Knowing

What Is Knowing?

Knowing—the end result of learning X—typically means being able to:

• Do something skillfully,
• Explain it accurately, and
• Apply it effectively in the real world.

The variable X stands for anything that can be learned: business, how to be charismatic, carpentry, coding, the quadratic equation, speaking French, psychology, critical thinking, accounting, how to succeed in a startup, the ideal gas law, understanding human motivation, leadership, parenting, and so on.

Caveat

Sometimes a person can do something well—e.g., speak French, do engineering, ski—but cannot explain it well. This is because their knowledge is stored in long-term memory (LTM) as nondeclarative (procedural) rather than declarative (verbalizable) knowledge.

In such cases, we still say the person “knows it,” because effective application in the real world is the essence of knowing.

Why Excel at Figuring Things Out?

Figuring things out is the process of moving from not knowing to knowing.

Excelling at this skill is worthwhile because:

• It enables learning new things quickly and deeply.
• It increases independence and problem-solving ability.
• It supports better decision-making in uncertain or novel situations.
• It improves adaptability in personal, professional, and academic life.

How to Figure Things Out

Deliberate practice is the best way to figure things out. Here’s how to apply it.

1. Define the Problem or Goal
   • Clearly state what you don’t know or can’t do yet.
   • Make it specific, measurable, and within your zone of proximal development (challenging but doable).
2. Identify the Key Fundamentals
   • Break the problem into core parts that matter most.
   • Ask: What skills, facts, or patterns are essential?
3. Design Focused Practice Tasks
   • Create short tasks that target one or two fundamentals.
   • Repeat these tasks with full attention and intention.
4. Try, Fail, and Adjust
   • Expect confusion, partial success, and errors.
   • Use each failure as information to refine your understanding.
5. Get Feedback
   • Seek immediate, accurate feedback from a teacher, peer, expert system, or your own results.
   • Feedback helps you spot blind spots and correct mistakes early.
6. Reflect and Explain
   • After each session, write or say what you learned.
   • Try teaching or explaining the idea—it shows whether you’ve figured it out.
7. Integrate and Apply
   • Test your knowledge in varied situations.
   • Apply what you’ve figured out to real problems or new contexts.