Earth - Gain a Rock Solid Understanding of the Basics

 

“When you look at your own familiar world with unaccustomed depth and clarity, that world will open up to show richness, structure, and meaning that you never saw before.”

 

• Understanding something is not a binary proposition.

  • simplest concept can be understood in an ever-increasing depth.
  • spend time mastering the basics.

• Oftentimes the difference between the expert and amateur

  • is not in the level of complexity one can handle.
  • it's the subtle things like how nuanced one’s fundamentals are.
  • Example
    • professional tennis player
      • watches the ball or swings his bat with great attention
      • incredible technical efficiency and clarity
    • amateur tennis player
      • less efficient on watching the ball or swinging the bat
       
      
      
      
      

Every time we revisit the basics, we can spot new nuances that went unnoticed before.

• Identify the fundamental components and work on them.

  • Take any skill or subject area that you wish to improve on.
    • It can be anything related to your professional or personal life.
  • List all the fundamental components that make up that skill or subject.
    • This list does not have to be exhaustive. It can just be a free-flowing stream of consciousness.
  • Now pick any one of those components and spend 30 minutes learning about it.
    • Write down everything you know about that component and explain each concept of it. Try to understand how it fits into the bigger picture. You have to be brutally honest with yourself. If you don't know something, admit it. And commit to learning these unknown skills as soon as possible rather than glossing over them.
     
   
  

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