Learning = Making Distinctions Re-watched (Mindblown)

[zunnyman]

Ive been going deeper into A.I, building apps on API and stuff, new doors opening that I never explored before, and so based on Leo's post I intuited that this would be a powerful re-watch, and boy was I right. 

Just in the past 1 hour:

- People I demonize these days, those labels evaporated when I went passed my emotional reactions surrounding them to go into the distinctions of a person rather than a simplistic one-minded judgement of them. 

- I was listening to construction outside, and usually I get annoyed, but suddenly I noticed the different types of construction sounds, and one in particular felt deeply meditative and beautiful. I know, weird. or not. 

- I can see how judgement would fade, love would increase

- I started meditating my mind and amplifying the differences between apps built on API, vs. apps built without, or apps built on OpenAI API vs. other API's, what about the different language models, and its opening so many possibilities in my mind. Im focusing on true understanding. 

- I have OCD that runs 70% of the day, unconsciously. And what's interesting is that with OCD you can draw fine distinctions, that are often true. Much of it is fear based of course. But on a more meta level, its still unconscious. So by consciously applying this technique, I was able to go meta, see that its unconscious, controlling, fear-based, and get this: not just observe, but consciously apply the fine distinctions technique to see okay this is a controlling obsessive state, what would letting all this go look like. That's 2 states, with 2 different experiences if I amplify these experiences, explore it, which I did, and immediately let go of my obsessiveness. 

Anyways, thought I'd share. Was wondering if any of you or @Leo Gura has a book specifically focused primarily on this principle. I've read mastery, and that was great. But I can sense this is a unique field. 

[zunnyman]

on another one that I found pretty cool: Im in a highly creative state, because of this video. Much more than usual. But I'm on low sleep and physically tired. And now Im like woah, I can be highly creative in a low physical energy state. Before this observation, I thought low physical energy only meant low creativity. Of course there is some causation, correlation, but its not inherent. 

[Nilsi]

8 minutes ago, zunnyman said:

Anyways, thought I'd share. Was wondering if any of you or @Leo Gura has a book specifically focused primarily on this principle. I've read mastery, and that was great. But I can sense this is a unique field. 

Hermeneutics, structuralism, post-structuralism and semiotics are all powerful paradigms to investigate the nature of language (language being a major way, by which we draw distinctions).

Also, Peter Ralston talks at length about reality being made up of distinctions in his books - very powerful stuff!

Edited April 7, 2023 by Nilsi

[zunnyman]

@Nilsi dude appreciate it! I dont know about any of this stuff lol so Ill def explore. Idk how yet, but I can intuit what you mean about the power of language here. Maybe as various keys for unlocking sets of distinctions. 

I even read a bit of peter before but now I'll look more carefully

[zunnyman]

last random comment lol: even within A.I, the entire hype right now is the OpenAI API, and other LLM API stuff is being demonized as crap compared to OpenAI. And Im not sure yet, but I can intuit that this is simplistic, a societal one. But why would I just blindly accept the societal norm, and not consciously explore the essence of each LLM API. And if I truly explore whats out there, I may find a lot of gold with different LLM's for building a well integrated business of different LLM API's. Apologize btw if you're into coding and I'm messing the terminology up. This is new to me. 

[Jacob Morres]

If you have ocd 70% of the day, you might appreciate the book the act workbook for ocd. I found it very insightful personally! 

Edited April 7, 2023 by Jacob Morres

[zunnyman]

@Jacob Morres Thanks man! This has been on my mind for a while getting an OCD book!

[StarStruck]

Learning is much more than making distinctions. Yes, it is about making categories but that is just the first step, understanding proper relationships between these categories is paramount, otherwise those distinctions will be like fart in the wind, it won't stick. It is a bastardization of Aristotelian thinking. It it already exists more than 2 millennia.

Edited April 14, 2023 by StarStruck

[Bobby_2021]

4 hours ago, StarStruck said:

Learning is much more than making distinctions. Yes, it is about making categories but that is just the first step, understanding proper relationships between these categories is paramount, otherwise those distinctions will be like fart in the wind, it won't stick. It is a bastardization of Aristotelian thinking. It it already exists more than 2 millennia.

Every relationship is a distinction in reality.

[StarStruck]

2 hours ago, Bobby_2021 said:

Every relationship is a distinction in reality.

You take a car. Take all the parts out by making distinctions. Do you know how to put it back together? Just distinguishing the parts doesn’t tell you what the relationships are between the parts. 

[Leo Gura]

As I said in that video, this is just ONE facet of learning, not the whole. I have other videos about learning.

[Bobby_2021]

13 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

As I said in that video, this is just ONE facet of learning, not the whole. I have other videos about learning.

Observation precedes making distinctions. That's the point of making observations. And from the newly found relationships, insights and learning models, you make a behavior change.

Observation -> Making distinctions -> Behavior change.

Fits in perfectly. That distinction video is one of the most important videos you have made in my opinion.

I am wondering if comprehending something is also a distinction.

Here is what I think:

The first step to understanding is to make distinctions. Then comes the second step; learning relationships. The you integrate such relationships so deeply that insights about how something works comes so naturally to you. You do not need to sit and contemplate. You have perfect understanding. you can instantaneously predict the behavior of the object.

 Obviously, this is limited to understanding finite objects.

13 hours ago, StarStruck said:

You take a car. Take all the parts out by making distinctions. Do you know how to put it back together? Just distinguishing the parts doesn’t tell you what the relationships are between the parts. 

Even the relationships between those parts are pure distinctions in reality. You need a different set of distinctions although  not a completely mutually exclusive one, to be able to repair, dissemble and reassemble the car.

[StarStruck]

@Bobby_2021 you are very confused. This is the problem oversimplify things. 

[zurew]

21 hours ago, Bobby_2021 said:

Every relationship is a distinction in reality.

He tried to make one more distinction (separating the concept of  'relationship between things' from making distinctions) and you stopped him from doing it (therefore, unironically you didn't participate in making further distinctions).

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by zurew

[Bobby_2021]

6 hours ago, StarStruck said:

@Bobby_2021 you are very confused. This is the problem oversimplify things. 

Just say you didn't understand what I am saying.

5 hours ago, zurew said:

He tried to make one more distinction (separating the concept of  'relationship between things' from making distinctions) and you stopped him from doing it (therefore, unironically you didn't participate in making further distinctions).

lol

[zurew]

12 hours ago, Bobby_2021 said:

lol

Im just fucking around, I agree with most of your points on learning, I think you two guys just have different definitions of "making distinctions".

[StarStruck]

1 hour ago, zurew said:

Im just fucking around, I agree with most of your points on learning, I think you two guys just have different definitions of "making distinctions".

Nah. Distinctions are distinctions. There is just more than distinctions to learning. I already gave the example about the car. He just doesn’t get it and that is ok. 

[zurew]

3 hours ago, StarStruck said:

I already gave the example about the car. He just doesn’t get it and that is ok. 

I think you two view the concept of 'relationship/connection' in the context of learning in a different way.

Relationship/connection between two or more things can be viewed and treated in different ways depending on the problem or the situation or the categorization. 1) We can view it as a qualitatively different thing from the parts (sometimes we can view it as an emergent thing from the parts); 2)and other times it can be viewed as just a separate part on its own.

I think yours is closer to the first one, and his is closer to the second one.