We Learn Through Action

Education consists of two parts: Inspiration and action. 

Passive education is a temporary satisfaction that one may use to inform action in the short term. If this action is not taken, I would argue nothing is truly learned. 

It is only through the act of creating and performing, that we gain real knowledge and find true growth. 

Reading, writing, and discussion can certainly help guide one’s actions. But they themselves do not teach. For one could be convinced that the sky is pink, but it is only when he walks outside that he knows the sky is blue. 

When we consume information and accept it as the final truth, we are taking man’s word for god’s own. We die by the interpretations of mortals. True wisdom can only be found through our first-hand experience in this world. 

For example, when many people criticize your work, it tells you nothing of your work, but tells you much of the current ideologies of man. You can change your work to appeal to them, or find that it becomes accepted well past your death. This occurs due to the polarity of life, a natural balance. The new generations seek different ideals than their parents, and therefore glorify the same ideas that were previously deemed heretical.

My point in this explanation is that man as a collective is really quite a meaningless metric. Individuals carry information worth considering, and even then it is only a half truth. The world’s operations cannot fully be known by humans, we only have limited interpretations of our experiences. 

However, inspiration is important because it guides our actions. Without it we would live in utter chaos, performing the most atrocious acts without the slightest clue to what it may consequent. It is never known what exactly will happen, but reason and probability are reliable hints (science proves this time and time again. Note the probabilistic function of finding an electron within an atom in quantum mechanics). 

The best way to view learning is to always be acting. Some may call this experimenting, but what is an experiment if not simply just living? 

Continue to seek inspiration to guide your continuous action. 

I use fitness as a basis of my framework because it is here that one can simply understand this concept for themselves. 

One can run one day, fast the next, and see no result. However, when one learns how food is processed, how metabolism works, how muscle is grown and what supports lean body mass and fat loss - then one can apply these lessons to their body. They walk 10k steps a day. They eat balanced meals, 45% protein, 30% carbs, 25% fats. They lift weights consistently, repeating the same exercises consistently, with progressive overload. Results, then, are witnessed (in both mind and body). 

We can see here that the person with no prior knowledge would have to work for millennia to figure out the recipe to being fit and healthy. It is only when they use the knowledge of their ancestors and fellow cohorts on earth that they are able to act with more methodical tests and see results quickly. 

Eventually, one learns mastery in this subject by adjusting their practice based on their own results, finding what works best for them. It is in this mastery that the secrets to their long term commitment to the subject are unlocked. 

However, the person who reads all the information and yet fails to act on it, has not learned a thing. 

They will never know health and fitness.  

More on Mastery

Innovation is when one performs an experiment, and learns something new about the world.

Sometimes, innovations are personal, and not to be applied at large. For example, I have found that I stick to healthy eating better if I am allowed one “treat” a day. Perhaps many will feel the same, but for some people the temptation of one treat is too great and one small treat soon becomes a day without any eating restriction.

So one must be careful for assuming ANY new information is meant to be shared at large. Careful consideration of potential consequences must be taken. 

However, the beauty of this concept is knowing that we do not know it all. We can learn from those before us, but we can also learn beyond that if we ask different questions. This is of course the foundation of scientific thinking itself. One does not accept the words as the final truth, they accept them as an almost-truth. One that reaps results, but could indeed be misleading. 

We apply past knowledge, and improve upon it through testing. 

Perhaps this is the destiny of civilization. Passing the baton from generation to generation. Sometimes, the generation must undo the previous generation’s work to find the truth - they went down the wrong path and the consequences burdened on this new generation are intolerable. 

In this way, we learn over centuries. And yet, we still do not have the entire answer. 

Therefore we must continue to learn through action, and action alone.