"But I don't want to know how it works"

Is the above sentence feel familiar? If so, you are not alone. Most people will encounter this thought in one form or another, be it from yourself or from your average friend whose only goal in university is to get laid by a girl.

Most people will spend 100 hours scrambling through the tutorial, all the while refusing to learn a 5 minutes guide about the principles behind it, failing to do the thing, and then blaming those who do as "prodigies", or "you have always had it easy".

In my life, I have the luxury of encountering this question from a young age and being able to break free from the illusion. Now, as a learning enthusiast, I have the rare pleasure of enjoying things many people consider to be a waste of time: Learning. Moreover, I want to document this process and share it with other people, so that you can enjoy the learning process, all the while generating benefits for yourself. The best of both worlds is achievable.

In my new series The Adapter Journey, I will share my thoughts and experiences on learning, and how I become what I consider an Adapter: who can adapt to the increasingly changing environment, and even thrive in it.

In the first post, we will dive into the "why" question, to gain a deeper understanding of the motivation behind the learning process, as well as to help you to be more perseverance in your learning journey: after all, if deep down inside you know that it will be worth it, what else can stop you?

My hands-on experience

When I was a high school student, I have always been fascinated by the sheer amount of knowledge around the world. Simply staring at the textbook has flooded me with excitement as I learned about how engines work, how behaviors form, and so much more.

It was an event in the past that mark my realization of my learning potential. A friend of mine, who has got into a specialized school for gifted students, has asked me a question about a physics problem that I had not learned then since her program was ahead of me. Refusing to back down, I quickly skimmed the Internet, got the general ideas and formulas of the questions, and answered them correctly. That was when I realized that, with the power of the Internet, me and you, can quickly learn and understand anything we want.

From then, I learned other aspects the same way: getting the general ideas of something, gaining the sense of "flow" - the relationships between concepts, the chain by which they connect into a step-by-step process. And as a side note, I still retain the habit of receiving and quickly answering questions beyond my knowledge base, just because of the thrill that comes with the "lightning research" ;)

The (sad) reality

Sadly, when I look around myself, I see a world of ignorance and oblivion. Most people consider learning as a process of "opening the tutorial, trying to remember every tiny detail of it, then call it a day". This not only comes from the lack of proper methodologies but also from a lack of excitement.

I remembered there was a time when I was guiding a friend of mine in installing the environment for React development. I was going to say something about the underlying mechanisms of npm and NodeJS when suddenly my friend said

"But I don't want to know how it works. Just show me the commands!"

That was when I realized that no matter how much I explain to people about the methods for a more efficient learning process, it would be meaningless because they ACTIVELY do not want to learn. In their mind, learning is a burden, something that they have to do reluctantly, something that they want to do as fast as possible before coming back to doom scrolling TikTok and wondering why they have not been millionaires yet.

The "WHY?"

Okay, backstory time's over. If you have gone through the paragraph above that normal people shall call "boring", you are surely a learning enthusiast. And as Namor in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" has said:

"How" is never as important as "Why".

My dear knowledge enthusiasts might already know this, but I will list the reasons as a reminder, for we may never forget:

• Illumination

  It is like when you have struggled with something for hours and suddenly everything clicks together. That "aha!" moment is just pure satisfaction. When you know deeply how things work, working with the subject becomes a piece of cake.

• Connection

  Nothing like being able to see the patterns that others overlooked. That moment when you point out a colleague's mistake that cost him 12 hours only by looking at it for 5 minutes, is just so cool. And yes, so productive as well.

• Application

  This is a tricky one. Many people can become adept at something without fully understanding the logic behind it. You may be tempted to skip the fundamentals to advance faster, but without the basics, you will slow down the more you work with it, and you will inevitably be surpassed by those who are slow but steady.

• Transferability

  Each and every subject are connected together, and as such, a skill from one discipline can be applied to another. However, this can only be achieved by first knowing the connection between the subject, and the overlap between them, which can only be achieved by examine them closely and deeply.

• Empowerment

  A deep understanding empowers us to share knowledge, teach others, and make a meaningful impact. It enables us to communicate complex ideas effectively (since we knew them inside out) and inspire others.

  My idol, Nobel laureate Richard Feynman described this best. He is a fantastic teacher who can break down complex ideas using simple words, and has inspired many generations to explore this world, myself included.

• Appreciation

  A deep understanding of the principles and application of the subject will help you to appreciate the role of the subject in the infinite web of knowledge. It makes us desire to learn more, to dive deeper into the subject.

TL;DR: Understanding the true meaning behind a piece of knowledge is crucial to gaining a sense of appreciation for the knowledge. It is the cornerstone of the learning process, as only with appreciation can you be consistent and motivated to learn about the subject.

Conclusion

In this post, I share my thought about the learning process as a process of discovery, appreciation, and connection. The emphasis here is to first discover the "why", and the motivation behind the discovery, and gain a sense of appreciation for the subject.

I hope that through my experiences, you will have the motivation to start the "actual" learning process that you have put aside for so long. And in the next post, we will discuss the learning principles that I use. See you next time.