Thread by @rroudt

Real learning is messy.

School feeds us the illusion we can learn isolated topics and string them together later. But, the world is chaotic, so we need to adapt our learning approach to it.

An atomic essay on embracing messiness in learning.

🧵 Prefer tweets? See the thread.

Life is messy.

Our brains evolved in a chaotic world, not in a classroom.

While we're now spoon-fed knowledge, our ancestors couldn't predict what they needed to learn—
they knew when death was staring them in the face.

School gives the illusion you can divide knowledge into sequential units.

But, only when you put things into practice do you know what you need to know.

The solution?
Start before you're ready.

Not knowing where you're going is part of the learning process. When getting stuck, you often discover there's something else you need to understand first.

Only by accepting side quests can you move closer to mastery.

You can't plan for detours—you'll know when to take one.

Learning is like crossing a river using stepping stones; you can plan all you like, but once underway, your vision narrows and you have to reorient after every step.

Messy learning fulfills two effective learning principles: interleaving and spacing.

Research shows that mixing up topics and spacing practice makes for stronger learning. So, relax and follow your curiosity—it's often a useful guide.

Finally, always make sure that what you're learning is useful.

Instead of practicing the same subskill over and over, it's better to build something real multiple times. That way, you mix up practice and space it out in time.

Don't worry if learning projects don't go as planned. Ask yourself: have I learned something useful?

As long as you make progress, all is good.