Questions Flashcards
What’s important to understand deeply to achieve mastery?
Understand fundamental ideas deeply.
How should you tackle complex issues?
Don’t face complex issues head-on; first understand simple ideas deeply.
To think clearly about something what should you do?
Clear the clutter and expose what is really important.
What should you be brutally honest about to think clearly and then what should you do?
Be brutally honest about what you know and don’t know. Then see what’s missing, identify the gaps, and fill them in.
What are 3 things you should let go of to think clearly?
Let go of bias, prejudice, and preconceived notions.
What is a reality about the nature of understanding?
There are degrees to understanding (it’s not just a yes-or-no proposition) and you can always heighten yours.
What is the foundation for success?
Rock-solid understanding is the foundation for success.
What role do mistakes play in getting things right?
Make mistakes: Fail to succeed. Intentionally get it wrong to inevitably get it even more right.
What is the value of mistakes?
Mistakes are great teachers - they highlight unforeseen opportunities and holes in your understanding. They also show you which way to turn next, and they ignite your imagination.
What should you do to clarify and extend your understanding?
Raise questions: Constantly create questions to clarify and extend your understanding.
What’s the importance of asking the right questions?
What’s the real question? Working on the wrong questions can waste a lifetime.
How can you bring out ideas?
Ideas are in the air - the right questions will bring them out and help you see connections that otherwise would have been invisible.
What should you do when you get an idea?
Follow the flow of ideas: Look back to see where ideas came from and then look ahead to discover where those ideas may lead.
What are new ideas?
A new idea is a beginning, not an end.
What should you do with ideas?
Ideas are rare - milk them.
What should you do with small ideas and why?
Following the consequences of small ideas can result in big payoffs.
What do all ideas have and how do you find them?
Engage with that idea and extend it. The key is not to wonder whether the idea has extensions; it does. Your challenge is to find them.
Why is change significant?
Change: The unchanging element is change - by mastering the first four elements, you can change the way you think and learn. You can always improve, grow, and extract more out of your education, yourself, and the way you live your life. Change is the universal constant that allows you to get the most out of living and learning.
How should you approach learning and ideas?
When you learn anything, go for depth and make it rock solid. Deep work on simple, basic ideas. Return to the basics repeatedly. When you look back after learning a complicated subject, the basics seem far simpler; however, those simple basics are a moving target. As you learn more, the fundamentals become at once simpler but also subtler, deeper, more nuanced, and more meaningful.
What’s a good way of testing your knowledge for gaps?
Without referring to any outside sources, can you write a coherent, accurate, and comprehensive description of the foundations of the subject, or does your knowledge have gaps? Do you struggle to think of core examples? Do you fail to see the overall big picture that puts the pieces together?
What is a good approach to solving hard problems?
Great scientists, creative thinkers, and problem solvers do not solve hard problems head-on. When they are faced with a daunting question, they immediately and prudently admit defeat. They realize that there is no sense in wasting energy vainly grappling with complexity when, instead, they can productively grapple with simpler cases that will teach them how to deal with the complexity to come.
What should you do when faced with a difficult issue or challenge?
When faced with a difficult issue or challenge, do something else. Focus entirely on solving a subproblem that you know you can successfully resolve. I realized my problem is not just procrastination but focus. Ah ha! So for ten minutes, I’ll turn off my computer and cell phone and spend that short uninterrupted time knowing there will be no distractions. Once I’ve made this little ten-minute practice a daily habit, I’ll revisit the larger challenge of time management.
What are the two steps to approaching complex situations?
Step One: Identify and ignore all distracting features to isolate the essential core. Step Two: Analyze that central issue and apply those insights to the larger whole.
What should you acknowledge when observing a situation or solving a problem?
Acknowledge what you actually see - no matter how mundane or obvious - rather than guess at what you think you are supposed to see.
What should you be very clear about with regards to the foundations of your beliefs and why?
Be very clear about the foundations of your opinions. If you believe something only because another person - even a professor - told you it was so, then you should not view your understanding as rock solid.
