learning, naturally @ like fire

have you ever tried making a fire?

the last time I did was three months ago in Bryson City.

as i lie on the bed and can not do anything else but scrolling the phone, i saw the picture of me I setting the fire and can not help but thinking, hey, isn’t learning is like making a fire – with four stages?

🔥 stage 1: Ignition

“Fire does not arise from no where, but requires good tinder. It could be long-smoldering ember, a suddenly extinguished match, or a strong force of human. Collision will create the first sparks.”

Huong “Jean” Truong, in a shameless attempt to make a poem

learning seems to start the same way. when we encounter an inspiring sentence, meet a person we want to become, or receive a strong external push, our passion for learning something begins to ignite.

🔥 stage 2: Combustion.

“When it starts to burn, the fire spreads quickly. All the wood around, the fire reaches out and consumes. The more it consumes, the bigger and brighter it becomes.”

Huong “Jean” Truong, in a shameless attempt to make a poem

the initial phase of learning is similar. when we begin to learn – especially with fundamentals, our enthusiasm continually increases. we absorb everything we read, the more we learn, the more confident we become.

🔥 stage 3: smothering.

“but eventually, the wood runs out. and there are sudden buckets of water. the fire trapped in a sealed room. deprived of air, it smothers.”

Huong “Jean” Truong, in a shameless attempt to make a poem

and there comes a time when we begin to doubt: about the restrictive learning environment, about the vastness of knowledge, about everything we are learning. In the worst-case scenario, we fall into the pit of despair.

🔥 stage 4: Heat Spreading.

“And when it stops searching, the fire looks within. Carefully nurturing the hot coals. Igniting a new heat source.”

Huong “Jean” Truong, in a shameless attempt to make a poem

when we start to accept that we’re at the bottom, there’s no other way but… to humbly crawl up. :>

there are many ways to climb: by going back to basics, by breaking down our knowledge into small packets, by participating in new communities to receive feedback, and learning together.

if you’re reading this and it seems familiar, yes, you are reading a fancy version of the “Dunning Kruger Effect”.

the Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias often used to explain learner psychology. But, when we talk about psychology and developmental stages, the only certain thing is that there is no one-size-fits-all framework.

you may not have experienced the Dunning-Kruger effect or consider it a controversial scientific concept.

you may be going through the Dunning–Kruger effect, and naming it helps you understand the problem better, (possibly) finding a solution sooner.

the crux of the matter is to, one again, thinking about thinking.

references:

1. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-dunning-kruger-effect-isnt-what-you-think-it-is/?fbclid=IwAR1HQM8whyznbnUrNfS0cH1m_yEwmU3-ZTFaolNGvK-kaAkgOCOTtuIT23Y
2. https://www.scienceofpeople.com/dunning-kruger/?fbclid=IwAR2vm0KaEXJ0jSM_0RQmcXzHhms-lv2RxWaHLwNpJW3rEZ1FOUo2uPoLdGU
   
   

________________

and if you are also passionate about learning, check out my wiki page here https://b.link/huongwiki-lxd to learn with me, or even more by:

💬 sharing what you like with me: Seriously, your perspective is so-valuable to me! Share with me if you find a resource, a tool, or even a thought that you believe will enrich our collective knowledge. ▶️ Just <right click> and <comment> anywhere on this page!

🌞 building your own wiki page: I have enabled “duplicate” features so you can “grab” all the resources below to your Notion for managing information, taking notes, planning your study – whatever you want!