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for any given combination of learner & subject there exists an optimal methodology minimizing effort & frustration and maximizing acquisition rate & retention

much grief stems from the misapplication of method to moment; some are not self-aware, or too attached to a specific way
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RT @michellehuang42
practicing alexander technique while playing beat saber >>
twitter.com/michellehuang42/st

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mechanical domains like mathematics or engineering typically call for more discrete algorithmic process, wherein the learner actively manipulates symbols during distinct information acquisition, organization, & integration phases

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RT @pee_zombie
this phenomenology applies to learning mostly any technical skill, esp those in less forgiving domains, such as software. much of the frustration stems from the invalidation of typical skill…
twitter.com/pee_zombie/status/

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meanwhile more fluid domains such as (certain kinds of) athletics, dance, art, and gaming, typically call for more continuous processes, wherein the learner acts more as a channel absorbing the properties of the system being studied

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this difference stems from the dimensionality of the problem space; the higher on the scale you go, the less feasible algorithmic methods are, being harder to scale

this is apparent in the surprising applicability of ML to previously to human-level tasks

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RT @pee_zombie
the appropriate level of intellectual rigor for any given idea corresponds to the dimensionality of the space it inhabits
twitter.com/pee_zombie/status/

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when acquiring a fluid domain, a certain type of neophyte learner will often try to apply mechanistic techniques, which, being more legible, are easier to transmit and refine

this can cause much frustration as often the domains are impenetrable with these methods

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intuitive learning techniques, being generally illegible to the user, are much more difficult to transmit, and hence have fallen out of favor in modern didactic approaches; what KPI does a teacher use to track progress on goal? how does a principal evaluate teacher skill? unclear

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you know who's figured out how to do this, tho? spiritual traditions. most of em (the good ones anyway) have developed a set of practices around Precisely This; transmitting intuitive knowledge down a lineage, repeatably & verifiably

they had to, due to the nature of the domain

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our contemporary allergy to anything spiritual unfortunately precludes reaping the benefits of these seeds sown eaons prior; to be quite clear, this is both tragic and constitutes an emergency, as we risk losing access to this knowledge as the extant masters age and die

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my own experience with this world had a Taoist bent; while I was far from the most dedicated devotee, I acquired understanding and skills I previously did not even have the ability to conceive of

modernity does not quite inform us of the subtle arts

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RT @pee_zombie
few in my personal life know this, but I've long considered the Tao as my primary spiritual lens

like many others around here I come from a materialist atheist rational…
twitter.com/pee_zombie/status/

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I was not aware that there existed an internal world it was possible to explore, I didn't realize what sort of ontological status the phenomenological referrants ought to be afforded

let alone that it was possible to characterize its dynamics and intervene towards harmony

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these v same techniques also happen to be generalizable to intuitive domain acquisition, to a much larger degree than mostly anyone believes

while I haven't studied AT, I've experienced this w/ wu wei, or nondoing, the Taoist version of the same thing

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RT @pee_zombie
most ironically, it is that very struggle preventing us from achieving our goals; the intensity of our efforts is inversely proportional to their success

the Joke is …
twitter.com/pee_zombie/status/

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nondoing shows you the ways in which you're holding yourself back out of fear

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RT @pee_zombie
this has huge consequences for your ability to more effectively be the person you want to be; when you learn to stop fighting yourself, much energy is freed up to be reinvested into ur growth

this has many connections to other practices, such as wu wei & the Alexander Technique
twitter.com/pee_zombie/status/

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nondoing shows you how you're getting into your own way by trying too hard to Do

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RT @pee_zombie
this has huge consequences for your ability to more effectively be the person you want to be; when you learn to stop fighting yourself, much energy is freed up to be reinvested into ur growth

this has many connections to other practices, such as wu wei & the Alexander Technique
twitter.com/pee_zombie/status/

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the technique described in the OP thread is nondoing learning; instead of actively trying to figure out how to Do The Thing, you unfocus ur mind, unhook ur executive function from the phenomenal stream, & pipeline ur sensory inputs directly thru ir intuition & into ur actuations

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this process is akin to training a neural network; data streams thru, the feedback from a discriminator system provides backpressure, & the network weights adjust in response to minimize the loss (effort, frustration, technique epicycles)

doing gets in the way of this process

Follow

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inheriting this fluid intuitive mode was lifechanging for me, as someone who was deeply trapped in the explicit algorithmic mode; it opened me up to new possibilities and helped me become a much more whole person

if ur anything like me, you may benefit from these practices too

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