Elementary

Version: P1

Update at: 2025-01-19

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Three patterns of questions I am interested in,

• how to think
• what to do
• how to do

Throughout the short human history, people from all time and all places created a myriad of theories, principles, methods to answer some concrete or abstract versions of these questions. I read some of them, I agree some of them, and I also see the limitations in some of them.

As one of the people who prefers to seek some potentially better ideas, I took notes every time when I learnt or thought about some good ideas. Throughout the time, I realized some of them provide good paths of thinking and help me solve real world problems. As these patterns of questions are so common and the solutions are generally useful, I decide to share with people who are thinking about questions like how to think about this?, what should I do?, how I can achieve the goal?

I consider these ideas are elementary, one reason as mentioned above is they're generalized methods from some logical reasoning. Another reason is I also think these ideas can be the basic for any kind of intelligence, human, machine, extraterrestrial, society, company, etc.

Some ideas you might be familiar with because I learnt from some well-known people. For others are my insights, you may find they are strange or may be hard to understand, you may agree or disagree. My goal is not to find some absolutely right ideas, my goal is to find ideas that can help solve real world questions. If the idea works that's good, if not I prefer to learn from others and get more experience, I consider it's open-minded. Many times I see solving a problem is just change the way of thinking.

I think with enough time of experiencing and thinking, people can realize these ideas by themselves, but some thinking barriers are natural in the thinking pathway, and passing through them are not easy. Even understanding some well-know good ideas requires enough experience and time, for some people it's decades, for some people it will be never. I also see some barriers will repeat everywhere, and share similar patterns. So I note down some methods that I know can help pass the barriers, they are good tips and tricks for myself. To be noted, I don't know all methods.

These ideas are fragmented. They randomly showed in front of me during years of learning and I wrote them down in pieces, so they're not in a systematic way. Many times I tried to organize them in different structures and the main problem is there're always some cases the organized knowledge is not useful. Also my good-idea-collections are still evolving and expanding. To be honest I doubt there exists a best way, so I give up to assume the best way exists.

I organized the ideas in idea cards. One idea card contains main idea, bullet points which are related sub ideas, and some comments for explanation. They're like Lego blocks or puzzle pieces. When I realized I can make them better I will update the bullet points, rewrite comments, or split the idea to idea cards with more details, or combine idea cards to one if I learn a new way to combine them smoothly, or I'll mark the limitations I learn. I realize one of my goal is to make idea cards concise, so I can use them as tips, and I won't confuse myself, I'm also my audience. The other goal is making the thinking fun.

An article is a linear media format, but the ideas exist in multiple forms of thinking network, a work that organize these ideas in a linear way will lost some information for readability, even the typesetting will affect understanding. On the other hand, a structured article is a good guide for thinking. In the future I may try to organize some ideas into media formats like articles, audios, videos. The work feels like using elementary pieces to create a fancy house. Building work can help me get deeper (high level) understanding. Also in this way, a more complex or complicated ideas will emerge and it would be a new powerful tool.

I'm continuously learning and thinking new ideas, so this document will be a working progress. Some complex ways of thinking may be included, I may overturn some ideas if I find it's not pragmatic. This is fun and will help me be better.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.

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What we THINK and what we DO define who we are

• the mind determines how we perceive things and how we think
• the way we think influences the decisions, the choices we make
• our decisions and choices affect our actions
• what we have done and what we will do define ourselves and change our future
• we changes when we think differently

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IPO model

It's called IPO model because originally the three labels are input, process, output. I change the label in first person perspective.

• sense is to collect data from environment
  • I also call it perception, feeling, I prefer to use verb
• think is to process and analyzing the data from perception, then make decisions
  • here the mind exists
• action is to do something
  • also could be reaction, as feedback to the environment

This model is what I consider a basic model, it helps to split hard questions to simpler ones. I see it's a basic principle of how things are structured and connected.

BTW, my definition is for practical usage, and I'm not planning to define them as a philosophical term.

Environment

an additional piece for IPO model

• also called context, background
• when a group of objects are in consideration, there could be some subjects and the environment
  • for a phone you are using, the phone is the subject, other phones and humans are the environment
  • for a car you are driving, it's the subject, other cars, pedestrians, motorcycles, etc., construct the environment
  • for a person, family, community, house, nature, country can be the environment
  • we can consider ourselves as part of the environment, that is retrospective thinking
• the purpose of using environment is to have a scope of thinking, and have a clear definition of subject
  • if the scope is unclear, it leads to confusion
  • I'm drinking a cup of coffee
    • in my house, or in a cafe, or using good quality coffee beans, or using coffee powder
      • all mean different things
    • determine the context help us understand what happened
    • and reduce confusion
• context is not always obvious
  • which leads to confusion
• context is dynamic, it's changing, know how it changes helps

What is model

• also called knowledge, understanding
• the term models means different ways of seeing or thinking things.
• Linguistical, mathematical, physical, philosophical, economical, biological, sociological, theological, theories, principles, axioms, assumptions are all some kinds of models.
• some of the models are proved by numerous evidences
• some are not proved but people believe in them
• some cannot be proved because it's hard
• models are just thinking tools, if one model doesn't work, try others.

Examples of IPO model

• a computer is designed according to this model, and a computer network (internet, Wi-Fi network, phone network) is a group of this model.
• electromechanical systems has sensors, processors, rotors, engines, light bulbs, they're also engineered using this model.
• biological system can be interpreted using this model
  • the cells receive signals and release signals using chemical compound or electrical signal, which is called Cell signaling
  • animals are using sound, language, postures to communicate with each other

Sense

• sense is for collecting data for thinking
• I use data, knowledge, information interchangeably
• human body can sense different kinds of information
  • vision, hearing, tasting, smell, touch, comfort, humidity, etc
• vision and hearing catch our focus more than others
• sense can be complex and advanced
  • there is a phenomenon called synesthesia when people hear music they can see colors, when see a picture of food they can feel the taste
• we can feel how we use our body, and how our body works in sports
• we can feel how we think, how our mind is working
• sense can distort what is real
  • what we see is not always what is real
• different people feel same things in different way

Noise and information

• things important are information, others are noise
• In network society, the data are tooooo much
  • modern information system makes people expose to noises, it's deliberately designed like that
  • before modern world, the issue was there too
  • why way to know if noise exists, is to test if we're confused
• focus less on noise, it's wasting the time, and wasting the mind spirit, which will do harm to mind
• for different people what defines as noise are different
• we need to learn how to distinguish noise, and focus on what we really care
• think about what we really want to achieve, we can learn what is noise and how to block noise

Think

• mind creates models which are simulations of real or virtual world
• models don't have to fit what is real
  • in physical world, the physics theories are good models
  • in fictional stories, magics, humanoid animals, mythologies are using different logic
• simulations help us predict what will happen, and make decisions
• models, hence the mindset reflects how we see the world
• emotion is also one kind of thinking
• high level (abstract) understanding is built from some basic understanding, that's what I call level of understanding
  • if the abstract knowledge helps in real world, I'd consider it's necessary, otherwise I would say thinking too abstract things is not good
  • I prefer not to build non-pragmatic abstract models
• mind has limitations by time and space
  • what's why we need focus on information not noise
• the purpose of thinking is to comprehend things and be smart
  • but confusion is common, or say it's default, we start from unknown in learning process
• how mind works is a solved problem
  • some people think how mind works is an unsolved problem, but it's not
  • some experienced people they own knowledge of how mind works, they can predict other people's mind
  • yes, the biological details are not fully known

Action

• if we only think but do nothing, thinking is wasted
• we use mind to determine what is the goal
• we use mind to determine how to do
• trial and error is an efficient way to test our ideas
• there're multiple ways to do one job, but the costs are different
  • travel from A to B we can walk, drive, take a plane, take a boat, dig a hole if it's on the other side of the sphere
  • we shall estimate the cost and choose some of the affordable options.
• all action have consequences
  • that help us make serious of choices if we should use one way or others

Simple tips to solve hard questions

• don't be afraid of things that's hard, and know our limitation in present
• relax and calm help us think and make good decisions
  • that doesn't mean tension is bad, depends on context
  • if the mind is always in tension, soon it will feel burnout and will damage the mind
• try to be analytical to the serious questions we're facing
  • split hard questions into simple things you can understand
  • complex things are built by simple things, so I use IPO model
  • when hard problems are split to manageable ones we can estimate if we can solve the puzzle and how long it needs
• be patient
• have some fun of thinking or doing something
• change angles of seeing things, try different ways
  • if you find you're on the wrong path of thinking , stop, and consider another paths
• think about the consequence if we plan to do or not to do
  • is the thing important?
  • is the consequence important?
• collect or build some handy tools
  • physical tools or thinking tools
• note down sometime we feel important or deserve some work in the future

Experience

• experience includes the historical data we sense, we think, and the things we have done
• experience cannot be copied from others
  • It's hard to explain something to people who lack the experience
  • I cannot explain the taste of salted ducks I cooked
  • I cannot recall the song I haven't heard
• we would hear other people's experience and knowledge
  • but some details cannot be fully explained
  • personal experience is still essential for understanding
  • and we need to know if the knowledge fits us or not (good or bad)
• some people claim they know almost everything
  • comparing to 100 billion homo sapiens existed in history, it's just a drop of water in the ocean
• I cannot understand everything even for things I like to do
  • I am limited by time and space
  • but for things I care I want to learn more
  • I'd be open minded to learn new things
• some experiences won't have any consequence
  • it's like passing through a stranger and we won't meet again
  • in that way I'll rethink what I'm doing

Learning and understanding

• we learn things by experiencing and by do something
• I'd ask myself why I need learn this once in a while, to check my goal
  • it's like asking I do this thing for what?
  • if the goal is not clear, it's hard to see which way I'll walk
• a better way of learning I think is not memorizing things, it's thinking about how to use them in different context, and understand the logic
  • knowledge are not isolated
• learning is a step by step walk
  • understanding advanced ideas requires some basic understanding
  • that's why experience is essential for understanding
• build yourself a handy knowledge library
• any noting tools that cannot help us think is useless
  • if we note a lot but won't use them, the notes feel sad
  • we need tools that makes our mind clear, not a fancy tool which is misleading
• learn from people's goodness and badness
  • know if they're knowledge is good for us

One important thing I'd like to focus on is the things connect to my limited small real world, not to be confused by abstract theories. Some theories, books, principles prefer to talk about "Postulate a spherical chicken" is just wasting the time. I also prefer to focus less on stranger's problem or too large scale I cannot comprehend problem. Yes, the world is in onion shape and the big scale issue will affect my small world, but I know I don't have ability to process them for now.

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Basic skills of a person

• take care of ourselves
  • cook or prepare food for ourselves
  • keep body healthy
  • keep mind healthy
  • learn how to do housework
  • learn how to earn money and manage assets
  • learn some skills of living
• learn how to teach ourselves
  • we learn things because we want to not because people teach us
  • teachers help us pass some barriers when we don't know where to go, they have experience about these things
  • it's high probably for things we're interested we cannot find a teacher
    • so we rely on self study
    • solving the problem by ourselves
    • searching answers by ourselves
  • it's the eager to learn drive us learn more, not a teacher push us to learn
• learn how to lead ourselves
  • be psychologically independent
  • be self driven
  • the meaning of one's life can be given by others and be taken
  • the meaning of one's life can be found by oneself and be lost
  • have some goals is good, if the goals is not ok, just find some new goals.

I found some people known these skills when they're young, others are still struggling when they're old and these things become obstacles in their life.

Communicate with yourself efficiently

• we communicate with our past selves by reading our old writings
• we communicate with our future selves by writing something
• a good communicator can communicate with themselves efficiently by
  • explain things in a clear way for readability and focusing on key points
  • think about how to make communication concise
  • thing about how to focus on high priority things
• bad communication cause chaos

Communicate with others efficiently

• we cannot finish project alone, so we need cooperate and communicate with others
• communicate efficiently can speed up things
• communicate efficiently can make a project successful
• to communicate with others we need
  • confirm important things
  • try to solve problems before asking questions, which will make one smart, and save time
  • try not to repeat the same error, if we already know the solution
  • try not to waste other people's time
    • sometimes is not avoidable, but keep it in mind or not makes difference
  • learn from others
  • self-study
    • we can learn from books, videos, friends, families, etc.
• communication is a two-way process
  • you may meet see people who cannot communicate efficiently and with bad habits
  • they may not realize the issue, if possible help them
  • if they know their problem but don't change, it's hard to help them
  • if you feel you cannot communicate with them, maybe pause for a moment, may be at sometime you will find a way
• bad communication cause chaos

Do things efficiently

• work can fit into some workflows which constructed by steps
• a workflow is just a chain of IPO model
  • step 1's output is the input of step 2
  • step 2's output is the input of step 3
  • ...
• if you understand how to communicate efficiently then you know how to do things efficiently
  • efficient work and efficient communication all can be analyzed by IPO model
• some workflows are efficient others are not
• many inefficient workflow at beginning is efficient
  • after years it cannot fit to new situations, people keeping adding things and forget cleaning up and make things efficient
  • until some point it's not possible to clean things up anymore
• make a plan, if possible some backup plans

Different perspectives and what could be true

• our eyes and ears are forward
  • that's why we cannot see our back and we cannot hear from back clearly
  • the data we perceived is distorted by our sense
    • optical illusion is an example of what we see is not what's really happened
• our mind will change the data we perceived
  • a phenomenon called "selective attention test" shows we can ignore things when we're watching
  • visual magic trick is another example
  • in detective stories, the famous detective can always see what others ignore
• most of the time, we need make decisions even with incomplete information
  • and get incomplete information is common, complete is hard
  • that's another reason we may see something not real, because the information is not complete
• if what we see may not true, how can we know something is true?
  • by repeated testing
    • bayesian method is a default way we know if a thing is highly probable or improbable
  • all good products will be tested thousands or tens of thousands of times to check it's reliability
  • it feels similar to when we cannot see things clearly we will try to see it twice or three times to confirm it
• things we can't repeatedly test is hard to be verified
  • we can use some reasoning tool
  • what other people feel we cannot directly know
    • we can try to stand on their point of view
    • we can understand other people's mind by experience, we can feel emotional resonance

Temet nosce

• know yourself, understand yourself
• our sense is outward
  • we see others more often than we see ourselves
  • we listen to others more often than listen to ourselves
• focusing on other people or things is common, and we need sometime to watch and feel ourselves
• we need to check
  • my purpose
    • where I want to go
  • my position
    • where I am
      • in robotics it's called localization
  • my resource
    • the materials in my hand can or cannot help me achieve my goal
• sport is a good way to feel and learn how the body works
• we can understand ourselves by talking or observing other people
• regularly check if we’re being better on something, we need some road marks to indicate where we’re
• some people like to think they're the most important, the earth goes around them
  • don't be like that, don't be arrogant

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Above are a small parts of my note, it took years to find my way of thinking. I'm still confused by some ideas, which drives me to learn more.