Limitations of Learning and the Importance of Time Investment The main insight is that while most people can learn almost anything, they cannot learn everything. The mastery of complex subjects takes a significant amount of time and effort, and this aspect is often overlooked. It’s important to shift the focus from innate intelligence or brain power to the time investment required for learning complex subjects. Transcript: Speaker 1 So I think for the most part, I’m going to argue most people can learn most things. You can learn almost anything. Part two of the reality, and this is the bad news, you can learn almost anything, but you can’t learn everything. So I think what is obscured when you encounter people who have mastery of something really complicated, what is obscured is that it took them a really long time to get to that place. We jump ahead and just imagined them a month ago, just picked up the math textbook. I was like, ooh, this just makes sense to me. And then everyone kind of applause and they’re really good at math and they’re obviously smarter than you. Now there’s a long process that we’re going to unfold here in a second of how they build up to that expert knowledge. The reason why this means you can’t learn everything is that it takes time. Time is finite. So there’s only going to be so many complicated things you can learn because you only have so much time to put into it and it takes a lot of time to actually get there. So this is the big mental model shift I want to start us making right now is thinking about learning the complexity of what you learned, shifting this away from brain power and towards Time investment. (Time 0:08:27)
Learning Complexity and Progression The amount of time available determines the complexity that can be learned, while brain power is separate from this. Learning something hard progresses level by level, with the brain capable of making relatively small steps at a time. Progression is achieved through carefully designed exercises that push understanding to the next level, requiring some strain. Transcript: Speaker 1 More time means more complexity can be learned, less time means less complexity can be learned. Brain power is sort of orthogonal to all of this. So let’s fill in this mental model. I’m going to draw another picture here that I think captures well what the process really looks like when you’re trying to learn something hard. So for those who are listening instead of watching, what you’ll see I’m drawing here is a bunch of stair steps. We can put some goal at the top. So I’m going to put a music note at the top. You’re trying to master have a good understanding of jazz music or something like this. The way you actually progress towards hard understanding is upstairs level by level. Now here’s what’s important when you’re at a given level of understanding. So like let’s say you’re right here. Your brain is only capable when you’re moving up your level of understanding of making a relatively small step at a time. That’s why these steps are small. There are multiple steps to get from down here where you know in this example nothing about jazz music. Many steps until you get up here to being able to talk really intelligently about it. So it’s from your current level you move up to the next level. Now how these steps are actually made. So how does this actually happen here and here and here? So you’re going to have to be able to practice carefully designed exercises that push your understanding to the next level in a way that takes you out of what you’re already comfortable With. There has to be some strain into that. (Time 0:09:45)
Step-by-Step Approach to Cultivating Expert Knowledge Cultivating expert knowledge requires a step-by-step approach, starting with gaining new knowledge and being pushed to the next level. This process involves taking increasingly challenging courses or activities, with the goal being to focus on the next step of understanding rather than the distance from the top. It requires patience and expert help, as well as choosing activities that are both challenging and achievable. Transcript: Speaker 1 I took that when I was young that you’re taking literal test. In order to master that test, you had to gain new knowledge and it pushes you to the next level. Then after AP computer science, because I was good at this stuff, I started taking some college courses in computer science. That had okay, that’s pushing me a little bit farther. Now I’m go to college and I can take the more advanced courses. It’s pushing you farther. I get the MIT and now these courses are much harder. But I’ve gone up 17 steps before I got to taking, you know, theory of computation with Mike Sipser step by step by step. By the time you encounter me at the age of like 35, you know all this stuff. Like, yeah, it was a really long climb up the steps, really long climb up the staircase. Same thing when someone has this, why does this guy know so much about music? Well, probably he was exposed to it early on and his dad or mom really got him into it and step by step they got knowledge. So if you want to cultivate expert knowledge now in your life, you have to replicate all of these steps. Your goal is on what is the next step of understanding I can take, not how far am I from the top? The consistent stair step upwards. This requires patience because the ladder up is long and it requires expert help because choosing the right activities that move you to a new level and are tractable but not trivial. (Time 0:12:50)
The Importance of Mastering Complicated Skills Achieving mastery in complicated professional and personal skills is crucial for feeling more human and satisfied. It is recommended for younger individuals to aim for mastering a complex professional skill that sets them apart in their professional environment. Similarly, having a deep understanding and expertise in a particular area of personal interest contributes to a sense of fulfillment and substance in life. The mastery of complicated skills is uniquely human and brings a deep satisfaction that many people often avoid, yet it is essential for personal distinction and fulfillment. Transcript: Speaker 1 To have that in your life and substance in the Aristotelian sense is to be more human. So what I recommend, especially for younger people is here’s what you want almost to be aiming towards right away. Something in your professional life that’s complicated that you do well better than anyone else you know at your company or organization. Write out the bat. Really complicated skill here. Really good at programming these type of data systems. We’re an SAP company like being able to build advanced models using statistical analysis, a type of art, you know, you’re a graphic designer for a video game company and pushing whatever The latest is and doing some sort of 3D modeling. Something that is really complicated and valuable that you know well. Just set that standard right away. In your personal life, you should have the same. Everyone should have one thing that they’re working towards just being really good with. I really understand movies. I really understand why. Not like a casual, I kind of read about this, but I got a Somalia certificate. Not just like I go to the theaters, but you know, I could write and I do sometimes contribute reviews to a community online publications about movies. There is something deeply satisfying in feeling the mastery of complicated things. It’s uniquely human. I think a lot of people avoid it. A lot of people do not have this in their life and it leads to this distinction. (Time 0:15:56)
The Phone Foyer Method for Reducing Screen Time Identify a skill you’re an expert at to reduce reliance on phone and excessive screen time. By placing the phone in the foyer or kitchen, you can limit its accessibility, allowing your brain to seek other activities and focus on skill development. Transcript: Speaker 1 Phone. If you have nothing in your life that you feel like you’re a real expert on, I’m going to guess without knowing for sure that your screen time statistics aren’t great, that you’re getting That dopamine push towards the screen where there’s going to be something funny or outrageous or distracting or whatever on there. This is eating up time after time after time. Put that phone into the foyer. Phone foyer method. New year is a great time to do this. The phone is plugged in in my kitchen or the foyer. If I need it, I can go there to look something up, but it’s not with me as a default. It’s not with me at the couch. It’s not with me at the dinner table. It’s not with me, God forbid, in the bathroom. Now your brain gets some freedom. It wants something to do. Let’s give it something to do. We’re moving up the next stair level on this work skill. (Time 0:18:29)