preserve all of your processed information. Making notes, recording an audio, and making a video could help with that function. Your recorded output should contain; the who, what, where, when with their why and how. Then, we can be convinced that you know what you are talking about!
To help build this skill, you may begin with tackling subjects that interest you or ones that are vaguely familiar but still interest you. Do it until you get comfortable with the system. From there you may sail into deeper waters.
See you at the other side of this voyage!
#MMBA3 #AVANTE-GARDE
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