I follow a lot of subjects and diverse interests but occasionally I catch myself staring at something I thought I knew and realize I’m not quite there.

Like I managed to get Flash Forth running on a microcontroller and a few basics beyond flashing a LED, but never figured out branching and looping in a way that clicks in my mind.

Or, how I follow a ton of science content from various sources, but feel like an idiot trying to talk about it with anyone IRL.

Does anyone else feel a disconnect from something like a digital mind versus analog life?

  • vibinya
    link
    39 months ago

    I don’t think I see knowledge in a digital vs non-digital sense. People often learn things in different fashions - I’m sure you’ve heard people say they are visual learners vs auditory or something like that. There is some truth to that, but overall it’s easier to remember and retain things when we’re exposed to them in a variety of ways. Teaching someone or explaining something you just learned is a great way to retain things- yes, it may come out all over the place at first, but you’ll often find it becomes easier as you revisit the topic or try explaining it again later. There’s also a difference between knowing something and understanding something. You can watch tutorials on something, but until you start applying that knowledge, it might not feel as tangible. Oftentimes, there’s a point with any knowledge where we hit a wall and mentally spin our wheels trying to understand it- super normal, else everyone would be experts on everything. Overcoming that wall usually means taking some steps back and picking up some pieces of knowledge which we might not have been exposed to previously. This is one of the reasons we’re seeing more education efforts focused on Project-Based Learning.