A confusion is a collection of unpredictable randomly moving particles. Everything is moving, nothing is standing still.
If you are in the middle of a traffic jam in a foreign country where you don't know the traffic rules, that would adequately illustrate a confusion.
What makes a confusion confusing is the lack of stable data
A stable datum is an predictable datum or particle. Something that remains stable and predictable while other things are moving.
In the traffic jam, if you knew some of the rules by which the car moved you could probably sort out the confusion. Or if you used one car as reference point and worked out what the other cars did in relation to it, it would be less confusing.
Confusions can be resolved by stable data. If you start somewhere, anywhere, and you get to know something stable about one part or one particle then you have a starting point. Then you can relate other parts to that and pretty soon you have more stable data. If you keep doing that you will eventually know all about the confusion and it will no longer be confusing.
Any subject can seem confusing at first. But as you build up a structure of stable data about it it will become
less and less confusing
In studying you are building up a structure of stable data about the subject. With that structure of stable data you will become more and more able to handle confusions in that area.
It is wise to evaluate data well before one assumes them as stable data. The best stable data you can have in a subject are the actual basic principles it is built on.
If your stable data are shaken the feeling of confusion will return. You will stay confused until you re-establish your stable data or assume new ones.
For example, if you based your study of airplanes on the datum that they fly because they have engines and propellers, you might feel confused if somebody shows you a glider plane.
So, if you run into a confusion the reason might be:
1. You went too fast into a subject you don't have enough stable data about yet.
2. Some of your existing stable data were shaken.
As mentioned, you will fare best if you choose your stable data carefully.
Sometimes you will be forced to re-evaluate existing stable data. That is not necessarily comfortable, it might
include a temporary state of confusion. But if you have previously chosen false information as your stable data
it will be necessary. Changing them might feel like taking one step back, but it would be followed by two steps
forward.
In study the mass is the actual subject matter. It is the physical places, objects, and activities that it is about.
If you study auto mechanics then the mass is the actual cars, engines, and parts.
The mass is very important to any kind of study. It is basically what it is all about. It is what you will be expected
to handle when you are done studying
Studying will work best if you are exposed as much as possible to the mass. If you have the subject matter available for you to interact with you won't lose track of what it is about.
This is not just to help you understand better. There is an actual physical phenomenon connected to it. Studying without mass will give you physical reactions.
If you study with too little mass available you will feel squashed, dizzy, bored, or exasperated. You might even get sick.
The greatest incidence of suicides is likely in a field of study where the mass is absent.
The remedy to lack of mass is to supply the mass.
The best mass to provide is the actual thing. But, if that is not always practical there are suitable substitutes:
• pictures
• movies or video
• models
• drawings
• demonstrations
Written materials do not constitute mass. The written word is significance. What we are trying to accomplish is a balance between mass and significance.
In lack of adequate study materials the student can produce his own representations for mass.
Making drawings at certain intervals while studying is quite useful. You can demonstrate for yourself what you have studied and you can introduce at least a shadow of application by making drawings and diagrams.
Demonstrations is another very useful method of getting more mass. As you study you can demonstrate the use
of the materials with random items at hand. You can show yourself or others how principles word with rubber bands
or paper clips. Or you can make clay models that illustrate what you are studying. More on that later.
You can bring yourself some mass and verify your understanding of the materials by doing demonstrations with little random objects you have at hand.
There are several advantages of this
• you can do it anywhere
• you will check your understanding
• you can simulate application.
You should have a little demo kit that you keep close to your study area. It can contain various objects that you can make demonstrations with. The subjects shouldn't have much significance to them, they don't have to look like what you study. Paper clips, rubber bands, screws, batteries, keys, beer caps, or whatever.
Now, showing principles of your subjects with paper clips put you to a certain test. You have to understand what you studied in simple terms, and you have to divorce your understanding from the words used about it. You have to show it actually in the physical universe, not just explain it in significance.
For example, say you were supposed to show the law of supply and demand. You could say that these paper clips here are cars that are driving around and they need gasoline, and this rubber band over here is an oil company and the beer caps are gasoline they are producing. You can show they are exchanging gasoline by moving the beer caps from the rubber band over to the paper clips. And now if we add more cars (paper clips) we need more gasoline (beer caps) and you would show that.
You can only do that if you have grasped some degree of simplicity about the subject. And you might realize while you try to show it that you hadn't really translated it to reality before. What mentally appears to be understood might reveal some flaws when you have to show it.
When you do a demo you make the demo items show what you are talking about. You move them around as appropriate to illustrate the matter. If you do it for somebody else you would explain what each item illustrates. However, it is not acceptable to do it by significance only. Putting two rubber bands on the table and saying "This is the supply and this is demand" is not enough.
Once you get the hang of it you will realize that is quite a useful way of making sure you can translate the studied significance into physical action. You will catch yourself in parts you didn't fully get and you can maintain a better feeling about what you study.
The actual mass of the subject is always best, but demonstrations are a practical and convenient substitute.
There is a more elaborate method of doing demonstrations for the principles you really have to grasp. To establish that you know and can use the basic principles of the subject you can do clay demos.
A clay demo is done with clay, model wax, or play-doh. You make the clay show what you are trying to illustrate. You would put labels on each part saying what it is.
For example, if you needed to show "a policeman" you could make a figure out of one color clay, attach a little piece of paper with "policeman" written on it, make a blob of another color into a hat and write "hat" on the label, and make a "gun" out of another piece of clay.
This is not an artistic endeavor, it doesn't have to be pretty. We are just trying to bring something from the
realm of significance into the physical universe
You make something out of the clay, and then immediately you put on a label. The clay must show the thing, so no involved explanations on the label. "Student" might be acceptable to put on a clay body, but "tired student" wouldn't be. You would have to get the clay to show a tired student, if that was the job at hand.
When you are done with a full clay demo you make a big label for the whole thing saying what it is supposed to be, and you turn it upside down. If you are doing this as part of a course the instructor would then examine your clay demo. He looks at the clay and tells you what he sees. If that matches the purpose of the demo it is a "pass". If not you need to work more at it to make the clay really show it.
A clay demo is mostly for the student's benefit. It will also provide a method for the instructor of checking the student, but that is only secondary. The main purpose is for the student to achieve a higher degree of understanding and application concerning a certain subject.
Clay demos aren't meant to be easy, they are expected to be a challenge. What you will be asked to demonstrate will not be "policeman". It will be more involved subjects, such as "What is study?" or "A mis-understood word". If you have to show that in clay so that somebody else can see it you must get down to the simplicities of the matter. You might not know how to show it when you start out, but after working with the clay for a while you will.
In trying to make a clay demo you might realize that you didn't really understand that part. In that case you
would go back and re-study it, and then try the clay demo again later.
The understanding we are after in study is not literal and it is not complex.
If you really understand something it is simple for you. You don't have to walk around remembering many complex rules. You have conceptual understanding of the basis for the rules, so you could make them up when necessary.
Conceptual understanding is not words. It is the clear idea of what we are talking about, beyond mere language.
You might have to study a lot of words and complexities to reach conceptual understanding of something. It is not what you start out with, you've got to work at it. But the eventual test is that everything becomes simple and intuitive.
A true expert in any field has conceptual understanding of his subject. He can express it to others in simple or complex terms as he chooses. He can think with it and work with it and develop it further. He is not dependent on text books or other authorities. He knows the subject.
There is a distinction between "knowing" and "knowing about". A student is learning about
something and getting to know about data in the subject. An expert knows without having to refer much to
specific data. Knowing is conceptual. Knowing about is more mechanical.
What is true for you is true for you.
Truth is what you observe and find to be true and workable for you.
Nobody can really tell you what is true or false. They can present their data and suggestions. However, you need to evaluate them for yourself.
Absolute truth is unattainable. What is available is workable truth. What applies to you and is useful for you is a workable truth. As you learn more and become more experienced you can adjust your truth as necessary.
Data need to be evaluated. Just because some text book tells you something doesn't mean that you should accept it. It might still be blatantly false, it might have nothing to do with you, or you might need to adjust the datum for your own use.
Evaluating how data apply to you is also an excellent tool for increased understanding. If you look at how each piece of information relates to your situation you have a realistic way of grasping it. You can fit it into your frame of reference as you go along.
Studying materials that don't have any relation to you is one of the flaws in the traditional education system. Why would you study it if it has nothing to do with you?
Study of data without relation to anything or anybody has been made into an art by the academic community. If you make it sufficiently complex and you leave out most references to application nobody might notice for a while.
You are the closest person to decide what is true.
The term "mis-understood" covers any error or omission in comprehending a word, concept, or symbol. There are several different sub-divisions of mis-understood words, depending on what the status is of their definition:
1. A no-definition: there is no definition available for the word. It has never been looked up or defined. That is the easiest type of mis-understood to diagnose.
2. wrong definition: the definition is totally wrong. The definition has no relation at all to the actual
meaning of the word or symbol.
3. Ainvented definition:a made-up definition of the word that one makes oneself or gets from somebody. Instead
of looking it up one just guessed at what it means. It might be hard to detect because the person feels sure he
knows what it means.
E.g. deciding that an "officer" is somebody who has an office might appear to constitute a useful definition, but isn't the right one.
4. An mistaken definition:the definition is not right, but might relate to something in a similar category.
E.g. defining a "carburetor" as "an engine part that transports oil" is in the right neighborhood, but isn't correct.
5. An incomplete definition:Only an inadequate part of the definition of the word is known.
E.g. defining a store as a "house" might be partially correct but doesn't cover it fully enough.
6. An unsuitable definition:a definition that is correct but doesn't fit into the context where it is currently used.
E.g. knowing that "fall" is when something drops down is one correct definition. However if the word is used meaning "autumn" the first definition would be incorrect.
7. a homonymic definition:homonyms are words with the same sound or spelling but totally different meanings.
E.g. "bore" and "boar" are two different words but sound the same.
8. a substitute definition:when a synonym is used as the definition of a word. A synonym has a similar meaning as the word, but it in no way constitutes a definition.
E.g. you might define "chauffeur" as "driver" but that doesn't define it fully.
9. an omitted definition:the person has some definitions for the word, but not in the meaning it is used with in the text. It might or might not be missing from the dictionary.
E.g. it might not be known that "bad" will sometimes mean "good" when used in slang. The dictionary probably won't give any clue on that.
10. a rejected definition:a definition the person refuses to accept even though it is made available. The definition might somehow be disturbing to the person.
E.g. a person might reject the dictionary definition of "reincarnation" for religious reasons.
This is the full procedure for looking up a word:
1. Find the word in a good dictionary.
2. Read through the definitions and find the one that applies to the context at hand.
3. Study that definition.
4. Clear up any words within the definition that you don't understand.
5. Use the word in a few sentences in that exact meaning until you feel confident in its use.
6. Go through each of the other common definitions of the word. Make sentences as necessary.
7. Clear up the derivation of the word.
Example:
The student reads the sentence: "Joe fell flat on his face" and realizes that he doesn't know what "flat" means there.
1. We find "flat" in the dictionary and see that there are a lot of definitions.
2. The word seems to be used as an adverb, so we look under the adv. definitions. One of them seems to apply here.
3. "in a prone or supine position". The student knows that "prone" means lying or leaning with the face down. He doesn't know what "supine" means.
4. We look up "supine" and find that it means "lying on the back, face upwards".
5. We now know that "flat" can mean that something happens in a lying down manner face upwards or downwards. A few sentences makes the student more comfortable with the word:
"I'm lying flat under the car"
"He crawled flat on the floor"
"He fell flat on the carpet"
He keeps making sentences until he feels the word is his and he can use it.
6. Then he goes through the other definitions, clears them up and makes sentences as necessary. This word has quite a few different definitions that should be understood. It also has some special purpose definitions that don't necessarily have to be cleared.
7. Finally we look at the derivation of the word. It comes from old English and Greek words meaning "broad", "wide", or interestingly "floor".
Care must be taken in selecting an appropriate dictionary. All dictionaries aren't created equal. Some are too big, some are too small, some don't define words at all.
You want a dictionary that gives all the common definitions of the words, and not too many obscure definitions. You want one that actually defines the words instead of just giving synonyms. And one that defines things in simple terms, so you don't have to look up additional terms too often. A dictionary that includes derivations of the words is preferable.
Watch out for small abridged dictionaries that try to get away with synonyms as definitions and that doesn't define small words. However, dictionaries for kids is not always a bad idea. There are some that are careful at defining words that would otherwise be taken for granted.
A college level dictionary is usually quite appropriate.
Watch out for foreign language dictionaries. They usually just provide a literal translation of a word from one language to the other. That is not a definition.
Dictionaries have differences in terminology and layout. There are, however, certain elements that are common for most dictionaries.
This is the definition of the word "student" in "Webster's New World Dictionary":
__ __
stu•dent (stood'nt, styood'-) n. [ME. studiante, studente < OFr. & L.: OFr. estudiant < L. studens, prp. of studere, to STUDY] 1. a person who studies, or investigates [ a student of human behavior] 2. a person who is enrolled for study at a school, college, etc. –SYN. see PUPIL
A number of different special characters and type styles are used for different purposes. These things are usually described in the beginning of the dictionary. It is recommended that you study that part of the dictionary you are using.
In the definition above the • in the middle of stu•dent indicates that the word would be divided there at the end of a line.
__ __
(stood'nt, styood'-) is a guide to pronunciation. Special characters are used that are usually described by example at the bottom of the page or every second page. This word has two correct ways of pronouncing it.
n. means that the word is a noun. Other common types of words are:
vt.transitive verb
vi.intransitive verb
adj.adjective
adv.adverb
prep.preposition
conj.conjunction
pron.pronoun
interj.interjection
[ME. studiante, studente < OFr. & L.: OFr. estudiant < L. studens, prp. of studere, to STUDY]
is the derivation. That is the origin of the word, which languages it has developed through, and what it originally meant. The symbol < means "derived from". Here we can see that "student" is from Middle English "studiante" or "studente" that is derived from Old French and Latin. And we can see that Old French "estudiant" is derived from Latin "studens" which is Present Participle of "studere" which means "to study".
The actual definitions are numbered. Each number represents a different meaning of the word.
1. a person who studies, or investigates [ a student of human behavior ]
The first definition tells us that a student in general is a person who studies or investigates. It gives an example of using the word.
2. a person who is enrolled for study at a school, college, etc.
The other definition tells us that it is more specifically somebody who is enrolled in a place of study. An example was apparently not deemed necessary there.
–SYN. see PUPIL
Finally there is a synonym. "Pupil" has a similar meaning as "student".
Be sure that you understand the elements of the definition when you look up a word. Don't take anything for
granted or regard it as unimportant. Mis-understoods in the dictionary will also hinder the study of your text.
Except for the routine actions done by the student himself while studying there are several other ways of finding words that need to be cleared.
Word clearing can be done by the student himself, by a course instructor, by a professional word clearer, or by a clearing practitioner in a clearing session.
Some of these methods require the use of a so-called Clearing Biofeedback Meter. That is an electronic device that can pick up mental phenomena slightly below the level of awareness. Reads on the meter can be used for locating misunderstood words that the person is only sub-consciously aware of. Use of the meter requires special training. However, anybody can receive word clearing on meter without much instruction.
These are the main methods of word clearing:
WC1:Done by meter in a formal clearing session. The practitioner assesses lists of many subjects. On subjects that read on the meter the practitioner locates chains of words in the subject and in earlier subjects. That is continued until all the subjects have been cleared up.
WC2:By meter in the course room. The word clearer lets the student read the text aloud while on the meter. Each reading word is cleared up.
WC3:Verbal in course room. The student has trouble with the materials. The instructor asks him to look earlier in the text for a mis-understood word which is then looked up. This is also what the student would do by himself while studying.
WC4:Done by meter in the course room. The word clearer puts the student's attention on part of the text studied and probes for mis-understoods. When an area is clean, they move on to the next.
WC5:Material word clearing. The word clearer calls words to the student and have him define each.
WC6:Key word clearing. The word clearer reads words from a prepared list of key words in a certain area. The student defines each.
WC7:Used for children, foreign-language students, or semi-literates. The student reads aloud from the text. Whenever he omits or changes a word or hesitates it is taken up at once. The word clearer explains the definition of the mis-understood word to the student.
WC8:Used when one seeks full grasp of a subject. An alphabetical list of all words used in the full text is used. The student looks up each and every word and uses it in sentences until he has the meaning conceptually.
WC9:The student reads the text aloud for the word clearer. Any hesitation or physical or verbal manifestation is taken up and a mis-understood is looked for. Each mis-understood word is looked up in a dictionary.
WC10:Crashing mis-understood finding. The word clearer fishes for a major mis-understood that has caused an inability to apply the subject.
Most of these methods require additional training in the necessary skills.
Duplication is the action and ability to make an exact copy of something.
If somebody tells you something ideal communication requires that you make an exact mental duplicate of what is being conveyed. Your ability to understand depends on your ability in duplicating ideas being directed at you.
Likewise in study you need to be able to duplicate exactly what the materials tell you. The ability to do that depend on several things:
• mental clarity
• study technique
• mis-understood words
• willingness to duplicate
There is a drill that can increase your ability to duplicate and understand what you read. It is called the Learning Drill:
Part 1 - Duplication
The student and the coach sit across each other by a table.
The coach gives the student three colors or numbers and then asks him what he said. That is done with different combinations until the student feels he can duplicate what is being said.
Example:
Coach:I will now give you three colors. Yellow, Green, Blue. What did I say?
Student:Yellow, Green, Blue.
Coach:All right, now can you remember what I said?
Student:Yellow, Green, Blue
Coach:Good. Here are three other colors. Red, white, black. What did I say?
...
Part 2 - Reject or Accept
Now, the coach gives the student statements that are clearly true or false. He lets the student repeat it. Then he asks the student to decide if it is true or false.
This is continued until the student has the idea that he can doubt what the coach says and he can accept or reject it.
Example:
Coach:Elephants have green ears. What did I say?
Student:Elephants have green ears.
Coach:Good. Did we say the same thing?
Student:Yes.
Coach:OK. Now, is it true that elephants have green ears?
Student:No.
Coach:Good
...
Part 3 - Evaluate
Next, the coach gives the student actual statements that are part of the materials he is trying to learn. He gets the student to duplicate the statement, to evaluate it, to modify it if necessary, and to give examples of it.
The purpose of this drill is to get the student to think about the data, give arguments for or against, and to evaluate what is true.
Example:
Coach:All materials must be retained 100%. What did I say?
Student:All materials must be retained 100%.
Coach:OK. Is that true?
Student:Well, not always.
Coach:Can you give me an example of that?
Student:The footnotes in the book don't matter too much.
Coach:OK, so can you modify the statement.
Student:The important parts must be understood 100%
Coach:OK, is that true?
Student:Yes
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