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Ask HN: How do you learn something you can't practice?

by vitaminCPP on 11/13/21, 11:56 PM with 4 comments

It seems like I learn best when I practice.

Learning about chess? Play the game and practice tactics. Learning about programming? Do some exercises and projects. Learning about cooking? Do some recipes.

But what about economics or philosophy? How do you learn something you can't practice?

  • by WheelsAtLarge on 11/14/21, 3:59 AM

    The Socratic method is a way of asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presuppositions. Teachers use it all the time. It helps the student become an active learner.

    You can use it by getting a text book and answering the end of chapter question first even before you read the chapter. It's a way to learn the material by asking questions first. You become an active learner rather than a passive reader.

  • by richardatlarge on 11/14/21, 12:45 AM

    I have published in philosophy journals yet never took a course in philosophy. For me it was all learned because I had questions I was writing about and I needed answers. Then, writing in philosophy forces you to practice ideas and work through them. Even better if you can debate them too

  • by thagerty on 11/14/21, 3:03 AM

    Einstein Thought Experiments