Learning Things

by Paul Grimsley

It can be hard to take in lessons that are delivered in such a way that they come across in a didactic manner that allows no space for a person to develop their own understanding of a thing.

It is true that truths and facts are incontrovertible, but a person’s understanding of them, and how they can apply the data to their lives is not necessarily a fixed thing.

I have always liked watching interviews because you get real life examples of how, when, and where someone used the information they have — they aren’t just stood there preaching at you.

It may just be me that I don’t like to be told that there is only one way to skin a cat, especially if the cat you are trying to skin is a creative one. Sometimes all those hidebound rules hit a point where they stop someone from moving at all.

If someone gives you data and no matter how much you try to apply it you find that it proves unsuccessful, how much use is the data? if the data comes in at you from such a steep angle and sounds interesting, but is inredibly abstract, again, of how much use it?

Just because someone is a supposed authority, one should not take what they say as gospel. The proof as they say is always in the pudding.

I think I always learned more from Lego and Meccano than I ever did from some weird algebraic formula on the blackboard that was totally unrelated to my life.

Reading about stuff and then doing it makes the whole thing seem so much more real and useful. It applies to work, to life, to learning.