Learning how to think (2015)
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Learning how to think (2015)
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Re: Learning how to think (2015)
#2This is about concentration, focus, and it is absolutely a skill and not really taught.
Beyond that, introspection is not really taught either. That is, so I have been thinking about this thing a lot, am I being honest with myself about what is grounded in reality and what isn’t? Am I being honest with myself about my overriding preference for my gut feeling vs. what can be verified in the real world with some more effort?
Re: Learning how to think (2015)
#3>Thinking is one of those things that can be learned but can’t be taught.
Then the article (poorly) tries to teach you techniques how to think better. Pass.
Re: Learning how to think (2015)
#4The article is from 2015, but nothing has changed.
Realistically, I think the US University experiment does a good job teaching this with first-hand experience. Giving a kid significant access to money they'll make in the future, surrounded by positive and negative opportunities to spend that money, and no clearly correct path to follow since the answer is dependent on your personal background. That's a recipe for learning to think quickly. Though, it's like pushing the baby bird out of the nest, you might only have one shot to get it right.
Re: Learning how to think (2015)
#5I've noticed that people I meet that I think of as intelligent usually had an adult that talked with them intelligently when they were younger.
I think thinking is seen, then emulated, and this emulation needs a bit of coaching.
Yes, once you start reading some of this can happen without someone else available, but ultimately thinking is learned by exposure to good examples of it and iterated practice.
Re: Learning how to think (2015)
#6I used to really appreciate fs. After a few years i, personally, think it’s clickbait and i am not the target audience anymore.
Re: Learning how to think (2015)
#7I used to really appreciate fs. After a few years i, personally, think it’s clickbait and i am not the target audience anymore.
I agree too. I have the same feeling about Scott Young's newsletters. They both seem talk a lot but don't provide the same level of value they used. Then again, this article is from 2015.
> The best way to improve your ability to think is to actually spend time thinking.
> Good decision makers understand a simple truth: you can’t make good decisions without good thinking and good thinking requires time.
One I still subscribe to is James Clear, I really like his 3-2-1 newsletters every thursday.
One from a few weeks ago:
> "Fear of failure is higher when you're not working on the problem.
> If you are taking action, you are less worried about failure because you realize you can influence the outcome."
Re: Learning how to think (2015)
#8I had high hopes for this article, but it kind of let me down. The tl;dr is that you should slow down and focus in order to make better decisions, and that people suck at multitasking and multitasking makes you stupid.
The article didn’t really get into how to learn how to think.
My opinion is that there are two critical skills to thinking effectively.
The first is to assess each of your “inputs” critically - why do you think that something you know is true (epistemology)? Why do you believe a particular fact? People have a tendency to cherry pick and to accept information unquestioningly if it confirms a bias; you have to constantly challenge yourself not to do this.
The other aspect of effective thinking, IMO, is to work backwards to first principles (challenge those too btw). Extrapolate your thought to extremes and see if it still makes sense- if it doesn’t, you’re likely just rationalizing to come up with your preferred outcome rather than really thinking.
And of course practice. A lot.
Re: Learning how to think (2015)
#9> Good decisions create time, bad ones consume it.
My key takeaway from this article, well put.
Re: Learning how to think (2015)
#10I've noticed that people I meet that I think of as intelligent usually had an adult that talked with them intelligently when they were younger. I think thinking is seen, then emulated, and this emulation needs a bit of coaching. Yes, once you start reading some of this can happen without someone else available, but ultimately thinking is learned by exposure to good examples of it and iterated practice.
Parenting/mentoring has lots of hard or painful parts, like setting boundaries/limits.
But a really EASY and effective thing is to just to set a good example.
(it can also make kids mindful if you tell them to set a good example for other kids)
Growing up much if not most of my learning was just from observing.