idea
Understanding a concept is having a clear picture of it to a usable level. When understanding, you can use and describe it, as opposed to just knowing the definition and the words.
To understand something, you need to insist on a problem until there is a real things become natural, and click into place.
Understanding is not binary, it has multiple levels of depth.
There are multiple ways to test understanding: explaining to a 5yo, writing about it, finding parables that illustrate it.
There are two main approach to teach: Instructionism and consturctionism, or being taught vs experimenting. Experimenting is better at forming mental models, connection form for longer.
If you don't understand go closer: study the detail, make your own mind rather than reading what other people have to say about it. You don't have to always use what someone else told you
Links
Cargo cult is the application of a procedure without understanding it.
References
- Not overthinking
- Nabeel Qureshi / How to understand thingsref Intelligence is software rather than hardware. It highly depends on how hard you try. Getting understanding of something is being able to grasp the concept "in 3D": visualizing it, mapping it, being able to write and explain it, rather than just having a "word-based" understanding. To understand something you need to take it slow, again and again, until you make breakthroughs. You don't have to re-use somebody else's interpretation, in fact understanding by doing the thinking yourself is the best way. Don't be afraid to appear stupid. Understanding has layers, it's not binary.
- Thomas Frank / the feinman technique - Feinman technique is that to understand something, try to explain it to someone else
Not overthinking and theblog post