[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/algorithmforlife.com\/learn-more\/learn\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/algorithmforlife.com\/learn-more\/learn\/","headline":"Learn","name":"Learn","description":"It’s a lifelong journey. Ask.\u00a0 Questions are the key to […]","datePublished":"2023-04-03","dateModified":"2023-03-01","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/algorithmforlife.com\/author\/algorithmlife\/#Person","name":"algorithmlife","url":"https:\/\/algorithmforlife.com\/author\/algorithmlife\/","identifier":1,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d9ce54bf7884db06c868d4c3d9f401d81cecc940d6403409642a6a34d06caa8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d9ce54bf7884db06c868d4c3d9f401d81cecc940d6403409642a6a34d06caa8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Person","name":"Dave Burnett"},"url":"https:\/\/algorithmforlife.com\/learn-more\/learn\/","about":["Learn More"],"wordCount":1079,"articleBody":"It’s a lifelong journey.Ask.\u00a0 Questions are the key to knowledge.\u00a0 Ask better questions.Control your inputs, to get better outputs.Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better.\u00a0 If you were better, it would be easier.Be curious.Garbage in, garbage out.Most people are ‘T’ shaped.\u00a0 They usually know a little about everything, a lot about one thing.\u00a0 Learn what they know.Books are algorithms.The world is your library.The truth changes.If there’s nothing else you get from all this that I’ve written, just remember this: Keep learning. What is true today, may not be the truth tomorrow, but so long as you are learning you’ll keep growing.\u00a0 Just think about how many people thought the world was flat, or the sun orbited around the earth, or a million other things that were foundational truths, that turned out to be just plain wrong.\u00a0 Everyone, everywhere thinks that what they believe is true, even if it contradicts what someone else believes is true. The best part is they could both be right, or they could both be wrong.\u00a0 It might depend on perspective, or the reference point, or something else.\u00a0 The best part is with focused learning, you can discover many new truths.\u00a0 You can create, explore, imagine, and the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know. So how do you learn?\u00a0 One of the keys is the questions you ask.\u00a0 Let’s start with the basics.\u00a0 Ask.\u00a0 If you’re not sure, ask. If you disagree, ask.\u00a0 If something is surprising, ask.\u00a0 The more you ask, the more you’ll know, and the more you’ll be able to decide for yourself.\u00a0  The questions you ask tell the world how you think, what you’re curious about, rather than what you can do.\u00a0 And how you think is the key to success.\u00a0 Questions are the key to knowledge.\u00a0 So do your best to ask better questions. So how do you ask better questions?\u00a0 Be curious, and don’t have an agenda.\u00a0 People, when asked questions, will know if you are trying to learn more, or if you are trying to get what you want.\u00a0 They will know if you’re asking for clarity, or if you’re asking to manipulate, or reinforce your self beliefs.\u00a0 Be genuinely curious, probe, try to relate what they are saying to what you already know. There are a few specific guard rails around questions, and the most important is the question ‘why’.\u00a0 When you ask ‘why’, it can come across as judgmental if you are asking someone about there approach.\u00a0 ‘Why did you do that?’ is a slap in the face.\u00a0 So when trying to understand someone’s actions, use ‘what’.\u00a0  ‘What were you trying to accomplish?’ is a much better way to get the answer you were looking for.\u00a0 It turns the focus to the outcome, rather than the decision making process of the person you’re asking.\u00a0 Bottom line, be careful of ‘why’. When you are learning, you should not only ask questions about the content, but the source of the content and the credibility of the source.\u00a0 It’s impossible know for sure 100% that what you are listening to, watching, or reading is from a credible source, but there are a few guidelines you can stick too. For example, understand that most ‘news’ is actually entertainment, and their job is to sell advertising, not communicate the truth.\u00a0 Not only that, but being polarizing is interesting and gets more attention, so the more extreme a point of view, the more interest it gets (and the more copies it sells, and the more ads it serves…)\u00a0  That doesn’t mean it’s true, or false, just that it’s more interesting.\u00a0  If you get one point of view, do the work in understanding the contrary point of view so you can better make up your mind.\u00a0 Watch both CNN and Fox News, and make up your own mind. I think of most people’s knowledge as ‘T’ shaped.\u00a0 The top of the T represents all the knowledge they have across many things.\u00a0 They have a broad base, but not much depth.\u00a0 They know how to drive a car, but not repair it.\u00a0 They know how to bake a cake but only from a store-bought pre-mixed kit.\u00a0 They know how to zip up a jacket, but not what materials fill the liner to keep them warm. However there are areas, the I part of the T, where they have lots of deep knowledge.\u00a0 This is what you want to learn from them.\u00a0 The accountant has deep knowledge around financial reporting.\u00a0 The football star knows a ton about plays, tackles, and zone defence.\u00a0 The teacher knows a lot about 3rd grade math, and how to get unruly kids to stay engaged in a classroom for hours. So when learning from someone, ask yourself where their knowledge runs deep.\u00a0 This also helps when getting advice on situations, and you can ‘authority weight’ someone’s advice.\u00a0 If they have a ton of knowledge in one area, they have more authority, and if they contradict others who are less authoritative in that area, that one input may outweigh all the others combined due to their experience. One final thing is about books and all the knowledge they contain.\u00a0 They way I look at books is they are algorithms.\u00a0 Someone, somewhere spent their entire lives on developing a deep knowledge base in a particular area.\u00a0 They then took the time to write all that down, edit, condense, and publish their learning into a format you can read and digest in a few hours.\u00a0  You gain all the years of trials, failures, and obstacles they overcame in a few short pages with a $20 investment and a few hours of time. Sure, they leave out some of the details, but all the lessons are there for you to take and learn.\u00a0 There is nothing better than having someone share all they’ve done for you to take or leave.\u00a0 Books are tools, and like tools you can create amazing things if you so choose.\u00a0 The best thing you can do with your learning is creating a better life, and you can do this by simply taking the time to read. If you’re frustrated because something is difficult, don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better.\u00a0 If you were better, it would be easier."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Learn More","item":"https:\/\/algorithmforlife.com\/learn-more\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Learn","item":"https:\/\/algorithmforlife.com\/learn-more\/learn\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]