Unlearning 101

A Man Unlearns

The following poem was written by an unknown monk living in the 11th century. It's relevance to today is, however, undiminished.

When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world.

I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.

When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.

Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.

It reminds me of this wonderful quote by an 8th century monk, Meister Eckhart, "Only the hand that erases can write the true thing." 

(Note: Unlearning101.com will be transitioning to www.schoolofunlearning.com soon.)

Don't Play Russian Roulette With Your Future: Unlearn!

The first chapter of my new book, Higher Unlearning: 39 Post-Requisite Lessons for Achieving a Successful Future, is entitled “Unlearn or Die.” To better appreciate why unlearning will be such a critical skill in the future, I’d like to share this paragraph from Josh Linkner’s outstanding article, Vu Deja: Tricking Yourself Into Looking At Problems With a Fresh Perspective:

The way you solved a customer issue or launched a product in the past may have worked great, but the world isn’t standing still. Quite the opposite–every night when we go to bed and wake up the next day, things have changed. Those who get stuck in the past and lean on the golden ways of a time gone by are playing Russian roulette with their future.

In other words, unlearn or die!

If you’d like some concrete examples of how to look at a problem from a fresh perspective, my new book (also available as an e-book) has plenty of examples along the lines of this old post: 5 Ways to Make the Familiar Strange.

 

Tolstoy on Unlearning

"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him." Leo Tolstoy

(This quotation was brought to my attention by Futurist Simon Anderson and reminds me to two of my favorite unlearning strategies: Question the Wisdom of Experts and Replace "No Doubt" with the Phrase "to Know Doubt".

A Theory on Learning--and Unlearning

Socrates once said that no theory of error can exist entirely outside a theory of truth. In this spirit, I'd like to suggest that no theory on learning can exist without a theory on unlearning.

My theory on unlearning begins with this question: What don't I know?

Don't Assume You More Than You Do

"... he has persuaded me that we can solve many of our problems as long as we don't assume that we know more than we do."

So concludes John Horgan in his insightful review of David Deutsch's new book, The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Will Transform the World.

I not only agree with the thinking behind quote, more importantly, I like that Mr. Horgan is willing to admit the author's book (and ideas) had changed his mind. (Apparently, Deutsch even criticized some of Horgan's own ideas in the book.)

As I've said before, I wish more people would expose themselves to unlearning and admit when they have been persuaded to see the world differently. Ironically, it would make the world a better place. 

Related Posts

Ignorance Isn't Bliss But It May Hold the Key to Wisdom

A Notebook of Things I Don't Know

Expose Yourself to Unlearning

It's Unavoidable: The Times are Still a Changin'

"The only sense that is common in the long run is the sense of change, and we all instinctively avoid it." E.B. White

Unlearn Your Ideas of What is "Impossible"

"Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." The Queen in "Through the Looking Glass"

"It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow." Robert Goddard, U.S. physicist & pioneer rocket engineer (1882-1945)

The Harder Part

One of my favorite authors, Seth Godin, recently had an insightful post entitled "The Hard Part (One of Them)." I'll repeat it below for your reading enjoyment:

A guy asked his friend, the writer David Foster Wallace, "Say, Dave, how'd y'get t'be so dang smart?"

His answer:

"I did the reading."

No one said the preparation part was fun, but yes, it's important. I wonder why we believe we can skip it and still be so dang smart.

I agree that reading can -- and will -- make you smarter. I would submit, however, that regardless of the voracity of your reading diet, it is vital for all of us -- but most especially "smart" people -- to regularly remind ourselves of how little of the sum total of human knowledge any of us has actually acquired (or, for that matter, can acquire).

One effective strategy for doing this is to create an "anti-library." It's purpose is to serve as a tangible reminder of how little we actually know.

If this fails, you can always just remind yourself of what Socrates once said, "I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance."

Related Post

Unlearning Requires an Anti-Library

Abe Lincoln Did Not Go to Law School

"Abe Lincoln did not go to law school." -- Jack Uldrich, Futurist

P.S. I'm in Montreal today to discuss the future of law and legal services at the Meritas Law Firms Worldwide annual meeting. The future of legal education (and the importance or non-importance of accreditation) is just one of the many trends I will be discussing.

Related Post

Orville Wright Did Not Have a Pilot's License

Declarations of a Fixed Opinion

I'm in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania today to deliver the keynote speech at the Ben Franklin Technology Partners annual iX Change conference. The theme of this year's event is "Leading in an Era of Exponential Growth."

In honor of Ben Franklin -- and because I believe unlearning will be a critical skill is this era of exponential growth -- I wanted to share this quotation from Franklin:

"Declarations of a fixed opinion, and of determined resolution never to change, neither enlighten nor convince us."

Interested in an entire article I wrote on Ben Franklin's extraordinary leadership for the magazine Leader to Leader? Check out it out here:

Ben Franklin's Extraordinary Leadership