What is critical knowledge

There is an important criterion for evaluating whether learning is effective, that is, the impact and change of learning on later cognition and behavior. Learning and learning are not the same, and so is knowledge. Some knowledge can change a person more deeply and more universally, and that is critical knowledge.

The so-called knowledge changes destiny, taken apart, is three layers. In the era of lack of knowledge, the number of knowledge is used to win more than less, to win over nothing, and to enjoy the knowledge dividend slowly. In classical times, the priestly class in each country was a first-class aristocracy, precisely because they monopolized the right to read and write. With the invention of paper, printing, and especially the Internet, knowledge entered the age of dissemination. At this time, new knowledge rolled in, first-come, first-served, to play fast and slow, using information differences, all kinds of "prophets" quickly realized knowledge realization, such as Ma Yun, who went to the United States alone that year and glimpsed the forefront of the tide of the times. Today, knowledge (or more accurately, information) has long been flooded, and the competition of knowledge has entered the third stage: the depth of the fight. Critical knowledge is deep knowledge, the knowledge behind knowledge.

General knowledge is superficial, trapped in specific situations, answering one thing at a time, and the evidence and arguments come only from one's own feelings and past experiences. Critical knowledge is different. It is less concerned with direct answers, but rather digs down into the essence behind things, with the aim of finding a universal solution to this type of event in the depths, often derived from rigorous experiments and meticulous data. A random example: Why is the power curtailment policy now implemented? Is it related to the epidemic? Is it carbon neutral? Can we predict the direction of other policies in the future? And most importantly, your answer comes from your thinking, rigorous deduction, authoritative interpretation, or today's headlines, TikTok Kuaishou?

Mastering critical knowledge and thinking in this way can allow you to have a "one-size-fits-all" understanding of things and people in a four-two-and-two way. Because the complex world is determined by simple basic laws, complexity is the dynamic result of the interaction of various factors, complex appearances collide with each other and annihilate, peel back the cocoon, find the simple truth behind it, and then see through the world. Of course, there is also a lot of critical knowledge, it is extremely difficult to learn, it takes hard work, and the most important thing is to change the mentality of learning.

When encountering new and even contradictory perceptions, you must have a "green light thinking". Teacher Fu Sheng said that when he summarized and reflected, an important principle was to assume that he was wrong first, rather than taking the defense of the original point of view as the starting point. Only in this way can it be possible to grasp critical knowledge, and the "three seasons of people" cannot even cross this first step. As soon as the mentality changes, the vision immediately opens, but most people have a natural "red light thinking" for new knowledge. The reason is very unified: they believe that "my point of view" is equivalent to "me", so "my point of view" cannot be wrong, otherwise "I" am wrong. Is this really the case? When Buffett was in his 80s, he gladly admitted that he was too stupid to miss Amazon. Socrates knew his ignorance, but he was the first wise man of the Greek Golden Age. If it is too difficult to correct mistakes and requires great courage and determination to act, then knowing mistakes itself only requires you to be a little more honest with yourself.

In terms of implementation, we must know how to learn slowly. Having said that critical knowledge is the knowledge behind knowledge, to obtain it, we must break through the "knowledge blockage" along the way. When encountering real problems, do not waste time, do not fear trouble, trace the roots, and never give up until you reach critical knowledge. Doing so, it will be slow at first, and it seems very uneconomical to spend countless hours in order to solve a problem. But if you can stick to it, in the long run, this is the fastest and most cost-effective way to learn. While your peers are immersed in the fast-food cognition of "he is a bad guy" and "XX country is garbage" day after day, you can slowly see the fire and take a steady lead in human growth. So why are most people reluctant to "stiffen up and fight stupid battles" in their studies? Because of fear, fear of the knowledge behind the knowledge is too difficult (in fact, it is not so difficult; instead of trying to escape, studying hard is more successful and easier), it is better to pick up some cheap insights in the light of the light, as a talking point, not to be ugly without words. At the end of the day, it's still not honest with yourself.

The first way to gain knowledge is to read books as an example. Reading a book is very different from reading a book. The negative approach is to read through from beginning to end, encounter famous sayings and aphorisms, draw a line happily, and read it "once done" and never turn it again. In this regard, many people also praise it, "The books I have read have been integrated into their own thoughts and internalized as part of themselves." But if you think about it, they often even return the main ideas in the book, so how can they be said to be "internalized"? This is actually the "low-level diligence trap" of reading. A more efficient approach is to use reading as a bridge between "old and new knowledge", deliberately correlating the ideas in the book with the critical knowledge you originally mastered, and looking for the critical knowledge that the author uses that you do not know. In this way, repeated comparisons, citations, and practices can construct the "new knowledge" in the book into your mental framework. I myself have been using the opposite approach for a long time, greedy for more and faster, walking through all detours, and now reflecting, it is a waste of too much time. Although ashamed, fortunately, it is not too late (most of this series of public articles also stems from the feelings and understandings of reading books with the "new law", which is the new practice of reading), and now reading books, I feel more targeted, and more cheerful and efficient.

As for how to use critical knowledge, it is nothing more than the tricks that have been talked about before: reflection, benchmarking, teaching as a learning, and deliberate practice. If you are interested, see how to master the mental model in the previous article. In fact, the most convenient teaching material for learning critical knowledge is your daily life itself. What are your dissatisfactions with about life? From your own point of view, what root causes can you think of that cause your dissatisfaction? With such repeated practice, it is natural to continue to approach critical knowledge and become the top player in the application of critical knowledge, because "... There's no secret to being a top player, but rather a deeper understanding of what could be an essential skill. ”

Finally, where is critical knowledge? The answer is clear: in hard science, such as mathematics, physics, biology, etc. Learning these hard knowledge, of course, does not make you a scientist, because you only have to grasp the important laws of these important disciplines, not the specific content. For example, if you learn compound interest in mathematics, you can even not solve its mathematical formulas. If you still have some natural fear of these hard sciences, that's okay. Start with your own talents or interests (talents are sometimes hidden and need to be sought.) At this time, you may wish to start with an explicit interest), keep digging to the source, and there will always be a moment when you will meet some critical knowledge at the bottom and enjoy the great joy of opening up the second vein of knowledge, and never stop from then on. I wish you and I soon get there.

This article originated from the re-reading of Teacher Chengjia's book "Study Well". During the holidays, I walked all over the West Lake and visited Taihu Lake, enjoyed the lake and mountains, avoided the crowds, and read this small book from time to time, and my mind and body were happy together. At the end of the book, Teacher Cheng Jia lists the common 8 critical knowledge, excerpted below, plus a little bit of thinking about the gap between play.

1. Compound interest effect. (One look at "interest rates" and the second look at "number of executions"; don't give up until you break through the threshold.) ）

2. Probability theory. (The original decision is not judged by the result; the so-called subjective probability is "guessing", but guessing and guessing are not the same, relying on information quality, relying on deliberate scoring, and relying on external perspectives.) ）

3. Golden Circle. (See the essence with why)

4. The theory of evolution. (The environment has changed, you have not changed, that is, "dancing with ghosts"; embracing change, position is very important; methodically, you can run in small steps and iterate quickly; you can also imitate the forerunner.) ）

5. Systems thinking. (Holistic view, dynamic view, continuous view; each is anti-human.) ）

6. The Law of Two Eights.

7. Safe space. (99 ordinary successes may not be able to defeat a huge failure; in the long run, the probability of a small probability event is 100%; there must be redundancy, backup, Plan B, or you can only play in the circle of ability, "the victory wins first, then the battle", and you can also learn Taleb's anti-fragility.) ）

8. Comprehensive use. (I also think of "Wu Zhuangyuan Su Qi'er", Zhou Xingchi's last move, "Descending dragon eighteen palms".) ）