The Art of Learning

You know how it is. You walk into a pottery class… or anything for the first time. Things feel scary. Wheels are spinning, everyone knows exactly what they’re doing. You get some basic instructions, and try to follow them. You end up with a pile of mush. You wonder why it looks like everyone else's pots are so elegant, and while yours does a great Jabba the Hut impression.

Then comes the critical moment. You keep going, and see little to no progress. You want to quit. Quitting is fine... but it's the only way to guarantee you won't get better.

So what if we could follow a process for learning?

The Art of Learning proposes just that, a process to learn just about... anything. This book teaches that learning isn’t some black box. There are elements to it and ways to get better at it. The main lesson? Whatever you choose to discover, do it with intent.

The author, Josh Waitzkin, is just who you would want to teach you about learning stuff. He is a former Chess World Champion, Tai Chi Push hands World Champion, Brazillian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt, and one of the top foil surfers in the world. Talk about depth & breadth.

Should I read this?

Yeah, I think so. Everything is a game to be learned. If you get better at learning, you’ll probably get better at everything. He dives a bit into his own story, and philosophy which is really interesting. He’s pretty much a buddhist with a performance science background, which is an interesting combination.

Takeaways

There are 5 main takeaways from the book. You know all of these, but probably forget them every once in a while, so here’s the refresher.

1. Invest in Loss

2. Depth vs. Breadth

3. Changing yourself vs. Changing the World

4. Your game should reflect your personality

5. Intention is Everything

Invest in Loss

The words invest and loss generally don't work well together. If an investor gloats about their losses, you probably want to avoid them. But, Investing in loss is all about developing good habits, without emphasising results. The idea is to build the right habits for the long term.

What it means in practical terms is studying with reduced complexity, mastering a single piece of a game (remember everything is a game), and learning to control your game.

Depth vs. Breadth

This idea really fucked with me. I hate it. I hate everything about it... but it's 100% true. People like me want to eat every vegetable at the salad bar. But depth matters. Master a single piece before you focus on others.

When you go deep into a subject, you gain an intuitive understanding of how the micro influences the macro. You must understand the detail of the micro to see the bigger picture of the macro.

Changing yourself vs. changing the world

The internal solution means taking responsibility and for your results.

Your game should be a reflection of your personality

Remember, everything is a game. Your game is most organic, when it matches who you are. Craft your game to play to your unique strengths! It’s more fun, and more effective.

If you're a firebrand... act like it, show some heart! A shrewd maneuverer? Go operate! Whatever it is, you must allow your persona to shine through in your style of play.

Intention is everything

This is the most important and applicable lesson of the book. If you take away anything, it's this. Learning is a process, which is useless without intention. Just showing up isn't enough. For great outcomes, you must work with an intention. This can be working to understand a specific principle of the game, or answer a micro question that unlocks a macro concept.

The magic in setting an intention is clear. It gives you the superpower of focus, which is where all gains arise from.