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Ask HN: How to Learn 'To Think'?

61 points cannnot_think | 1 comments | 22 Oct 24 00:05 UTC | HN request time: 0.248s | source

I am writing this desperate to find out what to do. Most of my life, I have been 'listening' passively, without thinking. I don't have an internal monologue. I had a neuropsych evaluation which commented on my poor memory and inability to think.

How do I learn how 'to think'? How do I learn to create an internal dialogue to comment on my surroundings and tasks?

I am hoping for a book recommendation, or maybe a blog post. I've heard that Ulysses is a stream-of-consciousness book, but I have not checked it out.

I would hope that books help - but I have read a lot of books and still don't think. I am hoping for a tutorial or something to practice.

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miningape ◴[22 Oct 24 08:45 UTC] No.41912387[source]▶
Sounds like books (passive learning) haven't worked very well for you yet. Maybe a more active learning approach would work better.

Active learning is characterised by producing something and then comparing / critiquing it against a well-known production. Often STEM subjects fit this very well because they are almost entirely built on the premise that you make predictions with a model, perform a test, and then refine your models.

Anything mathematics, logic puzzles, etc. would fit into this quite well since you don't really need specific equipment, you can attempt to solve something and after having a solution you can compare it to what a book / the internet says. Then critically evaluate how you approached the problem vs the actual solution, and the merits/demerits of each approach - as you grow you can probably find multiple competing solutions (being able to discern between them is very powerful)

Personally I really like programming because of the immediate feedback loop, needing to hold a program in your head, reason with and refine that mental model of the program. Also with programming its easy to work on something a bit more interesting: games, websites, dbs, etc.

I think you can also look into essay writing or other fields but its extremely important to have someone to spar with - otherwise you don't know if your thought process has actually improved.

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1. miningape ◴[22 Oct 24 09:06 UTC] No.41912497[source]▶
Also don't forget to make it fun and consistent. Playing very logical games can also work towards your goals.

Maybe on some days you can instead play chess and go over your games with the computer, learning from your mistakes and critically working through each path with the highest accuracy. Don't forget to also watch / learn from other people who are better than you who can explain their thought processes well [1]. Maybe after a while you can also sign up to a chess club and learn from real people too.

[1] - If you're interested in chess I really recommend Daniel Naroditsky, he might not be the strongest player or have the most interesting personality. But he is by far the best explainer of thought processes and patterns he uses. Watching people like Hikaru can be more difficult because he operates at a "higher level"