There’s a family video from when I was maybe 3, at my sister’s birthday party. I’m babbling along and my Uncle Dan says, “you sure talk a whole lot, Mark.” I responded, “That’s how I learn things.”
My dad always thought this was funny - how could you learn by talking? Your post underlines the mechanism that…
There’s a family video from when I was maybe 3, at my sister’s birthday party. I’m babbling along and my Uncle Dan says, “you sure talk a whole lot, Mark.” I responded, “That’s how I learn things.”
My dad always thought this was funny - how could you learn by talking? Your post underlines the mechanism that I’d been inadvertently using. I didn’t have a plan to find an audience, I was just … moving in a way that made sense. For a long time I wanted to convince the whole world of some ideas. I gave up on that and figured maybe I could convince certain communities. Then, Ok, maybe one. Then I realized I didn’t understand things as well as this community did.
The process is still ongoing, but I’m less singularly focused on trying to sell ideas as I am on trying to share and entertain.
Slate Star Codex / LessWrong. It was game changing for me to realize, I need to be around people with similar values to really grow and develop.
Surprisingly enough, the more i try to fine-tune my messaging for the community that does the best job of poking holes in my ideas, the better I'm getting at talking to people in general.
Really enjoying this substack - looking forward to more :)
This comment and Henrik's answer feel like snapshots from my own childhood. Conversation, whether verbally, by emails over years with friends, or online in faster formats more recently, is how I think well. (I would also include being in connection with the 'non-human world' too, when out in the wilds for longer periods, as there are thoughts I only seem to be able to have in conversation with certain kinds of landscape.) I agree, sincere, niche online conviviality spontaneously creates two things for me: delight and real connection with others. The first is like manna, the second is like really good bread; both are essential. It's how I ever found my worldwide natural pigments posse, the few English speaking Taoist meditators out there, and greatly lengthened my Illichian post-apocalyptic meal invite list. Our nodes are the fruiting bodies of the mycelium of our connective intent. Greetings from South London.
Your strategy of learning things by talking a whole lot makes a ton of sense, because the best way to get the answer on the internet is by posting the wrong answer
This is beautiful and I love it!
There’s a family video from when I was maybe 3, at my sister’s birthday party. I’m babbling along and my Uncle Dan says, “you sure talk a whole lot, Mark.” I responded, “That’s how I learn things.”
My dad always thought this was funny - how could you learn by talking? Your post underlines the mechanism that I’d been inadvertently using. I didn’t have a plan to find an audience, I was just … moving in a way that made sense. For a long time I wanted to convince the whole world of some ideas. I gave up on that and figured maybe I could convince certain communities. Then, Ok, maybe one. Then I realized I didn’t understand things as well as this community did.
The process is still ongoing, but I’m less singularly focused on trying to sell ideas as I am on trying to share and entertain.
My mother likes to tell the story of how she once timed me to see how long I would talk if she did not interrupt me - and she gave up after 12 hrs.
It is a fabolous way to learn - especially, when you learn to really listen as well. And when you learn to ask good questions.
In what communities did you first feel like the community knew more than you?
Slate Star Codex / LessWrong. It was game changing for me to realize, I need to be around people with similar values to really grow and develop.
Surprisingly enough, the more i try to fine-tune my messaging for the community that does the best job of poking holes in my ideas, the better I'm getting at talking to people in general.
Really enjoying this substack - looking forward to more :)
This comment and Henrik's answer feel like snapshots from my own childhood. Conversation, whether verbally, by emails over years with friends, or online in faster formats more recently, is how I think well. (I would also include being in connection with the 'non-human world' too, when out in the wilds for longer periods, as there are thoughts I only seem to be able to have in conversation with certain kinds of landscape.) I agree, sincere, niche online conviviality spontaneously creates two things for me: delight and real connection with others. The first is like manna, the second is like really good bread; both are essential. It's how I ever found my worldwide natural pigments posse, the few English speaking Taoist meditators out there, and greatly lengthened my Illichian post-apocalyptic meal invite list. Our nodes are the fruiting bodies of the mycelium of our connective intent. Greetings from South London.
Your strategy of learning things by talking a whole lot makes a ton of sense, because the best way to get the answer on the internet is by posting the wrong answer