Learning

When it comes to learning, to move fast, first slow down.

“First understand the trunk and branches before the leaves” - Elon Musk

Your aim in learning should be on how well you understand the concepts. A metric for gauging your knowledge level is to explain your choice topic, simply, in few sentences. Explain everything like you’re talking to a child. The assumptions and why they exist. Why the method was used and not another. The aim is to eliminate the usage of any jargon or recitation from any textbook.

This process is not restricted to the academic environment. A good example for a non academic scenario can be found in this video of Elon explaining first prinicples with electric batteries.

To learn fast, first slow down. Understand the core, the axioms. Then build upon that. The next step would be to apply what you’ve learnt. Even if its for fun, build something, solve something. It would root your gained knowledge deeply.

This write-up is something I had to relearn recently.