pragmatic learn and thinking

============ 1. Introduction ============

what is pragmatic?
Pragmatic means do whatever works for you, since every person is different, if it
works then is pragmatic
you shouldn't follow any advice blindy, try things and decide what works for you.

Everything is interconnected: the physical world, social systems, your innermost

thoughts, Nothing exists in isolation; everything is part of the system and part of
a larger context.

Because of that inconvenient fact of reality, small things can have unexpectedly
large effects. That disproportionate effect is the hallmark of nonlinear systems,
and in case you hadn’t noticed, the real world is decidedly nonlinear.

you’ll find activities or differences that seem to be so subtle or inconsequential

that they couldn’t possibly make a difference. These are activities such as
thinking a thought to yourself vs. speaking it out loud or such as writing a
sentence on a piece of paper vs. typing it into an editor on the computer.
Abstractly, these things should be perfectly equivalent. But they aren’t.

These kinds of activities utilize very different pathways in the brain—pathways

that are affected by your very thoughts and how
you think them. Your thoughts are not disconnected from the rest of the brain
machinery or your body; it’s all connected. This is just one example.

For instance, you might consider a tree to be a single, discrete object sitting on
the visible ground. But in fact, a tree is a connection of at least two major
systems: the processing cycle of leaves and air and of roots and earth. It’s not
static; it’s not isolated. And even more interesting, you’ll rarely be a simple
observer of a system. More likely, you’ll be part of it, whether you know it or
not. ALWAYS CONSIDER THE CONTEXT.

============ 2. the journey from novice to expert ============

the dreyfuss theory is a model of human learning, they are 5 stages where one has
to pass to become an expert
stage 1. Novices
Novices has little or no previous experience, they don't want to
learn, they just want to accomplish an immediate goals, so they need a recipe "when
X happens, do Y", the problem with recipes is that you can never specify everything
fully. Rules can get started but they don't carry you further

stage 2. advanced beginners

Advanced beginners can start to break away from the fixed rule
set a little bit. They can try tasks on their own, but they still have difficulty
troubleshooting

stage 3. competetent
At the third stage, practitioners can now develop conceptual
models of the problem domain and work with those models effectively

stage 4. proficient
Proficient practitioners need the big picture. They will seek out
and want to understand the larger conceptual framework around this skill

stage 5. expert
 Experts are the primary sources of knowledge and information in
any field. They are the ones who continually look for better methods and better
ways of doing things. Experts work from intuition, not from reason. The expert
knows the difference between irrelevant details and the very important details.
Experts aren’t perfect. They can make mistakes just like anyone else

Context matters, but the lower several stages on the Dreyfus model aren’t skilled
enough to know it.
Experts need to have access to the big picture, your needs for learning is going to
change overtime

define yourself where you are in the dreyfuss model, at what stage

============ 3. this is your brain ============

your brain is like a dual cpu, left and right brain, L and R modes, R mode is
asynchronous, so keep track of your ideas, bring a pencil and paper to make notes,
capture all ideas to get more of them.

YOU CAN REWIRE YOUR BRAIN WITH BELIEF AND CONSTANT PRACTICE
Skills and abilities that you constantly use and constantly practice will begin to
dominate, and more of your brain will become wired
for those purposes.

At the same time, lesser-used skills will lose ground. “Use it or lose it” is
perfectly accurate in this case, because your brain will
dedicate more resources to whatever you are doing the most. Perhaps this is why
musicians practice scales incessantly; it’s sort
of like refreshing dynamic RAM. Want to be a better coder? Practice coding more.
Engage in deliberate, focused practice. Want to learn a foreign language? Immerse
yourself in it. Speak it all the time. Think in it. Your brain will soon catch on
and adapt itself to better facilitate this new usage.

When problem solving, learn to be comfortable with uncertainty. When creating, be

comfortable with the absurd and the impractical. When learning, don’t try so hard
to learn and memorize; just get “used to it” first. Try to understand the meaning
first; get the overall gist of it.

============ 5. Debugging your mind ============

Being aware of these bugs is the first step to mitigating them.

============ 6. learn deliberately ============

The technology itself isn’t as important; it’s the constant learning that counts.

To get where you want to be to learn and grow in your career and personal life
you’ll need to set some goals. But goals by themselves aren’t enough to guarantee
your success.

use SMART objectives to meet your goals, otherwise they could possibly end up on
desires only.
SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-boxed.
Just to be clear: a goal is a desired state, usually short-term, that you’re trying
to reach. An objective is something you do to get you closer to that goal.

-------------- Specific -----------------

First, an objective should be specific. That is, it’s not enough to say “I want to
learn Erlang.” Narrow (reducir, estrechar) that down to something concrete, such as
“I want to be able to write a web server in Erlang that dynamically generates
content.”
-------------- Measurable -----------------
If you think you can’t measure your objective, then it’s probably not specific
enough. be sure to take small bites and measure steady (firme, estable, continuo),
incremental progress. You can’t expect to lose fifty pounds in a week or learn a
whole new programming language and all its libraries in a weekend. Measure your
objectives, but stage them in increments. Focus on the process, the success will
come later.

-------------- Achievable -------------------

A goal or objective that you cannot attain (alcanzar) is not a target. Some things
are just not possible for most people, ie:competing at an Olympic level, for
instance.
Others are possible, but at a disproportionate commitment of time and resources
(say, running in a marathon). So, be reasonable about it. You might be able to
write “Hello, World!” or a simple application in a new language by next week, but
you’re probably not going to be able to write a complete web application framework
and user interface builder with a neural net optimizer.

------------- Relevant ----------------------

Does this really matter to you? is it important to you, and are you passionate
about it? Is it something that’s even under your control?
If not, then it isn’t relevant.
It needs to matter and be something that you have control over.

------------ Time-Boxed ----------------------

This is perhaps the most important one. It means you need to give yourself a
deadline. Without deadlines, a goal will languish and be
perpetually pushed aside by the more pressing exigencies of the day. It will never
happen. Again, take small bites. Give yourself frequent, small milestones (hitos).
You’ll be more motivated when you meet them and encouraged to rise to meet the next
one.

CREATE SMART OBJECTIVES TO REACH YOUR GOALS.

Make your SMART objective list

-------- create a pragmatic investment plan-----------

* have a concrete plan
use the SMART goals for:
- now, what you need or want to do, ie: downloading a
book, or buy a product
- goals for next year, ie: being able to xyz in a
language or tool
- goals for five years out, ie: speaking at a
conference or writing a book
* diversify, choose where you want to lead your attention and consider
the risks of that decision
* make an active, not passive, investment, always get a
feedback/evaluate your plan or actions
* make a regular investment, create a commitment for your learning

--------- ENHANCED LEARNING TECHNIQUES -------------------

- read using SQ3R

* Survey, scan the table of contents and chapter
introductions, summaries for an overview, and any other highlight the author has
left, dont delve into details yet.
* Questions, write questions you want answered
* Read, read the book in its entirety, slow down on
difficul parts, reread sections as needed if material isn't clear
 * Recite, as you read, summarize, take notes and put it in
your own words
* Review, reread as necessary, expand notes, and discuss
with colleagues

- visualize with mind maps

Mind map is a kind of diagram that shows the topics and how they are connected,
draw the subject in the center, draw nodes around it with subject subheadings, and
so on, each node should be connected
next time your read a book, try to take notes, in the form of a mind map, You’ll
have a general idea of the major topics, but as particular details emerge and as
you begin to see which items are related to each other and how, the map will fill
in, and a picture of your understanding will emerge.

Try to apply the mind maps technique to everything in your life.

============ 7. gain experience ============

Your brain is designed such that you need to explore and build mental models on
your own. Of course, You’ll make mistakes; it will get messy. But those messes give
you exactly the kind of feedback you need.

Mind maps get better the more you play with them. Working with new material or
solving a problem in a playful manner makes it more enjoyable, but it also makes it
easier to learn. Don’t be afraid of fun. Play more in order to learn.

Break down the problem into smaller parts, we learn best by discovery not by
instruction, grant permission to fail.
THE IMAGINATION IS KEY FOR THE BRAIN, SO IMAGINE YOU REACH ALL YOUR GOALS AND
DREAMS

============ 8. manage focus ============

Sometimes we use the words information and knowledge interchangeably, but they
aren’t the same thing. Information is raw data in a given context. Knowledge
imparts meaning to that information. You apply your time, attention, and skill to
information to produce knowledge.
to improve your attention, learn to meditate.

what you want is to sink (hundirse, caer, entrar) into a sort of relaxed awareness
(conciencia) where you can be aware of yourself and your environment without
rendering judgment or making responses. This is known as "Vipassana meditation".
You want to catch that moment of bare attention where you first notice something
but do not give it any additional thought. Let it go.

In this style of meditation, “all” you have to do is pay attention to your breath.
It’s not as easy as it sounds, but it does have the
advantage of not requiring any props or special equipment. Here’s what you do:
• Find a quiet spot, free from distraction or interruption. This
might be the hardest part.
• Sit in a comfortable, alert posture, with a straight back. Let
your body hang off your spine like a rag doll. Take a moment to
become aware of any tension that you might be holding in your body and let it go.
• Close your eyes, and focus your awareness on your breath that
small point where the air enters your body and where it exits.
• Be aware of the rhythm of your breath, the length and qualities
of the inhale, the brief pause at the top of the cycle, the
qualities of the exhale, and the brief pause at the bottom. Don’t try to
change it; just be aware of it.
 • Keep your mind focused on the breath. Do not use words. Do not
verbalize the breath or any thoughts you have. Do not begin a conversation with
yourself. This is the other hard part.
• You may find yourself thinking about some topic or carrying on
a conversation with yourself. Whenever your attention wanders off, just let those
thoughts go and gently bring your focus back to the breath.
• Even if your mind is wandering often, the exercise of noticing
that you have wandered and bringing yourself back each time is
helpful.

In this exercise, words can come—but you’ll just let them go. Just be aware; don’t
judge or think. Words, feelings, thoughts, and whatever, will come up, and you’ll
just let them go and return your attention to the breath.

============ 9. beyond (mas alla, detras) expertise ============ insights (ideas)

insight (percepcion, intuicion, revelacion)
the work to change old habits is harder but don't give up, go back to the right
path again

- Start with a plan.

Keep track of what you've accomplished and review your accomplishments when you
feel you haven' done enough.

- Inaction is the enemy, not error.

Remember the danger doesn’t lie in doing something wrong; it lies in doing nothing
at all. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.

- New habits take time.

It takes something like a minimum of three weeks of performing a new activity
before it becomes habit. Maybe longer. Give it a fair chance.

- Belief is real.
your thoughts will physically alter the wiring in your brain and your brain
chemistry. You have to believe that change is possible. If you think you’ll fail,
you’ll be correct.

- Take small, next steps.

Start with the low-hanging fruit. Set up a small, achievable goal, and reward
yourself for reaching it. “Rinse and repeat”: set up the next small step. Take one
step at a time, keeping your big goal in mind but not trying to map out all the
steps it takes to get there. Just the next one. Learn what you need to know for the
goals further out once you get closer to them.

always keep a “beginner’s” mind. Ask “what if?” You want to emulate a child’s
insatiable curiosity, full of wonder and amazement. Approach learning without
preconceived notions, prior judgment, or a fixed viewpoint. See things exactly as
they are.

Grab the wheel (agarra el volante). You can’t steer on autopilot. Go ahead and grab
the wheel. You have everything you need: the same brain as Einstein, Jefferson,
Poincaré, or Shakespeare

from 253 beyond expertise