Ideas need to be grappled with

To truly understand something, you can’t just read about it. You must grapple with it: practice it, write notes, write a blog post, etc. When you do this, your mind starts to solidify the idea and form connections from that idea to adjacent ideas and concepts.

There’s different ways to grapple with different types of ideas:

• For abstract concepts, you may want to think and write about them. What other concepts do they connect with? In what way? Do they stand the test of contradiction? One way to do this is to turn-transient-notes-into-evergreen-notes.
• For concrete concepts, you may want to put them in practice. For example, you may want to build a side project with a new technology to see how it works. (My mind works this way: it’s very hard to learn if I don’t have a concrete use case for something.)

Grappling with an idea also helps you understand whether it applies to your reality: sometimes, an idea seems cool in theory but breaks down when applied. This is why you should always Be wary of flawless ideas.

References

• Understanding Requires Effortful Engagement - Andy Matuschak Notes - Obsidian Publish