Unlearning 101

The Fog of Unlearning

I am in Iowa to deliver a keynote presentation (entitled "Why Future Trends in Healthcare Will Require Unlearning") to the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative today.

After working on my presentation early this morning, I decided to go for a walk at sunrise. The photo to the right offers a view of what I saw.

As I stared at the pool of fog in the distance, it occurred to me that I was also standing in fog--I just couldn't see it clearly.

It then dawned on me that it is always easier to see when someone else is enveloped in a fog; it's far more difficult to comprehend that you are also in the thick of it.

One key to unlearning is to begin to appreciate--whether you realize it or not--that we are all in a fog.

What You Can't See Is Just As Important

This photo is very cool but, remember, when looking at an iceberg "what you can't see" is more important than what you can see.

It is a wonderful metaphor to keep in mind when thinking about our own knowledge--as great as it may be there will always be so much more that you don't know.

Stay humble to the idea of unlearning my friends!

Related Posts

The Iceberg Principle

See What Isn't There

Unlearning Profit and Embracing "Enough"

I miss the mob from Derek Sivers on Vimeo.

A Curious Connection? Brains, Mind Maps and the Universe

Take a look at the pictures to the right. The symmetry between microscopic neurons and a macroscopic galaxy is rather surprising. Is there a connection between the two?

Honestly, I don’t know but I do believe the human mind is capable of discovering the answer.

To this end, I invite you to watch this six minute video of a fascinating and powerful (and potentially disruptive) new educational tool called Nibipedia. Pay special attention to the configuration of the “Mind Map”—you may be surprised at the similarity to the above images of the brain and the universe.

Is there a connection? Again, I don’t know but, perhaps, with the assistance of Nibipedia, James Burke and the brainpower of millions of other people we can find out.

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Dancing into the Future with Three TED Videos 
Make More Connections to the Future

 

Of Flexitarians, Knowmads and Twitter

I'll freely admit I'm just a wanderer in the world of social media but I love the new connections -- to both people and ideas -- that I derive from the medium.

To this end, I recently asked @dougbecker what he meant by describing himself as a "flextarian" and he responded, "It's a loaded term, but I mean it to connote that I avoid eating meat whenever possible, and am not strident about it."

What I like about this definition is that it conveys a firm preference for a particular way of life but it isn't dogmatic. It is a mindset that all of us -- myself included -- should try to adopt with regard to our own particular beliefs, habits and preferences. The "flex"-part allows the space for unlearning -- if necessary -- to occur.

Next, in response, to this old post on ambiguity, @CoCreatr, responded, "Many situations are not so binary, they are spectrum ... Embrace nonduality, be a knowmad."

Just as I enjoy the term "flextarian," I also like the phrase, "be a knowmad."

Why? Perhaps it is because the "know" part of "knowmad" reveals a desire for knowledge (or perhaps truth) but it also suggests that a pathless journey maybe the best way to pursue that goal.

The Truth is Behind the Door: The World is Changing

If your world changed would you recognize it? All of us like to believe we would. Unfortunately, this isn't true ... as the older gentlemen in this video demonstrates:

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(Note: It was because of such insights that Dan Simons' book, The Invisible Gorilla, made my list of the Top Ten Books on Unlearning for 2010.)

Interested in other door-related unlearning foolishness? Check out your math skills with this old post:

Unlearning Common Sense

It's Official: We All Need to Unlearn

If you have ever rented a video/DVD just because it has won an obscure award from some international film festival, I think you'll appreciate the image (and the saying) to the right.

It's easy to laugh at the truth of the statement but I believe we do the same with people. Did you know, for example, that a patient is more likely to heed a doctor's advice if they are wearing a white lab coat? Did you further know that people are more likely to follow a person into an intersection (even when there is red light) if they are wearing a suit?

Tiny leaves, white lab coats, respectable dress and countless other symbols can help us navigate the world around us but they do not exempt us from the heavy responsibility of thinking for ourselves.

I'm Being Followed by a Moon ... Illusion

By sheer luck, my family and I walked up the steps of the Eiffel Tower on the evening of March 19, 2011 -- the night of the "Super Moon." The view was spectacular as a large red orb arose over the Parisian skyline.

If you would have asked me whether the moon was closer to me at that very moment or an hour later when it had lifted high into the sky, I would have said, "It's obvious ... the moon is closer right now."

Well, I would have been wrong. I was duped by the "moon illusion." Although the moon actually appears nearer on the horizon, it is actually farther away. (Sometimes by as much as one Earth radius.) Conversely, when it is high in the sky and appears smaller, it is physically closer.

I don't know if Sun Tzu understood the moon illusion when he provided military strategists this advice: "If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near" but both his quotation and the moon illusion are wonderful reminders that one of the most important things we need to unlearn is that our eyes -- and our intuition -- cannot always be trusted.

Rake Your Brain

After a long winter, I was finally able to get outside this past weekend and begin preparing my yard for the spring growing season. As I raked away the leaves, I thought the exercise was a fitting metaphor for what each of us should every now-and-again.

When was the last time you raked your brain and:

Cleared away some old, obsolete knowledge?

Pruned back an assumption?

Swept away an old, ineffective habit?

Or tilled a new area for potential growth?

It is tough, dirty work to be sure but, if you do it right, the results can be both beautiful and life sustaining.

Related Post

The Tree of Unlearning 

 

God Dome It! Unlearn!

The Saint Ignatius church in Rome was originally designed to include a cupola. For financial reasons, the feature was never built.

In moment, sparked by Divine intervention perhaps, Church officials hired Andrea Pozzo to paint a fake dome on the ceiling over the altar. Today, more than 300 years later, many visitors are shocked to find out the spectacular cupola above them is not real but an illusion.

Sometimes all it takes to unlearn a problem is the willingness to embrace a new perspective.

Interested in some other examples of turning problems into opportunities? Check out these older posts by self-described "Chief Unlearning Officer" Jack Uldrich:

Put One Foot in Back of the Other

The Opposite May Also Be True