Knowledge is built of foundational bricks
The bricks not always fit together neatly
Sometimes the layout can be a little confused
But the bricks exist
And some bricks are more fundamental than others
Some bricks are laid at the bottom, as uttermost foundations, supporting the rest of the edifice
Some are laid right on top of those bottom bricks,
And then there are bricks on top of those bricks, and bricks on top of those bricks…
But the lower the bricks — the more important
Everything above it hinges on those bricks
It’s not to say that you can’t build upon structures already raised by others
Perhaps the foundations are already laid out — and you come next and build a tower on top of those foundations
The problem is when the higher bricks depend on the lower bricks
Again, not every lower bricks necessarily supports entire structure
And perhaps some bricks are completely disconnected from other bricks
But perhaps not
And the problem is when you arrive to build a structure on foundations laid out — but those foundations are precarious
When you’ve some foundations, but precarious — and want to build upon them — you have to be mindful of those foundations, their nature and limitations
Perhaps you may need to refine those foundations to suit your purpose
If you want to build a tower but those foundations won’t necessarily be able to support it — you have to bulwark them appropriately
Now,
The problem with modernity is that it’s infinitely complex
Someone else takes care of the foundations, someone else of the structures above it, and then the structures above it, and then the structures above it…
It’s just too complex
This is not a problem if the entire structure is strong and well-engineered
It’s a problem if it’s not
Then you’re building on precarious structures — only to see it collapse
Most men are not serious about truth, or even their own lives
If what they believe is nonsense — they don’t mind
If they have no control over their lives — they don’t mind
They will of course get angry or disappointed — but emotions are not serious. Only actions are serious
And this is why most men are perfectly fine building on precarious foundations — then seeing it all collapse
Or perhaps merely getting to the point where that foundation can no longer support any more elevation — and all further growth and ambition must be abandoned
If you are serious than you can’t build on precarious foundations
And this is why you must UNDERSTAND the foundations
Your understanding must be a CHAIN. CHAIN of INTERCONNECTED LINKS OF KNOWLEDGE
AND in the modern world — you must be LEARNING ALL THE TIME. Because it’s a complex world where EVERYTHING is interconnected. So unless you’re learning all the time — you’re basically GUARANTEED to have NO fucking clue about how anything TRULY works
Which is of course most people. Opinions on everything, from politics, through morality, through business, through society — and 99% of that just absolute clueless drivel, or at best a useless bromide they overheard and now repeat and understand NOT
It’s not just that robust foundations enable monumental edifice
It’s not just that ASSURING that your ASSUMPTIONS are TRUE is what protects you from GUARANTEED failure — if your starting assumptions are wrong
It’s also that DEEP UNDERSTANDING of the FOUNDATIONAL ASPECTS of any given matter is often necessary to advance to more COMPLEX and SOPHISTICATED aspects of it
This cannot be overstated,
We became so used to just getting the READY SOLUTION, the READY “FACT” — that we no longer need to understand WHY AND HOW it actually works
You get into a car and you no longer need to know if there’s even an engine inside of it. You just press the pedal and see it accelerate — and for you that’s all the causality there is, and you don’t need to know anything more
It works fine for that purpose
It doesn’t work so fine when you have to fix the car
You be trying to fix the pedal, never looking inside your engine
But never mind fixing the fucking car — someone else can do it for you
But you still have to know who to call
But never mind the fucking car — it either drives or not. If it does — problem solved. If it doesn’t — it doesn’t.
Imagine you were BUILDING an actual car. WITHOUT knowing about the existence of the engine. Focusing on a perfect pedal.
This is not hyperbolic at all.
This is how we often proceed
This is how we “know”.
And this is why someone who learned how to learn — learns 10 times (or 100 times) as much as the other person.
Because knowledge compounds
ESPECIALLY when it’s build on strong foundational knowledge
INDEED key aspect of learning how to learn is learning to BREAK DOWN THE PROBLEM to it’s foundational parts
(Likewise this is the key aspect of solving any problem)
ONCE you laid out the foundational bricks, once you understand the foundational knowledge of any given matter — the next bricks FALL INTO PLACE
They make sense
They no longer are isolated abstract facts.
It all creates a concise whole
You learn the first 4 foundational bricks — and the following 20 fall into place
The fool learns the 20 “facts” by rote — spending 10 times as much time — and then still forgets it all or confuses it — as it doesn’t form a coherent whole
Finally our education is to blame
Of course one can’t be forced to learn. Brain is extremely resistant to expanding energy. If you don’t believe it’s useful — of course you’d rather conserve energy for something more useful
Furthermore of course our education can’t be tailored to every single individual, and his needs, and his mental abilities and prior knowledge.
Therefore we learn all those misguided notions about what it takes to become KNOWLEDGEABLE about a subject
It’s time to unlearn those limitations
Especially since modernity actually facilitates learning anything, at any level, at any pace, at any depth
Therefore there are no more excuses
KNOWLEDGE is vital to succeed in the modern world
It was ever vital, but now it’s even more vital
The only conclusion is:
-LEARN EVERYTHING
-starting by MASTERING THE BASICS, laying out the FOUNDATIONAL BRICKS OF UNDERSTANDING
-Then building a greater and greater structure
-And if you ever need for any isolated information — STILL try to TRACE it’s origin, down to the most foundational brick
-and of course EVERYTHING YOU DO must also be FOUNDED on SOUND, ANTIFRAGILE FOUNDATIONS