Anatomy of Learning - Part I

In an earlier blog, I had the opportunity of penning my thoughts on various paradigms of learning as part of a search for an answer to the vexing question is rote learning all that bad? Rote at the expense of experiential learning is just as bad as experiential at the expense of rote learning. They both serve a valuable purpose in the knowledge acquisition, storage and inference making processes.

In this blog, I wish to commence a 4 part blog, my attempt to distill the information that I have gathered from personal experience, experts and most importantly through introspection. There seems to be 4 stages or Principles of Learning

1. The Principle of Observation
2. The Principle of Reflection
3. The Principle of Introspection
4. The Principle of Action Taking

The Principle of Observation

In the first part, we will deal with the Principle of Observation.

Unbiased observations help us in using all our senses as a sieve to retain the relevant and ignore the inconsequential. There is a good reason why we require unbiased observation. A bias works as a mental filter which results in transforming the information acquired through observation and making it appear as something that it is not.

For example, it is a popular misconception that all wild animals attack human being as soon as they see them. Typically a lion does not attack unless and until it perceives a real physical danger or is hungry. Yes, sometimes it does attack to demonstrate its power to its pride. Similarly, every stray dog on the street does not chase and bite you. Human beings have an internal imagery of of violent animal attacks. This bias colors our observation [ a wild animal in its habitat ] and makes our hearts race. A wildlife enthusiast sees the beauty of a lion and can figure out meaningful response which trigger him towards peaceful coexistence with the wild habitat.

Another example that comes to my mind is our fear for darkness. Our bias seem to not stop with coloring our observations. Each bias seems to add to our fears and fears progressively start eliminating dimensions of the world around us, away from our lives. We start avoiding animals, darkness, heights - and thus we start building invisible walls around us. Another consequence of bias is that it results in a firm set of "this is and these are not" type rules that we find increasingly difficult to question as time goes by. A good example is our own reaction to our law enforcement agents constantly force us to view their actions with suspicion because we view them through the filter of possible or assumed corruption. Issue is not about the reality, but with the generalization that everyone is corrupt.
It is the process of stereo typing that results from the fundamental bias in our observation. Meaning of truth starts to drift. Wayne Dyer asks a powerful question. Do you see the world as being benign and peaceful or world filled with pain and violent disposition ? The principle of observation is a key force that set the ball of learning in motion.

Issues in Observation

The key life skill we need to practice is related to making unbiased observations. There are several issues in the principle of observations. Each of these intrinsically inhibit our ability to "see" things as it were.

• Personal Bias
• “I know it all” attitude
• “I do not have to know the details” attitude
• Seeing and Observing :: Hearing and Listening :: Reading and Internalizing
• Highly motivated and Energetic – Jumps to conclusions as opposed to following a methodical approach
• Belief that Speed is superior even if it is at the expense of accuracy

Conclusion:

The Principle of Observation is the critical first step in the stages of learning. If we skip or corrupt the Observation phase, we are left with the data acquired through past experiences - self and anecdotal, biases and filters through which you perceive the reality. This leads to stereo typing or generalizing our observations and building an axiom set based on non-realities. The idiom - missing the wood in the forest - actually demonstrates not seeing the obvious; and drawing conclusion based on another loud observed input.

In a later blog, we will look at the next stage of learning - Principle of Reflection. This stage deals with - I have gathered the data, how do I use what I have observed to make a set of coherent inferences.