Self-Directed Learning - Independent Learning

Having the ability and the resources to educate yourself and test yourself is liberating and powerful. Gaining valuable knowledge and information increases your potential, and your energy potential. The more you know, the more you can do. The more you can do, the more possibilities you have. Mastering the power of learning is the purist form of freedom. When learning to read you should be reading to learn at the same time. Learning everything valuable will increase your knowledge and understanding of yourself and the world around you. You should never stop learning, if you do, then you will underutilize the most power machine on the planet, the human brain.



Always ask questions and always have goals. To teach yourself is to free yourself. To make mistakes is opportunity to learn. Life is an after school program, and everyone starts out as an amateur.

Skills - Maker - Instructions - Adult Ed - Polymath - Purpose of Education - Open Education - Investigations - Explorations - Consuming Healthy Information

Active Learning is a method of learning in which students are actively or experientially involved in the learning process and where there are different levels of active learning, depending on student involvement.

Lifelong Learning is the ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons. Therefore, it not only enhances social inclusion, active citizenship, and personal development, but also self-sustainability, innovation, as well as competitiveness and employability. LLL encourages people to learn how to learn and to select content, process, and methodologies that pursues self-design and self-perfection.

Student is a learner who is enrolled in an educational institution or who learns on their own or teaches themselves. A student is someone who studies in order to gain mastery in one or more disciplines.

Ignorance does not go away on its own. Educating yourself and continually learning valuable knowledge is the only way to reduce your ignorance. To reduce the ignorance of other people, you will need to convince other people to educate themselves and make it easy for other people to continually learn valuable knowledge on their own. Ignorance does not go away on its own.

Intrinsically Motivated Learning (PDF) - Intelligent Adaptive Curiosity (PDF)

Do it Yourself Resources - DIY Biology - Citizen Science - Human Search Engine

Coyote Teaching approach seeks to spark curiosity and create a self-directed learning experience that teaches the student how to seek answers on their own versus becoming dependent on a teacher.

Learning for Life designed to prepare youth for the complexities of contemporary society and to enhance their self-confidence, motivation, and self-esteem, and for careers. Learning for Life.

Become a Lifelong Learner - Becoming a Learner for Life - Teach Myself - Home Work - Figure it Out

"Don't let schooling interfere with your education." - Mark Twain

Live, Learn, Love and Progress - Growth Mindset - Inspiration

Constructionism is when individual learners construct mental models in order to understand the world around them. Constructionism advocates student-centered, discovery learning where students use information they already know to acquire more knowledge. Students learn through participation in project-based learning where they make connections between different ideas and areas of knowledge facilitated by the teacher through coaching rather than using lectures or step-by-step guidance. Further, constructionism holds that learning can happen most effectively when people are active in making tangible objects in the real world. In this sense, constructionism is connected with experiential learning and builds on Jean Piaget's epistemological theory of constructivism.

Reflective Practice is the ability to reflect on an action so as to engage in a process of continuous learning. According to one definition it involves "paying critical attention to the practical values and theories which inform everyday actions, by examining practice reflectively and reflexively. This leads to developmental insight". A key rationale for reflective practice is that experience alone does not necessarily lead to learning; deliberate reflection on experience is essential.

Inference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true. The laws of valid inference are studied in the field of logic.

Autodidacticism is self directed education without the guidance of masters such as teachers and professors or institutions such as schools. Autodidacticism is the act of learning about a subject or subjects in which one has had little to no formal education. Generally, autodidacts are individuals who choose the subject they will study, their studying material, and the studying rhythm and time. Autodidacts may or may not have formal education, and their study may be either a complement or an alternative to formal education. Many notable contributions have been made by autodidacts. Everyone starts out as a self-teaching autodidact.

Self-Made Scholar: You need to become an avid reader, study new topics, learn about opposing views, embark on new experiences, make learning a priority, ask questions, write down your thoughts, and be willing to change your mind.

Informal Learning is characterized by a low degree of planning and organizing in terms of the learning context, learning support, learning time, and learning objectives.

Non-Formal Learning includes various structured learning situations which do not either have the level of curriculum, syllabus, accreditation and certification associated with 'formal learning', but have more structure than that associated with 'informal learning', which typically take place naturally and spontaneously as part of other activities.

Education needs to be a process that facilitates learning and the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, and good habits.

Multi-Disciplinary - Purpose of Education - Training - Tinkering

Polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas and is known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems.

Multipotentiality is an educational and psychological term referring to the ability and preference of a person, particularly one of strong intellectual or artistic curiosity, to excel in two or more different fields.

Independent Learner is a student who is information literate, and pursues information related to personal interests. An Independent Learner appreciates literature and other creative expressions of information and strives for excellence in information seeking and knowledge generation. 

Master of Independent Learning is an expert analyzer of information with a passion and a desire to acquire knowledge so that learning and understanding continues to thrive for as long as human life exists.

Teaching Yourself and being self-taught and self-educated is not just an option, it is absolutely necessary.

Meta-Learning is learning about one's own learning and learning processes. It's learning independently and being self-reflective and creating feedback in order to reflect on their learning strengths, and weaknesses. To be more proactive and effective learners by focusing on developing self-awareness. Meta learning tasks would provide students with the opportunity to better understand their thinking processes in order to devise custom learning strategies. The goal is to find a set of parameters that work well across different tasks so that learners start with a bias that allows them to perform well despite receiving only a small amount of task-specific data.

Free Schooling or unschooling, is a way of organizing learning that is non-coercive. In free schools there are typically no set curricula. The students decide what they want to learn, and the adults act as resources. Free learning is usually based on self-learning that is self-directed and self-paced. In free learning there are no constraints of time, space, pace, method, direction, or subject matter. The Free School Movement was an American education reform movement during the 1960s and early 1970s that sought to change the aims of formal schooling through alternative, independent community schools. This disenchantment with social institutions spread in the 1960s and was created by parents, teachers, and students in opposition to contemporaneous schooling practices across the United States.

Self-Regulated Learning is one of the domains of self-regulation, and is aligned most closely with educational aims. It refers to learning that is guided by metacognition or thinking about one's thinking, strategic action such as planning, monitoring, and evaluating personal progress against a standard, and motivation to learn. A self-regulated learner monitors, directs, and regulates actions toward goals of information acquisition, expanding expertise, and self-improvement. In particular, self-regulated learners are cognizant of their academic strengths and weaknesses, and they have a repertoire of strategies they appropriately apply to tackle the day-to-day challenges of academic tasks. These learners hold incremental beliefs about intelligence (as opposed to entity, or fixed views of intelligence) and attribute their successes or failures to factors (e.g., effort expended on a task, effective use of strategies) within their control. Active/executive self-regulation is regulated by the person and is intentional, deliberate, conscious, voluntary, and strategic. The individual is aware and effortful in using self-regulation strategies. Under this source of SRL, learning happens best in a habitual mode of functioning. Dynamic self-regulation is also known as unintentional learning because it is regulated by internal subsystems other than the “central executive.” The learner is not consciously aware they are learning because it occurs “outside the direct influence of deliberate internal control. The third source of self-regulated learning is the interest-creating discovery module, which is described as “bifunctional” as it is developed from both the active and dynamic models of self-regulation. In this model, learning takes place best in a creative mode of functioning and is neither completely person-driven nor unconscious, but a combination of both. self-observation (monitoring one's activities); seen as the most important of these processes. Self-judgment (self-evaluation of one's performance) and self-reactions (reactions to performance outcomes). Self-Assessment: fosters planning, assess what skills the learner has and what skills are needed. Allows students to internalize standards of learning so they can regulate their own learning. Wrapper Activity: activity based on pre-existing learning or assessment task. This can be done as a homework assignment. Consist of self-assessment questions to complete before completing homework and then after the completion of homework. This will allow the learner to draw their own conclusions about the learning process. Think Aloud: This involves the teacher describing their thought process in solving a problem. Questioning: Following new material, student develops questions about the material. Reciprocal Teaching: the learner teaches new material to fellow learners.
 

Curiosity - Passion - Wonder

Interest is having a sense of concern, fascination and curiosity about someone or something. Interest is having a reason and a purpose for wanting something done that is of importance or of consequence. Interest is being enthusiastic about learning something interesting. Interest is a feeling that causes attention to focus on an object, event, or a process.

Inspiration - Motivation - Investigation - Active Learning - Maker Space - Explore - Careers

Pique My Interest is to arouse, stimulate or excite curiosity. Sparked My Interest is to ignited interest or fuel interest. Pay to Learn.

"When something is unusual, it becomes interesting, and sometimes it compels you to investigate it and learn why something is so unusual." Inventions.

Curiosity is a state in which you want to learn more about something. Eager to investigate and learn or learn more. (sometimes about others' concerns). Having curiosity aroused or to be eagerly interested in learning more. Homo Quaerens is Latin for "human curiosity". The drive to learn, to invent, to explore, and to study continuously. The sudden awareness of what you don’t know and the immediate desire to fill that gap. The brain continuously calculates which path or action is most likely to gain us the most knowledge in the least amount of time. Curiosity peaks when subjects had a good guess about what the answer is but weren’t quite sure. "Learning can sometimes be like you're trying to solve a mystery by following all the clues."

Wonder is to have a desire or a wish to know something. A state in which you want to learn more about something. Wander.

Wonderment is the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising. Wonder can also mean to doubt something or or to express doubtful speculation. I Wonder if that's True? Wonderful.

Awe is an overwhelming feeling of wonder or admiration. A feeling of profound respect for someone or something.

Awesome is something inspiring awe, admiration or wonder. Something very good and of the highest quality. Inspiration.

Intrigue is cause to be interested or curious. Fascinated.

Fascination is the state of being intensely interested. A feeling of great liking for something wonderful and unusual. The capacity to attract intense interest.

Captivation is the state of being intensely interested. A feeling of great liking for something wonderful and unusual.

Captivated is being strongly attracted to something or filled with wonder and delight.

Riveting is something fascinating, interesting and engrossing that is capable of arousing and holding your attention.

Enchantment is a feeling of great liking for something wonderful and unusual. A psychological state of delightful pleasure that produces a magical effect as if under a spell.

Amazement is to fill with wonder or astonishment. The feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising.

Passion is a feeling of intense enthusiasm towards or compelling desire for someone or something. Passion can range from eager interest in something or admiration for an idea, proposal, or cause, to an enthusiastic enjoyment of an interest or activity. A strong attraction, excitement, or emotion towards a person. Finding Your Passion.

Insatiable is a strong desire for something or a hunger for knowledge that is sometimes impossible to satisfy.

Eager is having or showing keen interest or intense desire and prompt willingness to accomplish something or to know something. A positive feeling of wanting to push ahead with something, sometimes being impatient or expecting. Engaged and Focused.

Entranced is being filled with wonder and delight or a feeling of extreme pleasure or satisfaction.

Engaged is having one's attention, mind or energy occupied and involved. To carry out or participate in an activity.

Involved is to be connected by participation, association or use.

Xenophilia is an affection or liking for unknown or foreign objects, manners, cultures or people.

Charmed is attractiveness that interests, pleases or stimulates. Pleasing or delighting. Something believed to bring good luck or believed to have magical force.

Be careful and be aware of the things that motivate you.

Delight is a feeling of extreme pleasure or satisfaction.  Something or someone that provides a source of happiness. Give pleasure to or be pleasing to. Take delight in and make the most of something. Delighted is being greatly pleased and filled with wonder and delight.

Pleased is feeling pleasurable satisfaction over something by which you measure your self-worth. Experiencing or manifesting pleasure.

Satisfaction is the contentment one feels when one has fulfilled a desire, need, or expectation. State of being gratified or satisfied. Act of fulfilling a desire, need or appetite. Satisfaction in law is the payment of a debt or fulfillment of an obligation. Compensation for a wrong.

Arousal is to cause to be alert and energetic. Cause to become awake or conscious.

Reward-Based Learning - Mistakes

Concern is to think strongly about something and having something on the mind. Something that interests you because it is important or that it affects you some way. A feeling of sympathy for someone or something. 

Consider is to think about something carefully and to look at something attentively and carefully in order to study and judge something accurately, and in regards to someone's well-being.

Learn is to gain knowledge and skills through experience and reading. To get to know something or become aware of something, sometimes accidentally. To commit valuable knowledge and information to memory and to learn things by heart. To be a student of a certain subject. To find out and determine something with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other efforts. Learning Methods - Inspiration.

Discernment is the cognitive condition of someone who understands. The mental ability to understand and discriminate between relations. The trait of judging wisely and objectively.

Determine is to explain something after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study. Decide upon definitely; give a value. Reach, make, or come to a decision about something. Settle conclusively; come to terms. Find out, learn, or detect with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other effort.

Determination is to closely examine the properties of something through research so that an opinion or judgment may be reached after consideration. The act of making up your mind about something and deciding or controlling something's outcome or nature. Persistence.

Detect is to determine the existence, presence, or the fact of something. Observe - Perceive.

Noticing is to express recognition of the presence or the existence of something. Paying Attention. A short critical review. 

Recognition is coming to understand something clearly and distinctly. An acceptance as of a claim as true and valid. Recognize.

Realize is to be fully aware or cognizant of something. To perceive an idea or situation mentally. To make something real or concrete or to give reality or substance to something. Realization is coming to understand something clearly and distinctly.

Describe is to give a description of something or to give an account or representation of something in words. To classify or apply the appropriate name to something.

Examine is to consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning. The act of conducting a controlled test or investigation. Observe, check out, and look over carefully or inspect. Question or examine thoroughly and closely. Mull it over: meaning to think about; to consider; to ruminate about; reflect deeply on a subject.

Scholarly Method is the body of principles and practices used by scholars to make their claims about the world as valid and trustworthy as possible, and to make them known to the scholarly public. It is the methods that systemically advance the teaching, research, and practice of a given scholarly or academic field of study through rigorous inquiry. Scholarship is noted by its significance to its particular profession, and is creative, can be documented, can be replicated or elaborated, and can be and is peer-reviewed through various methods.

Perceive - Detect - Observe - Learning Methods

Investigate is the work of inquiring into something thoroughly and systematically. To conduct an inquiry or an investigation of something and too question or examine something thoroughly and closely. An investigation can be an exploratory action or expedition. Science is an Adventure. 

Journalism - Search Engines

Research is a systematic investigation to establish facts. Attempt to find out in a systematically and scientific manner.

Research - Awareness - Memory

Studied is produced or marked by conscious design or premeditation. To consider in detail a subject for analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning. To give careful consideration to something. To be a student of a certain subject. To learn by reading books. To think intently for a length of time.

Study is to consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning. Learn by reading books. Applying the mind to learning and understanding a subject, especially by reading. Attentive consideration and meditation. A written document describing the findings of some individual or group. A detailed critical inspection or a formal or official examination. Someone who memorizes quickly and easily, as the lines for a part in a play. A composition intended to develop one aspect of the performer's technique. To be a student and follow a course of study or be enrolled at an institute of learning.

Teaching - Instruction - Training - Rehearsal - Mistake Learning

Human Search Engine - Self Directed Learning - Questioning

The Case for Curiosity-Driven Research: Suzie Sheehy (video and text)

Personal Learning Network is an informal learning network that consists of the people a learner interacts with and derives knowledge from in a personal learning environment. In a PLN, a person makes a connection with another person with the specific intent that some type of learning will occur because of that connection.

Remember, formal learning, or learning in a school, is just one type of learning method. It would be dangerous and ignorant to call self-directed learning "informal learning". When you define the "education objective", and define what being a Trained Teacher is supposed to be, you will discover that any style of learning is no different then any other style of learning as long as you learn in the way that you like, and not in a way that someone else likes. It would be ignorant to say that self-directed learning is voluntary. That's like saying that eating is voluntary, you don't have to eat, but if you don't eat you die. You don't have to learn, but if you don't learn you die. And just because something is labeled non-voluntary or Compulsory, does not say why it is important or why you need this more then other knowledge. The sooner you learn to learn on your own, the better your life will be. Social Learning.

"There are many things that seem too big and too complex to figure out, but that's how they all seem at first."

Discover is to determine the existence, presence, or fact of something. To get to know or become aware of something, sometimes accidentally or unexpectedly. To make a discovery or make a new finding. To make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret. To see something for the first time. 

Discovery Observation is the act of detecting something new, or something "old" that had been unrecognized as meaningful.

Observe - Experience - Problem Solving - Learning - Wandering

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. ~ Carl Sagan.

Explore is to inquire into a subject and examine something in detail. To travel to through an unfamiliar place or area in order to learn about or familiarize oneself with it. Exploration is the act of searching for the purpose of discovery of information or resources.

Exploration is the action of traveling in or through an unfamiliar area in order to learn about it. The act of searching for the purpose of discovery of information or resources.

Pilgrim is a traveler who has come from afar and may be on a journey to a holy place.

Pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life.

Pioneer is to open up and explore a new area. Take the lead or initiative in. Participate in the development of. Leading the way. Trailblazing. To initiate or participate in the development of.

Serendipity is an unexpected discovery. Finding something interesting while looking for something else. Serendipity (wiki).

To explore is the default mode of every human being. The only problem with exploring is when you have no clear understanding of your purpose, or, when you have no idea what you're looking for, or, what you will do when you do find what you were not looking for. So it's not just about having purpose, it's understanding the variables and understanding randomness, and never expecting what you think you know. That's exploration.

Searching for Ideas (innovation) - Creativity - Love - Motivation - Interest

Searching is being diligent and thorough in inquiry or investigation. Having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought, expression, or intellect. Exploring thoroughly. Try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of something.

Adventure - Openness to Experience - Games - Information Resources

Prospect is to search for something desirable. Explore for useful or valuable things or substances, such as minerals. The possibility of future success.

A Mans Reach should Exceed his Grasp, for what is Heaven for? Sometimes you have to go beyond what you see and what is known. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. A calculated risk is sometimes necessary. Dammed if you do, Dammed if you don't. But wait, if you succeed or fail, what will you learn? What is your goal? Will you be able to except the consequences? Will you be able to handle the glory? Is this your fate, or just a bad decision? Either way, what choices do you have? Will there be another time? Will you have another opportunity?

Pandora's Box was not about curiosity, because curiosity did not kill the cat, ignorance did. If you're curious about something, you need to have an idea what will happen if you start asking questions or experimenting something or start looking for something, because you may get more than you bargained for. Sometimes starting the process of discovery needs a well thought out plan, because some problems can be really big and beyond your abilities, so you either have lots of help from other people or you have lots of time and resources to carefully plan and approach this problem that you want to solve. To open a can of worms is to examine or attempt to solve some problem, only to inadvertently complicate it and create even more trouble.

Forbidden Fruit is a metaphor for self-control that allows you to avoid doing things that are extremely risky, especially when you're only something because you like to do it or that you anticipate enjoyment from this particular activity. But enjoyment is not a measurement of reality or value. So this is more than just temptation, especially when you don't understand the word temptation or the thing that you believe is tempting you. Self control is an important skill to have, but only when you can accurately measure the choices that you make and how good they are and how the bad they are. Confidence.

BK101 is a Gold Mine, and you're the prospector. If you don't dig, then you don't learn, and no gold will be found. This isn't no click bait, this is the biggest fish that you will ever see in your life. And the worlds biggest fish is a symbol for everything that you still don't know. Don't limit your mind based solely on just your own time, but base it on the time that your ancestors gave you, and base it on the time that you will pass on to future generations, which could very well be your future self on some level. You reap what you sow, you sow what you reap.

Prospector is someone who explores an area for mineral deposits.

Miner is a laborer who works in a mine. (and this mine is called BK101, which is a metaphor of everything that you still don't know.)

Intelligence - Morality

Ambitious is having a strong desire for success or achievement. Requiring full use of your abilities or resources. Aspirational.

Persistent is determination in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. A continuous and connected period of time. The act of persisting or persevering; continuing or repeating behavior.

Determination is devoting full strength and concentrated attention to. Strongly motivated to succeed. Shape or influence; give direction to. The quality of being determined to do or achieve something; firmness of purpose. Deciding or controlling something's outcome or nature. The act of making up your mind about something. Find out, learn, or determine with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other effort.

Goals - Will Power - Determine - Motivation (inspiration)

Deliberated is to think about something carefully and weighing the negatives against the positives. Discussing the pros and cons of an issue in ore to accurately measure value and the utility of a subject.

Deliberate is something carefully thought out in advance and discussing the pros and cons of an issue.

Dedication is the act of binding yourself intellectually or emotionally to a course of action. Faithful to a cause. Goals.

Energetic is working hard, enterprising or ambitious drive. A healthy capacity for vigorous activity. Possessing or exerting or displaying energy.

Aggressive is having or showing determination and energetic pursuit of your ends. Sometimes you have to be aggressive when learning, because some things will not come easy, especially knowledge and information that you need. People will try to keep it from you. But if you are determined, it will be almost impossible to stop you. Because that is life, and life cannot be stopped. Even through all the mass extinctions, life has always found a way.

Pursuit is to carry out or participate in and be involved in an activity. Activism - Goal.

Methods of obtaining Knowledge: Sensing (observation or experience) This may be more or less sophisticated, ranging direct personal sensation, to instrument-augmented sensation to controlled experimentation. Reason or logic. Taking other knowledge as data, by logical operations new knowledge can be inferred. For example, the theoretical construct, the electron, is derived by logical inferences from observations and experiment. Modelling a situation sometimes allows those with a hands-on viewpoint to learn how-to do something. This pragmatic approach is often seen in computer programming. Testimony. Knowledge based on the acceptance of testimony involves accepting what others say. Authority. Knowledge based on authority may rely upon the reputation of an individual. Authority may have a political basis in the sense that some political process, perhaps involving status as well as simple voting, peer review, or comment. This is familiar to participants in academia. Revelation. In obtaining knowledge there are two main kinds of knowledge that one can obtain. Fallible knowledge which is likely to fail or make errors. Infallible knowledge which is incapable of failure or error.

Thinking - Self Organized Learning Environment

Extract Your Own Meaning is to reason by deduction or principle, or construe, which is to make sense of; assign a meaning to.

Free-Thought is a philosophical viewpoint which holds that positions regarding truth should be formed on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism, rather than authority, tradition, conformity, revelation, or other dogma. The cognitive application of freethought is known as "freethinking", and practitioners of freethought are known as "freethinkers".

Knowing - Intelligence - Problem Solving

The Beatles - Think For Yourself (youtube)

Self-Organized Learning Environment

Contemplated is to look at something thoughtfully and observe deep in thought. Consider something as a possibility and Reflect deeply on a subject. Philosophy.

"Sometimes we learn more by looking for an answer to a question than we do from learning the answer itself." Journey

"Everyone is born with an adventurous spirit, but our lives get complicated and there are many distractions, so we lose our natural instinct to explore. So we have to manually activate our love for exploring, which isn't bad, we just have to remember to do it once a day. We need to look at life as free as a new born baby. If your not exploring what's important and valuable, things that you can learn from, then exploring becomes unimportant."

Develop is to make something new, such as a product or a mental or artistic creation. Gain through experience. Become technologically advanced. Change the use of and make available or usable. Create by training and teaching. Grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment. Cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development. Grow emotionally or mature. Move one's pieces into strategically more advantageous positions.

Child Development - Product Development

Tested is to prove something to be useful or correct. Tested and proved to be reliable, tried and true, well-tried. Put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to. Examine someone's knowledge of something. Determine the presence or properties of (a substance).

Research - Testing Mistakes to Avoid

Performance is doing something successfully using knowledge as distinguished from merely possessing it. A process or manner of functioning or operating effectively.

Progress - Process

Evolve is a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage, especially a more advanced or mature stage. Evolution.

Potential is having possibilities. The inherent capacity for coming into being or happening or being true. A tentative insight into the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena.

Condition of Possibility is framework for the possible appearance of a given list of entities.

"Learning should just flow, no dams, no restrictions, just discovering where learning and knowledge will take us."

Related Subjects - Learning Methods - Learning at Birth - Intelligence - Logic - Focus - Online Schools - Knowledge Management - Database Management - Documenting - Record Keeping - Self-Efficacy - Do It Yourself - Problem Solving - Time Management - Spatial intelligence - Bodily-Kinesthetic - Media Literacy - Information Literacy - Science - Liberal Arts - Questioning - Creativity - Ideas - Inspiration - Navigating the Internet - Human Search Engine - Methods for Learning - Home Organized Education.

Maker Space - Hackerspace - Hackers

Maker Space is a collaborative work space inside a school, library or separate public or private facility that is used for making things, learning things, exploring personal skills and interests, as well as, sharing tools. A makerspace can have high tech tools, no tech tools and games for learning.

Repair Cafes - Fixing Planned Obsolescence

Instead of using the term 'Hacker Space', we should call it a Makerspace or "Science Space" or a Learning Space, or a personal space to explore your ideas, and a space to build your inventions, and a space to learn and discover. A hacker-space should be a place that supply's the tools and the resources that are necessary for creative minds.

Learning Centers are student centered, engaging activities which are also self-checking and self- selecting. The activities are used to focus on a set of skills and deepen the students' knowledge and abilities in that area. Students can work alone, in pairs, or in small groups.

Learning Space refers to a physical setting for a learning environment, a place in which teaching and learning occur. The term is commonly used as a more definitive alternative to classroom, but it may also refer to an indoor or outdoor location, either actual or virtual. Learning spaces are highly diverse in use, configuration, location, and educational institution. They support a variety of pedagogies, including quiet study, passive or active learning, kinesthetic or physical learning, vocational learning, experiential learning, and others. As the design of a learning space impacts the learning process, it is deemed important to design a learning space with the learning process in mind. Characteristics that can determine the nature of the learning environment include: Organization type: state or public school, independent school, parochial school; Structure: rigidly structured (military schools) to less structured (Sudbury school, Free school movement, Democratic education, Anarchistic free school, Modern Schools or Ferrer Schools; Non-institutional: homeschooling, unschooling; Schedule: the length and timing of the academic year (e.g. year-round schooling), class and activity schedules, length of the class period, block scheduling; Staffing: the number of teachers, student-teacher ratio, single-teacher per room or co-teaching; Attendance: compulsory student until a certain age or standard is achieved; Teacher certification: varying degrees of professional qualifications; Assessment: testing and standards provided by government directly or indirectly; Partnerships and mentoring: relationships between the learning environments and outside entities or individuals in general study or chosen fields; Organizational model: departmental, integrated, academy, small school. Curriculum: the subjects comprising a course of study.

Smart Development - Worker Qualities - Purpose of Education - Professions - On the Job Training - Career Path Testing - Degrees - Collaborative Learning - Cooperative Education - Time Banking - STEM Science - Science Tools - DIY

Hacker is a person who enjoys exploring the limits of what is possible, in a spirit of playful cleverness. A hacker is one who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creativity. Someone who likes overcoming and circumventing limitations of programming systems, and tries to extend their capabilities. A hacker is not just about computers, even though computers are one of our most important tools that we have, but computers are still just one of thousands of tools that people can use. 

Repurpose - Amateur - Right to Try

Don't ever assume that everyone knows what the word "Hacker" means. The definition of a Hacker has been hacked itself. When I hear the word Hacker, I'm usually thinking that some person either has some computer hardware skills or software skills, or is just someone who likes learning and exploring ideas. But how much knowledge and skill that particular person has, is unknown. So the word Hacker really describes very little about a person, it mostly says that the person has some computer skills or they just have interests in different things, and that's about it. Just because someone taught themselves how to work on their own car doesn't mean that they're a Hacker. A computer programmer with a college degree isn't a Hacker, and anyone who self-taught themselves to the same level of knowledge as a professional is also not a Hacker. We should stop using the word Hacker when describing a person who is "A Self-Taught Learner." Let's just say that someone is learning, or self-teaching, or exploring, or researching, or is just someone who has unique computer programing skills.

Bunnie's Adventures Hacking the Xbox - Andrew Huang is an American researcher and hacker, who holds a Ph.D in electrical engineering from MIT and is the author of the freely available 2003 book Hacking the Xbox: An Introduction to Reverse Engineering. As of 2012 he resides in Singapore.[2] Huang is a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity, and a resident advisor and mentor to hardware startups at HAX, an early stage hardware accelerator and venture capital firm.

Precursor Device - Mobile, Open Hardware, RISC-V System-on-Chip (SoC) Development Kit.

Tinkerer is a person who enjoys fixing and experimenting with machines and their parts. Tinkerer is also an archaic term used to describe an itinerant tinsmith who mends household utensils. Tinsmith is a person who makes and repairs things made of tin or other light metals.

Tinkering is trying to fix or mend something by trying different ways. Tinkering is random or unplanned work that tries to find a solution to a problem, or tries to explore different ideas with the hope of discovering something valuable, or at the least, learning something valuable. Tinkering Course.

Jury Rig refers to temporary repairs made with only the tools and materials that happen to be on hand. Repurpose.

Hacker Hobbyist are individuals who enjoy the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming limitations of software systems to achieve novel and clever outcomes. Hacker Programmer (wiki).

Hobbyist is a person who is interested in a subject or an activity in their spare time, something other than their main occupation.

Maker Culture is a contemporary culture or subculture representing a technology-based extension of DIY Culture that intersects with hacker culture, sometimes less concerned with physical objects as it focuses on software, and revels in the creation of new devices as well as tinkering with existing ones. The maker culture in general supports open-source hardware. Typical interests enjoyed by the maker culture include engineering-oriented pursuits such as electronics, robotics, 3-D printing, and the use of Computer Numeric Control tools, as well as more traditional activities such as metalworking, woodworking, and, mainly, its predecessor, the traditional arts and crafts. The subculture stresses a cut-and-paste approach to standardized hobbyist technologies, and encourages cookbook re-use of designs published on websites and maker-oriented publications. There is a strong focus on using and learning practical skills and applying them to reference designs.

Business Incubator is an organization that helps startup companies and individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by providing a fullscale range of services starting with management training and office space and ending with venture capital financing. The National Business Incubation Association or NBIA defines business incubators as a catalyst tool for either regional or national economic development. NBIA categorizes its members' incubators by the following five incubator types: academic institutions; non-profit development corporations; for-profit property development ventures; venture capital firms, and a combination of the above. Business incubators differ from research and technology parks in their dedication to startup and early-stage companies. Research and technology parks, on the other hand, tend to be large-scale projects that house everything from corporate, government, or university labs to very small companies. Most research and technology parks do not offer business assistance services, which are the hallmark of a business incubation program. However, many research and technology parks house incubation programs.

Tech Hub is a community that promotes innovation for technology-based companies. The collection of like-minded individuals working in various business sectors but focused on the use of technology creates a unique environment where individuals, ideas and the companies that support both can thrive. These hubs provide training, access to fast internet, and technical support to startups. Also, they offer social and professional networking through which tech entrepreneurs can thrive. Silicon Valley is home to many of the world's largest high-tech corporations, including the headquarters of more than 30 businesses in the Fortune 1000, and thousands of startup companies.

Technology Hub is a bi-national startup accelerator and business incubator in the El Paso–Juárez area on the border of Mexico and the United States. It was founded in 2015, and is a Mexico National Institute for Entrepreneurship-certified incubator that has developed and housed 100 high-growth technology companies.

High Technology or advanced technology is technology that is at the cutting edge or the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest technology on the market. Also known as high tech, advanced tech or exotechnology. Singularity - Technology Addiction.

Appropriate Technology is a movement encompassing technological choice and application that is small-scale, affordable by locals, decentralized, labor-intensive, energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable, and locally autonomous. It was originally articulated as intermediate technology.

Environmental Technology is the application of one or more of environmental science, green chemistry, environmental monitoring and electronic devices to monitor, model and conserve the natural environment and resources, and to curb the negative impacts of human involvement. Envirotech is also known as green technology or greentech, or as clean technology or cleantech.

Alternative Technology is a term used to refer to technologies that are more environmentally friendly than the functionally equivalent technologies dominant in current practice.

Open-Source Appropriate Technology is appropriate technology developed through the principles of the open-design movement. Appropriate technology is technology designed with special consideration for the environmental, ethical, cultural, social, political, and economic aspects of the community it is intended for. Open design is public and licensed to allow it to be used, modified and distributed freely.

General Purpose Technology are technologies that can affect an entire economy (usually at a national or global level). GPTs have the potential to drastically alter societies through their impact on pre-existing economic and social structures. Examples include the steam engine, railroad, interchangeable parts, electricity, electronics, material handling, mechanization, control theory (automation), the automobile, the computer, the Internet, and the blockchain.  General-Purpose Categories (wiki).

Low Technology is simple technology, as opposed to high technology. Low tech is related to the concept of mid-tech, that is a balance between low-tech and high-tech, which combines the efficiency and versatility of high tech with low tech's potential for autonomy and resilience.

Primitive Technologies such as bushcraft, tools that use wood, stone, wool, etc. can be seen as low-tech, as the pre-industrial revolution machines such as windmills or sailboats.

Technological Lockout is when a new dominant design prevents a company from competitively selling its products or makes it difficult to do so.

Regional Lockout is a class of digital rights management preventing the use of a certain product or service, such as multimedia or a hardware device, outside a certain region or territory. A regional lockout may be enforced through physical means, through technological means such as detecting the user's IP address or using an identifying code, or through unintentional means introduced by devices only supporting certain regional technologies (such as video formats, i.e., NTSC and PAL). Compatibility.

Space to Explore

Hackerspace is a community-operated workspace where people with common interests, often in computers, machining, technology, science, digital art or electronic art, can meet, socialize and collaborate. Cooperate and not Compete.

Hacker Spaces (wiki) - List of Hacker Spaces (wiki) - Work Space Ct.

Hac DC - Do it Yourself Resources - Science Fairs (work shops) - Repair Cafes

Reverse Engineering is the processes of extracting knowledge or design information from anything man-made and then re-producing it or re-producing anything based on the extracted information. The process often involves disassembling something and then analyzing its components and workings in detail, such as with a mechanical device, electronic component, computer program, or biological, chemical, or organic matter.

Hacker Space is a place where your voice and your ideas can be heard. A learning environment, a networking environment and an open source environment. A community workshop. An interactive library. A collaboration space. A collection of unique and diverse individuals who like exploring knowledge, solving problems, researching ideas, and expressing themselves creatively. A place where a person can share and have access to tools, machines, software, electronic test equipment, knowledge, books, ideas, skills, materials and resources. A place where a person can learn about the power of collaboration by using the talents and skills of other people collectively to solve problems and create new advances in technology. A place where you can have your own project area with a large work bench for fabrication and prototyping. 

Learning Hub is a technology-rich learning environment with both physical and virtual components that provide formal and informal opportunities for learners to come together with peers, teachers, and other experts in their field.

Machine Shop is a room, building, or company where machining, a form of subtractive manufacturing, is done. In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tools to make parts, usually of metal or plastic (but sometimes of other materials such as glass or wood). A machine shop can be a small business (such as a job shop) or a portion of a factory, whether a tool-room or a production area for manufacturing.

Workbench is study table at which manual work is done. Workbenches should be at a comfortable height for working with provisions for seated or standing work. And also have a way to fix the work piece to the surface so that it may be worked with both hands. And have provisions for mounting, storing and accessing tools. Workbenches are made from many different materials including metal, wood, stone, and composites depending on the needs of the work, and can range from simple flat surfaces to very complex designs that may be considered tools in themselves.

Maintenance - How to Deal With a Bad Repair

When you combine the talent and skills of many people, you create more potential. When you have an idea that you can quickly get feedback and insight on, you don't have to waste time wondering about the possibilities. We don't want to judge other peoples ideas until we learn and understand what they want to achieve. 

MIT’s Largest Hackathon innovates on software and hardware projects. 

Science Tools and Resources

MIT Media Lab: 24 research groups on more than 350 projects that range from digital approaches for treating neurological disorders, to a stackable, electric car for sustainable cities. Annual operating budget: approx. $60 million.

Public Lab is a community where you can learn how to investigate environmental concerns. Using inexpensive DIY techniques, we seek to change how people see the world in environmental, social, and political terms. 

Fab Lab Network is an open, creative community of fabricators, artists, scientists, engineers, educators, students, amateurs, professionals, of all ages located in more than 90 countries in approximately 1,500 Fab Labs. From community based labs to advanced research centers, Fab Labs share the goal of democratizing access to the tools for technical invention. This community is simultaneously a manufacturing network, a distributed technical education campus, and a distributed research laboratory working to digitize fabrication, inventing the next generation of manufacturing and personal fabrication.

Shenzhen: The Silicon Valley of Hardware (Full Documentary) | Future Cities | WIRED (youtube)

Work Shops for Inventors and Makers

Original Equipment Manufacturer is a company that makes a part or subsystem that is used in another company's end product. For example, if Acme Manufacturing Co. makes power cords that are used on IBM computers, Acme is an OEM.

Spiderwort - Phacktory - 3D Printing

This Scientist makes Ears out of Apples: Biohacker Andrew Pelling: (video and Interactive Text)

Creative Commons is an international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. Public Parks.

Science Commons was a creative commons project for designing strategies and tools for faster, more efficient web-enabled scientific research. The organization's goals were to identify unnecessary barriers to research, craft policy guidelines and legal agreements to lower those barriers, and develop technology to make research data and materials easier to find and use. Its overarching goal was to speed the translation of data into discovery and thereby the value of research.

How I Hacked a hardware crypto wallet and recovered $2 million (youtube) - I was contacted to hack a Trezor One hardware wallet and recover $2 million worth of cryptocurrency (in the form of THETA). Knowing that existing research was already out there for this device, it seemed like it would be a slam dunk. Little did I realize the project would turn into a roller coaster ride with over three months of experimentation, failures, successes, and heart-stopping moments. It reminded me that hacking is always unpredictable, exciting, and educational, no matter how long you've been doing it. In this case, the stakes were higher than normal: I only had one chance to get it right.

Computer Hacker - The Other Kind of Hacker

Security Hacker is someone who seeks to breach defenses and exploit weaknesses in a computer system or network. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, such as profit, protest, challenge, recreation, or, to evaluate system weaknesses to assist in formulating defenses against potential hackers. The subculture that has evolved around hackers is often referred to as the computer underground. Note: I'm more worried about the Human Brain Hacking that goes on from the media and schools, that kind of hacking does more damage then anything else. People who hack computers actually shows the irony of our reality. So you have to ask yourself, how much of your mind has been hacked? Do you know how to scan the human mind for viruses? Locks.

Black Hat is a hacker who violates computer security for their own personal profit or out of malice. Black hat hackers break into secure networks and systems with the motive of destroying, modifying, or stealing some sensitive data, or to make the networks unusable for authorized network users.

Patriotic Hacking is a term for computer hacking or system cracking in which citizens or supporters of a country, traditionally industrialized Western countries but increasingly developing countries, attempt to perpetrate attacks on, or block attacks by, perceived enemies of the state.

White Hat refers to an ethical computer hacker, or a computer security expert, who specializes in penetration testing and in other testing methodologies that ensures the security of an organization's information systems. Ethical hacking is a term meant to imply a broader category than just penetration testing. Contrasted with black hat, a malicious hacker, the name comes from Western films, where heroic and antagonistic cowboys might traditionally wear a white and a black hat respectively. While a white hat hacker hacks under good intentions with permission, and a black hat hacker, most often unauthorized, has malicious intent, there is a third kind known as a grey hat hacker who hacks with good intentions but at times without permission. White hat hackers may also work in teams called "sneakers and/or hacker clubs", red teams, or tiger teams.

10,000-Hours Rule - Time needed to Learn a Complex Skill

The Ten Thousand Hours Rule is not really a rule, it's just what people have witnessed and documented as being the average amount of time that it takes for the average person to become really good at something, like playing the piano, playing sports or acquiring other coordination skills. Everyone starts out as a novice or as a beginner, and then it's up to the individual if they want to put in the necessary time and effort that's needed to become an expert or a professional. There are definitely more effective ways and more efficient ways to train and learn new skills. You could waste a lot of time and effort if you are not sure how to learn something new or complex. This is why many people benefit from having a coach or a tutor, and also benefit from having access to education resources, tools and the time needed to practice. The quantity of time that you spend practicing, training and learning is extremely important. But remember that proficiency levels will vary from person to person. So don't make comparisons. Your level of proficiency is always temporary, whether the proficiency that you're seeking is relevant or not relevant to your immediate needs. There are many factors involved in determining proficiency levels, like physical or mental limitations, good teaching methods, good coaching, access to valuable knowledge, information and tools, having a good memory, inspiration, and having the time and the dedication. Practicing right before you go to sleep, and learning one hour before you go to sleep could help improve memory and learning new skills. You can become really good at something, but if you stop practicing for a while, your proficiency level will decrease and you will not become great. You should also determine the value of your proficiency, like being a surgeon compared to being a professional sports player. The bottom line is, it could take a long time to become really good at something, and if time is all you have, then you should spend your time effectively and efficiently as possible, and learn the most important things first. Practice makes perfect, but not always, for chess players, practice only accounted for 34% of what determined the rank of a master player.

Procedural Learning - Implicit Learning - Reinforcement Learning - Body Memory - Studying - Focus - Goals - Patterns - Feedback - Praise - Reward - Immersion - Experience

If you practice 2 hours a day, that's 730 hours a year, it will take about 13 years to master a skill. If you practice 4 hours a day, that's 1,460 hours a year, it will take about 7 years to master a skill. If you practice 6 hours a day, that's 2,190 hours a year, it will take about 4.5 years to master a skill, on average of course. Reading Speed.

Guy Plays Table Tennis Every Day for a Year and goes from beginner to expert in just one year (youtube)

How to get better at the things you care about: Eduardo Briceño (video and interactive text)

Rotating Focus Technique is focusing on different aspects or parts of a complex skill in order to better understand the skill as a whole.

Accelerated Learning: How To Get Good at Anything in 20 Hours (youtube) - Expert in a Year.

Training is learning new skills and acquiring knowledge and information that is needed to perform a particular task effectively, efficiently, productivity and accurately. Training is teaching yourself or teaching other people to improve, and to be good at something, and also to help develop physical and mental competencies in a particular area of expertise. Training also helps a person to understand the responsibilities of a particular job so that the actions they perform are done by procedure and as required to assure the highest quality possible. Work Experience.

Training and Development involves improving the effectiveness of organizations and the individuals and teams within them. Training may be viewed as related to immediate changes in organizational effectiveness via organized instruction, while development is related to the progress of longer-term organizational and employee goals. While training and development technically have differing definitions, the two are oftentimes used interchangeably and/or together. Training and development has historically been a topic within applied psychology but has within the last two decades become closely associated with human resources management, talent management, human resources development, instructional design, human factors, and knowledge management.

Training Ground is a place where people go to learn and hone their skills that are necessary for being productive as well as being able to live in a particular environment. It can also be a place where people go to learn skills and become physically fit for a particular sport that they play.

Hone is to make skills more acute, intense, or effective and to carefully develop skills over a long period of time so they become exactly right for your purpose.

Practice is a learning method where a person or persons rehearse a behavior or action over and over again for the purpose of improving and mastering a skill or an ability that accomplishes a goal or achieves a particular result. Sports teams practice their skills and knowledge in order to prepare themselves for real games. Playing a musical instrument well takes a lot of time, effort and practice.

Routines - Brain Plasticity - Human Nature - Experience

Deliberate Practice refers to a special type of practice that is purposeful and systematic. While regular practice might include mindless repetitions, deliberate practice requires focused attention and is conducted with the specific goal of improving performance.

Practice Makes Perfect is used to convey that regular exercise of an activity or skill is the way to become proficient in it, especially when encouraging someone to persist in it.

Practice does not always make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect, which means that the benefits of good coaching should not be overlooked. - Vince Lombardi.

Practice forms new memory pathways in the brain and the crystallization of memory. A new study has shown that repetitive practice not only is helpful in improving skills but also leads to profound changes in the brain's memory pathways. Rote Learning.

Variety is the spice of learning, memory study suggests. Older adults learned a memory task best after practicing multiple related tasks, suggesting that diverse cognitive training supports mental sharpness as we age. Researchers found that older adults learned a memory task best after practicing multiple related tasks, suggesting that diverse cognitive training supports mental sharpness as we age. The researchers observed that varied practice, not repetition, primed older adults to learn a new working memory task. One reason that varied practice may promote skill development is because of the principle of mutualism, or "mutual growth among closely related abilities.

Exploring the signals that underlie learning. Lab discovers expanded role for brain’s sensory processing center. The primary somatosensory cortex was not only pre-processing tactile stimulus and producing the primary neuronal signals associated with that basic task -- it also was transmitting more complex signals necessary for adaptive behavior in a dynamically changing environment.

Peak Performance is a state that is also known as peak experience, the zone of optimal functioning and flow. It refers to a moment when an individual puts it all together, when they are in the zone, when everything flows, and when they achieve an exceptional performance.

Retraining is the process of learning a new or the same old skill or trade for the same group of personnel. Refresher/Re-training is required to be provided on regular basis to avoid personnel obsolescence due to technological changes & the tendency to forget. This short term instruction course shall serve to re-acquaint personnel with skills previously learnt (recall to retain the potentials) or to bring one's knowledge or skills up-to-date (latest) so that skills stay sharp. Work Experience - Certification Renewal.

Memory training builds upon strategy use. Training makes participants adopt various strategies to manage the task, which then affects the outcome of the training.

Active Recall is a principle of efficient learning, which claims the need to actively stimulate memory during the learning process. It contrasts with passive review, in which the learning material is processed passively (e.g. by reading, watching, etc.).

Spaced Repetition is a learning technique that incorporates increasing intervals of time between subsequent review of previously learned material in order to exploit the psychological spacing effect. Alternative names include spaced rehearsal, expanding rehearsal, graduated intervals, repetition spacing, repetition scheduling, spaced retrieval and expanded retrieval.

Want to Learn a new Skill? Take some Short Breaks. Study suggests our brains may use short rest periods to strengthen memories. Researchers found that taking short breaks, early and often, may help our brains learn new skills.

Testing Effect is the finding that long-term memory is increased when some of the learning period is devoted to retrieving the to-be-remembered information through testing with proper feedback. The effect is also sometimes referred to as retrieval practice, practice testing, or test-enhanced learning.

Memory Consolidation is distinguished into two specific processes, synaptic consolidation, which is synonymous with late-phase long-term potentiation and occurs within the first few hours after learning, and systems consolidation, where hippocampus-dependent memories become independent of the hippocampus over a period of weeks to years. Recently, a third process has become the focus of research, reconsolidation, in which previously-consolidated memories can be made labile again through reactivation of the memory trace. Cooperative.

Engram in neuropsychology is the means by which memories are stored as biophysical or biochemical changes in the brain (and other neural tissue) in response to external stimuli.

Brain Plasticity - "Neurons that fire together, wire together." - "Practice makes Perfect".

Skill is an ability that has been acquired by training, which gives you the ability to do something well with expertise. An ability to produce solutions in some problem domain. Skill is learning to carry out a task with pre-determined results often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Learning.

Sub-Skills are skills that are part of a larger skill. System Integration is defined as the process of bringing together the component subsystems into one system and ensuring that the subsystems function together as a system. Subset is part of a larger group of related things.

Up-Skilling is to learn additional skills or to acquire new skills in order to adapt to changing job demands. To expand abilities or to enhance skills in order to minimize skill gaps. To promote continuous learning in order to improve flexibility, adaptability, productivity, and efficacy. Knowledge Gap.

Skill Set is a set of skills or a collection of skills and abilities that can be used to perform a task effectively and efficiently, or a category of skills that are needed to solve a complex problem. A skill set is usually focused a specialized task or focused on performing specific jobs. But a skill set can also include a broad collection of abilities, knowledge, past education, past experiences, and competencies covering many different subjects. Mind Set.

Proficient is having or showing knowledge and skill and aptitude. Having good technique or proficiency in a practical skill. Professional.

Talent is a person who possesses unusual innate ability in some field or activity. Natural talent is an innate or inborn gift for a specific activity, either allowing one to demonstrate some immediate skill without practice, or to gain skill rapidly with minimal practice. Gifted.

Mastering is to acquire complete knowledge and skill of a subject. Becoming completely proficient in the use of something. To become very skilled in a technique, art or martial art.

Mastery is having comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject or accomplishment. To have complete control or superiority over someone or something. Mastery Learning.

Master Craftsman or Master Tradesman is someone who is experienced and highly skilled in a particular craft, and has reached the highest level of craftsmanship in your field. Can be skilled using tools, equipment, devices, and machinery. To attain this title, you must complete years of training on the job, rising from amateur to apprentice to journeyman then to the master level. A skilled crafts persons could be a carpenter, plumber, seamstress or tailor, hairdresser, fashion designer, caterer or floral designer.

Acquisition is an ability that has been acquired by training. The cognitive process of acquiring skill or knowledge. Merger.

Get the Hang of It means to eventually learn how to do something by practicing and having conscientiousness determination and diligent effort. To learn how to handle something with some skill, or to get the knack for doing something and doing it well by working hard. To get possession of something, or to succeed in getting something, or reaching out for something by continually working towards a goal. Figuring it Out.

Hands Down is something easily and decisively. (The earliest examples of the phrase "hands down" came from 19th century sporting papers where horses win races “hands down,” meaning that victory is so secure that the jockey can relax and drop the reins before crossing the finish line.)

"You don't have to be great in order to get started, but you have to get started if you want to be great."

Signals from a group of neurons in the brain's frontal lobe simultaneously give humans the flexibility to learn new tasks, and the focus to develop highly specific skills.

Specialist Degree is hierarchically above the Master's Degree and below the Doctorate. Prodigy.

Certify is to officially recognize someone or something as possessing certain qualifications or meeting certain standards. Validate.

Certification is an official document attesting to a status or level of achievement. The action or process of providing someone or something with an official document attesting to a status or level of achievement. Certification refers to the confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization. This confirmation is often, but not always, provided by some form of external review, education, assessment, or audit. Accreditation is a specific organization's process of certification.

Diver Certification certifies that the person has completed a course of training as required by the agency issuing the card. This is assumed to represent a defined level of skill and knowledge in underwater diving.

Accreditation is the process in which certification of competency, authority, or credibility is presented. Degree.

License refers to that permission as well as to the document recording that permission. Professional.

Thought Leader can refer to an individual or firm that is recognized as an authority in a specialized field and whose expertise is sought and often rewarded.

Not Always an Expert - Smart - Knowledgeable - Competence

Programing (behavior) - Simulation - VR

20 Minutes Per Day Rule: Even spending just 20 minutes a day doing something valuable can still add up. 20 minutes a day exercising, 20 minutes a day reading, 20 minutes a day making phone calls, 20 minutes a day researching, 20 minutes a day meditating, 20 minutes a day organizing, 20 minutes a day learning something new, and so on.

Routines - Learn to Unicycle in 2 Hours and 38 minutes (youtube)

The speed at which you learn is based on previous learned abilities that are related to a new skill that you are trying to learn. The more abilities you have that are related to a new skill that you are trying to learn, the faster you will learn. Learning some of the basic skills of a particular process, will also help you learn faster. You shouldn't have to rush learning, and you shouldn't have to struggle trying to learn something new. Learning is a process that every human is born with, but if you don't learn to understand the process of learning, starting with knowing the How, What, Where, When and Why you are learning, is the first step.

If you practice a slightly modified version of a task that you want to master, then it's possible to learn more and faster than if you just keep practicing the exact same thing multiple times in a row. Make small variations in practice sessions.

The role of variability. From playing tennis to learning language, the effect of variability on learning is recognized in many fields. Learning is harder when input is variable, but variability leads to better generalization of the knowledge we learned. Variability is crucially important for learning new skills. Consider learning how to serve in tennis. Should you always practice serving from the exact same location on the court, aiming at exactly the same spot? Although practicing in more variable conditions will be slower at first, it will likely make you a better tennis player at the end. This is because variability leads to better generalization of what is learned.

Iteration is the act of repeating a process, either to generate an unbounded sequence of outcomes, or with the aim of approaching a desired goal, target or result. Each repetition of the process is also called an "iteration", and the results of one iteration are used as the starting point for the next iteration.

Logically Ordered Steps in the Correct Sequence.

Sometimes it takes me months and years to learn things that should only take few hours or minutes. That is why I teach, to save people time, which leaves more time for people to enjoy life much more then I did, and I enjoyed a lot, even with all that wasted time it took for me to learn important lessons.

The average student spends around 20,000 Hours in School. And they end up not being experts of anything, why is that?

How long does it take to lose a skill, and how much should I keep practicing a skill to keep it fresh in my head? When you stop practicing for some time, how long does it take to get back to the same skill level? How long does it take to relearn a skill? If you stop practicing a skill that took you years to learn, how much skill do you lose? If you stop doing a skilled activity after years of training, how long will it take to get back to the same skill level? When you stop doing a skilled activity, how long will it be before your skills get rusty? How long does it take before you lose the competitive edge when you stop a particular job? How long will it take before you regain your edge? How often do you have to practice in order to stay sharp? How long does it take to regain a skill you once lost? It depends on the skill, and the skill level, motor skill, memory skill and so on.

Guinness World Records is a listing of world records both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. David Rush World Record Videos.

How Skill Expertise Shapes the Brain Functional Architecture: An FMRI Study of Visuo-Spatial and Motor Processing in Professional Racing-Car and Naïve Drivers.

Mental Function might actually be Enhanced in Winter.

Arctic cognition is a study of cognitive performance in summer and winter at 69°N.

How many hours a day do you have to spend reading in order to become a Doctor in 6 years? It's estimated that a student would need to read four hours a day or book study and then take another four hours a day of class time, hands on instructions and laboratory work, which is about 40 hours per week. First you have to start out with a good High school Education and then take a 2-4-year undergraduate degree program and then take the Medical College Admission Test, which is a computer-based standardized examination for prospective medical students in the United States and Australia. And then you need to spend 4 years in medical school. And then complete 3-7 years of residency training. And then take United States Medical Licensing Examination, which is administered by the National Board of Medical Examiners. And then you're a Doctor.

10 Books every Pre-Med should read while not studying.

On Becoming a Doctor:  Everything You Need to Know about Medical School, Residency, Specialization, and Practice. (amazon)

Mistakes - Failure - Accidents

Mistake is a wrong action attributable to bad judgment, ignorance or inattention. A mistake can come from a failure to anticipate, or from a failure to perceive, or from a failure to carry out a task. A mistake is an understanding or a realization that something is not correct.

Unwittingly is doing something unintentionally and without being aware. Doing something without knowledge or intention. Doing something by accident or accidental. Something not planned.

Accident is an unfortunate mishap, especially one causing damage or injury. Anything that happens suddenly or by chance without an apparent cause or reason. 

Inadvertently is doing something without knowledge or intention. Unknowingly being an accessory to a crime.

Inadvertent is something happening by chance or unexpectedly or unintentionally. Accidental. Randomness.

Inadvertence is the lack of attention or an unintentional omission resulting from failure to notice something. The trait of forgetting or ignoring your responsibilities. In law, Inadvertence is the failure of a person to pay careful and prudent attention to the progress of a negotiation or a proceeding in court by which his rights may be affected.

Slipup is a careless error, or a minor mistake or a small accident. To make an unintentional blunder or to do something wrong when trying to do something good.

Misstep is an error, false step, blunder or a slip in conduct where someone did something wrong. Downplaying.

Fail is falling short of a goal or an expectation. Fail is a loss or the lack of success. A failing grade is a non-passing grade in an examination or a test.

Failing is something below acceptable in performance.

Failure is an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose.

"If we do fail, we should at least fail searching for greatness."

"The master has failed more times than the beginner has tried."

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."~ George Bernard Shaw (wiki)

Miss the Mark means to fail to achieve the result that was intended, or not to accomplish a goal that was set. But even if you miss the mark, at least you had intention, a goal, and a purpose. So it's time to look for a better way of doing something, or find another goal, or maybe you just misunderstood the results, so maybe you didn't fail after all.

Flub is an embarrassing mistake or something badly or clumsily done. To make a mess of something or to destroy or ruin something.

Fault is a wrong action attributable to bad judgment, ignorance or inattention. An imperfection in an object or machine. The quality of being inadequate or falling short of perfection. Fault in electronics is an equipment failure attributable to some defect in a circuit. Fault can also mean when someone takes responsibility for a bad situation or event. To put the blame on someone. Fault in geology is a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other.

Blunder is to commit a socially awkward or tactless act. A fault or to make a serious mistake.

Human Error - Fallible - Depleted Confidence - Negligence - Clear Conscience - Confession
No Guarantees - Shit Happens - Risks - Regrets - Trauma - Saying Sorry

You either made the mistake yourself, or you were a victim of a mistake that someone else made, or it was a combination of errors that were made by other people that influenced you to make a bad decision.

When things don't work right or when things go wrong, you can learn a lot from that negative experience. The reason why is because when things seem to be running smoothly or when things always seem to be working right, you may not know how vulnerable you are and you may not be prepared for when something goes wrong or when something doesn't work right. Some problems can be a blessing in disguise when solving that problem can help you to solve future problems that you were not aware of. Knowing that problems exist can help you to be prepared for when things go wrong.

Oh No is an excited expression of alarm, shock, concern, or resentment about a problem or error.

Uh-Oh is an informal term used when you realize that you are in a bad situation, or that you have made a mistake.

"To Err Is Human, To Learn is Divine."

To Err is Human means that it's natural for human beings to make mistakes, and that no one is a totally perfect person.

Err is to make a mistake or to be incorrect. To wander from a direct course or to wander at random.

To learn from mistakes is adaptation. And forgiveness is also adaptation.

Sometimes you don't notice things right away, and you don't always get it right the first time. You can make the same mistake over and over again before you realize that you are making a mistake. That is the process of learning. Even though it took you a long time to learn and figure something out, you still realized it and you were still able to learn. Some mistakes can reveal something valuable and informative, so not all mistakes are bad, especially when a mistake helps you to make better decisions now and make better decisions in the future. So now what? How do you maintain this knowledge? How do you preserve this knowledge? Should you make copies? And should you pass on this knowledge?

A mistaken belief is one of the most damaging mistakes that a person can make.

Fallacies - Assumptions - False Accusations

There's no such thing as failure, there's only Learning. You learn what works and you learn what doesn't work. Don't consider mistakes or an error as failure, because most mistakes can help us understand what's good and what's not so good. A mistake is a process of learning. Without mistakes it would be almost impossible to know right from wrong. Don't look at mistakes as failure, just see them for what they are, an idea that didn't work out the way you thought it would, and hopefully, you will learn the reasons why something did not work. Learning Opportunities are everywhere. Never miss out on an Opportunity to Learn something valuable. The brains memory has enormous capacity for knowledge.

I'm not going to punish myself again for the mistakes I made, the mistake itself is punishment enough. If I do laugh at myself for a mistake I made, I'm not saying that the mistake was insignificant. And I am not ignoring the consequences of my mistake. I'm mostly saying that I recognize my mistake, and I'm willing to move on and learn from it, and I hope that you will too. So please, let us not ignore our faults or just make fun of them, let us learn, let us progress, and let us feel good about learning from our mistakes, instead of letting our mistakes hold us back from doing better or stop us from making better decisions.

No Regrets - No Blaming - No Passing the Buck - Lazy

What if you made a mistake that ruined your plans for having a good life, or what if you made a mistake that ruined a dream that you had? Could you get over it and over come it and move on? Or would this mistake haunt you for the rest of your life? What if your mistake ruined someone else's life? Would you make up for the mistake or just walk away?

If you don't learn from your mistakes, then your mistakes will come back to haunt you forever, in ways that you will not even be aware of. You have to move on and get pass your mistakes, don't leave them hanging around. It's much more than just forgiving yourself, you have to learn from mistakes and make changes and updates to your way of thinking and doing. People who are able to look back on the past and understand what happened have hindsight.

Second Chance is an opportunity to try something again after failing one time.

There will be times in your life when you don't get a second chance to do something. Like when someone dies, or when you lose a game when it was your last game because you will not play at this particular place or event ever again. But this does not mean that it's over, and this does not mean that all your chances have been eliminated. You can say that "there's nothing I can do now", but that is a lie. There is always something that you can do. Just because one opportunity is gone, this does not mean that other opportunities are not available to you. And this is more than just having resilience or being positive, this is about you learning how to have your intelligence work for you, instead of letting your ignorance work against you.

If you learned something valuable from the death of a person, and if that information can help save the life of another person, then that effort or death was not in-vain.

In Vain means that an effort or a life was useless because it did not achieve anything. To no avail or unproductive and without success or meaningful result.

To No Avail is doing something without success and with very little benefit, efficacy, or effect.

"If a person dwells on the past, they rob the present. But if a person ignores the past, they rob the future. The seeds of our destiny are nourished by the experiences of our past."

Relevance - Chaos Theory - Travel Back in Time

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

“Life is a journey of either Fate or Destiny. Fate is the result of giving in to one’s wounds and heartaches. Your Destiny unfolds when you rise above the challenges of your life and use them as Divine opportunities to move forward to unlock your higher potential.” – Caroline Myss

Water Under the Bridge is an expression used to refer to events or situations that are in the past and consequently no longer to be regarded as important or as a source of concern. There is no point in worrying about it anymore and it's not worth arguing about. 

Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk means not to worry about unfortunate events which have already happened and which cannot be changed.

The Damage is Done means that the harm has occurred, and nothing can be done to prevent it now; it might have been preventable, but cannot be prevented retroactively.

Some Things Happen for a Reason (causality)

Sometimes you don't know how risky something is until after you've taken that risk, that's when you realize just how risky something was. But hopefully you learned something. But the sad fact is, people don't always learn, or do they fully understand the mistakes they make. We have horribly underestimated the importance of learning. Live and learn, but if you don't learn, then all you will be doing is living a lie and never progressing.

Don't confuse failing with failure. Failure is realizing that you made a mistake. Failing is when you do nothing to stop the mistake from happening again. So the only time that you can become a failure is when you allow known mistakes to continue, especially when you have the power and the ability to stop these mistakes from happening again, then you are a failure. But still not broken. Fail stands for Future Always Involves Learning.

Sometimes you don't take good advice because you don't fully understand the meaning of that advice. Sometimes something bad has to happen in order for you to realize how important that advice was and how valuable that information is. This is why it's extremely important to explain things and give real life examples of things so that a person has a better chance of understanding the importance and the value of that information. If I tell you to look both ways before you cross the street, you might not do it, until you get hit by a car. That's when you finally learn the importance of looking both ways before you cross the street. But looking both ways is not just for streets. You have to look both ways with everything. From looking at things from your point of view and from someone else's point of view. You need to be the driver and the pedestrian. You need to be the leader and the follower. You need to be aware of what is outside of you and also be aware of what is inside of you. You need to be aware of your thoughts and feelings and not just be aware of what is happening around you. And in order for your awareness to continually improve and get better, you have to keep learning and keep increasing what you know. The more knowledgeable you are about yourself and the world around you, the more awareness you will have.

Learning from others can mitigate harmful risk aversion, even if the others we learn from tend to avoid risky, but profitable decisions themselves. This is shown in mathematical modeling and large-scale online experiments by social psychologists. It is a long-established finding that collectives achieve better decisions by aggregating information or judgments, known as the wisdom of crowds. Individual errors cancel each other out, so that collectives do the right thing even if many individuals err. However, the wisdom of crowds does not work directly here, because the crowd is not wise; rather, the collective is biased towards undue risk aversion. "I wondered how social learning could still be beneficial in such a situation," states Toyokawa. "Simply copying the majority would not help us at all, it would even yield more extreme risk aversion. So, if social learning helps at all, it must be by a different mechanism."

Paint Yourself into a Corner is to put yourself into a bad position and to leave yourself with no means of escape or room to maneuver, especially out of a difficult position. To put yourself into a predicament or into an unpleasant situation because of bad planning or because of your lack of experience or from your lack of awareness.

"I did not make a mistake, the mistake made me, made me realize that I did something wrong, so I made the correction and moved on. You only make a mistake when you have made the same mistake twice, or when you have ignored the facts. Now that's when you make a real mistake. And those are the types of mistakes that do the most damage to yourself and the world."

Circumstances - Coincidence - Consequence

"Everyone is fallible to some degree, and everyone is vulnerable to making mistakes and errors."

“Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” – Bruce Lee

“When you repeat a mistake it is not a mistake anymore: it is a decision.” – Paulo Coelho

"Even when I think that I'm doing my best, I can still end up making a mess, but I keep learning, so the messes become less and less."

Trial and Error is trying different things to solve a problem. Coming up with creative ways of problem solving. It is characterized by repeated, varied attempts which are continued until success, or until the agent stops trying. Error Types.

Failure Analysis is the process of collecting and analyzing data to determine the cause of a failure, often with the goal of determining corrective actions or liability.

Quality Control Failure Reporting (best parctice)

Failure Rate is the frequency with which an engineered system or component fails, expressed in failures per unit of time. It is often denoted by the Greek letter λ (lambda) and is highly used in reliability engineering. Planned Obsolescence.

Famous people who persevered reminds us that we should not give up to early.

Every opportunity to explore an idea is also an opportunity to fail or make a mistake. But as long as you don't keep making the same mistakes, every exploration is an opportunity to learn. And learning is progress, progress is advancing, and advancing is improving. Learning is essential for living a good life. Without learning, how would you know what a good life is?

Innovations (ideas)

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." - Thomas Edison - And since Thomas Edison, the world has found a million things that don't work and a million ways that don't work. The last 117 years has been like one crazy experiment after an other. Sacrificing millions of people and destroying the enormous potential that every human has. As of 2016, we have learned so much about ourselves and the world, and that realization is slowly beginning to grow. It's time we put our lessons learned into practice. Millions of people are dying every year from things that we can avoid. We need to take communication more seriously. Without the transfer of information, life does not exist. We have the ability to solve every problem that we have. But just having abilities is useless unless we take action and use our abilities accurately and effectively. We are not fully addressing the multitude of social problems that we have. We need to address these issues by communicating more in our schools and in our governments. We need to improve education and make education more accessible and affordable to everyone. And at the same time, we need to improve our governments, and we need to improve all the different ways that we communicate. We have the technology, and we also have a skilled workforce of educated people, people who are either sitting idol or being under utilized doing some other job or function. There needs to be a clear plan on how this will work. We can clearly calculate every step that we need to take for the next 100 years or even the next 1000 years. China is using this process in the renewable energy revolution. But here in America we will focus more on the power of the mind as well as the energy that will sustain us for the next millennium. 

If at First you don't Succeed, Try, Try Again, is an idiom that says to always continue to keep trying even after an initial failure or setback, since success does not usually occur immediately. Don't let a first-time failure stop further attempts. Don't give up too easily. Sometimes persistence pays off in the end.

Error-full Generation - Learning from Mistakes

The Benefit of Generating Errors during Learning.

Desirable Difficulties Perspective on Learning
Learning Methods (ways to learn)

Desirable Difficulties Perspective on Learning (PDF)

Like the deleted scenes in a movie that the public never sees, some scenes or mistakes may have very little relevance on the story of your life.

Decoding the Brain’s Learning Machine. In studies with monkeys, researchers report that they have uncovered significant new details about how the cerebellum -- the 'learning machine' of the mammalian brain -- makes predictions and learns from its mistakes, helping us execute complex motor actions such as accurately shooting a basketball into a net or focusing your eyes on an object across the room.

Anna Karenina Principle describes an endeavor in which a deficiency in any one of a number of factors dooms it to failure. Consequently, a successful endeavor (subject to this principle) is one where every possible deficiency has been avoided.

Older People less apt to Recognize they've made a Mistake. New research shows older people recognize errors less often than younger people. The finding offers new insight into how aging adults perceive their decisions and view their performance.

Editing (update) - Validate (making sure) - Praising - Regret

Narcissistic Mortification is the primitive terror of self dissolution, triggered by the sudden exposure of one's sense of a defective self, death by embarrassment. Mistakes happen, accidents happen, learn as much as you can and move on. No Guilt and no Shame, just learning, learning is a lot more productive and a lot more healthier for everyone. Play the odds as best as you can, and remember there are no guarantees, but you can definitely increase your chances of success.

Luck - Odds - Victim (not your fault)

It's good to have a conscience, you realize something is wrong, or perceived as wrong, or verified as wrong?

Justice, not revenge, forgiveness, not hate. Life is long, don't carry any unnecessary baggage. Travel light and travel tight.

Is there a single point of failure? No, there's only a very important aspect of a particular function, that when removed, creates a problem that needs to be solved. Failure only happens when you don't solve a problem, or understand a problem accurately. Everything in life can be disrupted, but that doesn't mean that it has to stay disrupted. We have choices, we have options, and we have potential. When things go wrong it is sometimes a good thing because you can learn a lot of things when things go amiss. Things that you would have not learned if everything went smoothly. So when things go perfect it sometimes works against you because if gives you a false sense of security and makes you believe that everything is working OK. But when things go bad it forces you to examine the process more closely, so you learn more, which prepares you more for when things go bad. So your trouble shooting becomes less labor intensive because you can now rule out certain factors, which will give you more time to check for other possible causes of your problem, thus problem solving takes less time. So don't get frustrated when things go wrong, because it may turn out to be something very beneficial, and a great opportunity to learn something important. 

Inferior (lacking knowledge)

“You never make the same mistake twice. The second time you make it, it is no longer a mistake. It is a choice”

"No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying."

"Turning over a rock and finding nothing is still progress, as long as it's documented so that others will not waste their time turning over the same rocks."

"You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one."

"If you only go so far then you will never go far enough. If the changes needed don't happen soon enough or quick enough, then you will fail."

"Things turn out best for people who make the best out of the way things turn out."

Be persistent, but not stubborn or narrow minded. Be determined, but still be aware of your priorities and purpose. Be ambitious, but still maintain balance and morality.

Persistent - Determination - Will Power - Inspiration - Quitters Day - I don't Feel Like it.

Giving Up is Not Giving In. Not being able to reach your goals does not mean defeat. You're just suspending operations until more information is available. Information that would allow you to continue or information that would prove you should no longer continue.

There is no failure in making an effort or an attempt, unless good planning was ignored. The act of conducting a controlled test or investigation takes time, patience and thorough planning.

Knowing your Limits when Reaching for the Top (adventures)

Every mistake that is made is either from the lack of knowledge, or from the misunderstanding of knowledge that a person has. No one is stupid or completely ignorant, every single person on the planet either lacks certain knowledge, or misunderstands the knowledge they have. But there's only one way for anyone to realize what knowledge they are lacking, or to realize what knowledge they are misunderstanding, which is for every person to have 24/7 access to the worlds most valuable knowledge and information, along with the guidance and instructions on how to use the worlds most valuable knowledge and information effectively and efficiently as possible. This way people can learn everyday and grow wiser everyday. A world full of educated people is a world full of potential, a potential to solve every problem on the planet.

"You can learn a lot things from your mistakes, but only when you finally stop denying the fact that you've made a mistake."

"No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying."

"Do, or do not, there is no try", meaning..define " Try or Trying "...what did you do?  I tried to do this...I did this...

Experimenting and examining, or trying something new in order to gain experience, is essential for learning, as long as it's safe. If it is not safe then you must prove that the information that you claim to be seeking is extremely important, important enough for you to justify the risk, the danger and the consequences. Live and learn.

The reasons that you had for doing something might not be the same reasons that you end up with. Things change and so do reasons, so be prepared to Think Outside the Box.

Creativity (imagination)

Why is punishment, or just the fear of punishment, bad for risk takers? Avoiding Fear.

Narcissists don't learn from their mistakes because they don't think they make any. When most people find that their actions have resulted in an undesirable outcome, they tend to rethink their decisions and ask, 'What should I have done differently to avoid this outcome?' When narcissists face the same situation, however, their refrain is, 'No one could have seen this coming!' In refusing to acknowledge that they have made a mistake, narcissists fail to learn from those mistakes, a recent study has found.

Figure it Out

Sometimes it's better to figure stuff out on your own, but not always. Sometimes you need to ask for help, and sometimes, you can learn more by looking for the answer yourself than you would if someone else just gave you the answer, but not always, because it's relative. You learn more from solving a problem yourself than you would if someone else just solved the problem for you, but not always. Problem solving skills are extremely valuable, but so is getting accurate answers to questions, answers to questions that would save you lots of time and lower the amount of mistakes that you may have to make. Yes you need problem solving skills, but you also need to know how to effectively use the enormous amount of resources and knowledge that other people have. Everyone is standing on the shoulders of giants, and everyone has benefited from the efforts of others. So it's extremely important to know how those giants made their advancements, but it is also extremely important to use those advancements effectively and efficiently as we can. We need to keep advancing and developing, and we also need to keep learning and honing our skills.

Wisdom does not come from age or from growing old, wisdom only comes from learning. So what did you learn today?

“We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.” - Lloyd Alexander. (but not always, or can it apply to every situation).

Learning what doesn't work can sometimes be more valuable than just learning what does work on your first try. When you don't experience something that does not work, you may not fully understand why something does work. After you discover something that works better, after learning what does not work better, you tend to appreciate what does work better a little more.

It's for your own good? This statement can only be true if someone fully understood the lesson that was being taught and figured out what they were actually learning. Making mistakes is not a good learning method that you can count on. Some things need to be thoroughly explained. Thoroughly or completely is everything necessary to the full quantity or entire extent, point, distance, area, volume or degree. Total is the whole amount.

Learning is a process that everyone should fully understand, and everyone should fully understand that the process of learning should continue your entire life. But for this to happen, everyone needs access to the most valuable knowledge and information that the world has to offer. And everyone should be given instructions on how to use knowledge and information effectively and efficiently as possible. If this were to happen, then the world would continually improve, and every problem would be solved.

When You Just Ain’t Got it All Together and you haven't figured it all out. (youtube) - Grizzled Cowboy Gives Life Advice To People Who Think 'They Don't Have It Figured Out'. "Knowledge and experience and wisdom takes time," says Dewayne from Dry Creek Wrangler School while offering advice to people who think they've lost track, or haven't found meaning in life yet.

Desirable Difficulty is a learning task that requires a considerable but desirable amount of effort, thereby improving long-term performance. Research suggests that while difficult tasks might slow down learning initially, the long term benefits are greater than with easy tasks. However, to be desirable, the tasks must also be accomplishable. Many tasks give the illusion of learning because they are too easy.

Impossible? It's only impossible if you can correctly calculate that it is impossible, being verified by testing and experiments. But even then, how can you be sure that the experiments were done correctly? Or if they were done with the same information? So when you hear someone say it's impossible, you tell them, it's only impossible until all possibilities have been explored. Just because something is impossible does not mean that I will not learn anything valuable from exploring the possibility. Even if it does turn out that this one thing is in fact impossible, it's only for the current moment in time because you have suspended the research for now.

Perry Como "It's Impossible" (youtube)

"I don't have all the answers, but I do have more answers then most people, and I'm always learning, so my ability to answer more questions is always increasing."

There is no replacement for learning, learning is something that you have to do. If you don't keep learning, then you will suffer from your own ignorance, and most likely, make other people suffer from your ignorance.

If someone tells you that your idea, or your desired goal, can not be reached, then plainly ask them to please share those facts that proves their statement to be true, because if they can not produce the facts that proves the goal can not be achieved, or was already attempted and here's the results, or that they want to discourage you and here are the reasons, then let them know that you will continue to search for those facts, to either confirm the idea was just, or just a waste of time.

Don't ever believe that a problem is to big to solve. A lot of problems always look to big and complicated at first, but once you start taking the necessary steps in order to solve the problem and understand it, you will discover that every problem can be solved, you just have to learn how to solve it. Every day is a step closer, as long as you take that step every day.

Though things will look complicated and almost impossible to figure out, don't worry, everything starts out that way. But as soon as you learn more and experience more, the things that you thought were impossible, will become possible."

How can someone tell you what you can't do when that person hasn't done it themself?  It can't be done, why?

If the question why does not go far enough, or if you stop asking questions after a certain point, you may fail to see the whole picture and limit your ability to accurately define the actions that you must make. Asking questions is a lot easier than coming up with excuses why you didn't ask questions in the first place.

Go Figure is used to say that something is surprising, strange, absurd or stupid and hard to understand. It's said to mean that you cannot explain something because there seems to be a contradiction.

Asking questions is the first step to understanding. When things don't make sense, or look weird, or seem unfamiliar, or if things are not known to you, or fully understood, you have to question it, even if it does turn out to make sense, it's always a good idea to confirm your suspicion and your doubts.

The Blind Leading the Blind. Conforming is adhering to established customs, rules, styles, standards of conduct or doctrines. But if you don't feel comfortable or if something doesn't feel right to you, then you must question why things are done this way. What is the point? Just because everyone else is doing it, or it seems popular or normal, doesn't necessarily make it right or good. You need to confirm with evidence or facts that what you are doing is right, or even needed, this is called learning. You need to be certain, you must specify or identify, and establish beyond doubt or question, that what you see is correct.

Regrets - Remorse - Guilt

Regret is feeling bad or feeling sorry about something that you did, or something that you didn't do, but wish you had. Regret is a feeling that you have after you did something wrong or bad that causes you to feel sadness, shame, guilt or embarrassment. Regret is an emotional reaction to personal past acts and behaviors.

Forgiveness - Apologizing - Accountable - Pardon - You Can't Know Everything - Stop Ruminating

Guilt is remorse caused by feeling responsible for some offense. Guilt is a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person believes or realizes—accurately or not—that he or she has compromised his or her own standards of conduct or has violated a moral standard and bears significant responsibility for that violation. It is closely related to the concept of remorse. Survival Guilt.

Shame is the pain and regret that you feel when you realize that you did something wrong or made a horrible mistake that causes you to feel inadequate, guilty or dishonor.

Disgrace is a state of dishonor and shame that causes a reduction in self worth and damage to ones reputation.

Lying - Sinning - Negligence - Abuse - Anger

Knowing that you did something wrong is a good thing. But not correcting what you did wrong is a bad thing. When you correct the wrong that you did and admit to your mistake, the feeling of shame should dissipate.

In the Rearview Mirror means that something is behind you and in the past. It's better to keep your eyes on the road ahead you and focus on the future. Looking back on bad experiences with regret or looking back with anger, resentment or shame will only be a distraction. Learn from it and then let it go. People use the rear-view mirror of a car as a metaphor for reflecting upon the past, or leaving something behind. And if someone removes their rear view mirror or refuses to look at it, that's a metaphor for leaving their past behind and looking to the future. To put something in the rearview mirror means that something is no longer a cause of concern, difficulty, or irritation, and is something that one is moving away from in one's car. A rear view mirror is like hindsight, because it shows us where we've been, but not where you're going. This is why the rearview mirror is much smaller than the windshield.

Measures of Guilt and Shame are used to determine an individuals propensity towards the self-conscious feelings of guilt or shame. Comparison of the self's action with the self's standards. Not to be confused with insecurity or social anxiety.

Embarrassment is an emotional state that is associated with mild to severe levels of discomfort, and which is usually experienced when someone commits a socially unacceptable or frowned-upon act that was witnessed by or revealed to others. Usually, some perception of loss of honor or dignity or other high-value ideals is involved, but the embarrassment level and the type depends on the situation. Embarrassment can be personal, caused by unwanted attention to private matters or personal flaws or mishaps or shyness. Some causes of embarrassment stem from personal actions, such as being caught in a lie or in making a mistake. Personal embarrassment is usually accompanied by some combination of blushing, sweating, nervousness, stammering, and fidgeting. Sometimes the embarrassed person tries to mask embarrassment with smiles or nervous laughter, especially in etiquette situations.

Embarrassing is something that cause you to feel shame or physical discomfort. Something hard to deal with, like some annoying irritation.

Apologize for making a mistake and live up to it, and show that you are willing to make amends. 

I have no regrets. I could easily say that I could have done things differently in hindsight, and I could easily say that I wish I didn't make so many mistakes or made so many bad decisions, but would I still be the same man that I am now? And would I have had the same experiences as I did? With so many variables and possibilities, there is no way of telling how my life would have been different. Maybe I would have been dead already, or even made worse mistakes than I did. I'm grateful and I appreciate my destiny.

I feel bad about the mistakes that I made that caused people harm, that's because I have a conscience and I also empathize and sympathize when it comes to peoples suffering. But not every mistake that you make causes other people harm. So I have no regrets about those types of mistakes that I made. It's better to make up for the mistakes that you made than to let those mistakes stop you from learning or stop you from making up for the damage that you caused. Having no regrets is not saying that you don't have a conscience, It says that you learn from your mistakes and then you move on.

Regretting can be a huge waste of time because you will never be able to calculate all the different scenarios that could have happened if your decision was different. Regret or 'What If' will never tell the whole story, or whether that one decision changed your life in any way. So it is what it is, and the only logical reaction is to learn from it and move on. Wishing things could have been different is like wishing your life away. You have already lived the life that you were wishing for when you find yourself dreaming of things that you wished for. It's hard to know what things to appreciate in your life when they only way to know that you appreciate something is when it's gone. Keep going, this ride is far from being over. Relative (good or bad is hard to tell).

There's no need to punish yourself for the mistakes you've made. No need to create your own private hell and to suffer within. No need for guilt or regret. What you need to do is to learn from your mistakes, so that you can avoid repeating the same mistakes, and learn to make better decisions. So there is no need for remorse, shame, contrition, revenge or penance. I made a mistake and I will correct it, and I will always remembered what I have learned. I have a Conscience, and I will use it to avoid mistakes, and not use it to punish myself. I have morals, and I also have the ability to learn and to forgive. There is no need to over react or to blame.

One of the biggest regrets a person could have is the regret that they stopped learning. It's not a regret if you can still change something. The only regret is that you regretted something that you can still change, like going back to school.

Remorse is an emotional expression of personal regret felt by a person after they have committed an act which they deem to be shameful, hurtful, or violent. Remorse is closely allied to guilt and self-directed resentment. Remorseful is feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses. Having a conscience.

Bemoaning is to regret strongly.

Lament is to express grief verbally, or a cry of sorrow and grief. Regret strongly.

Repentance is the activity of reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs. It generally involves a commitment to personal change and the resolve to live a more responsible and humane life. Unrepentant.

Repent is to turn away from sin and feel remorse for and feel sorry for and be contrite about.

Penitent is feeling sorrow and regret for having done wrong. Being deeply sorry, ashamed, and full of remorse and expressing humble or regretful pain for sins or offenses. Repentant.

Penitence is to feel remorse for your past conduct. Having a conscience.

Penance is repentance of sins. Penance is remorse for your past conduct. Atone for some wrongdoing.

Jonah is called upon by God to travel to Nineveh and warn its residents to repent of their sins or face divine wrath. Instead, Jonah boards a ship to Tarshish. Caught in a storm, he orders the ship's crew to cast him overboard, whereupon he is swallowed by a giant fish. Three days later, after Jonah agrees to go to Nineveh, the fish vomits him out onto the shore. Jonah successfully convinces the entire city of Nineveh to repent, but waits outside the city in expectation of its destruction. God shields Jonah from the sun with a plant, but later sends a worm to cause it to wither. When Jonah complains of the bitter heat, God rebukes him. In Judaism, the story of Jonah represents the teaching of teshuva, which is the ability to repent and be forgiven by God.

Absolution is the condition of being formally forgiven by a priest in the sacrament of penance. The act of absolving or remitting; formal redemption as pronounced by a priest in the sacrament of penance.

Absolving is to let off the hook. Grant remission of a sin to.

Atone is to make amends for.

Pardon - Forgiveness

Amends is something done or paid in expiation of a wrong. Set straight or right.

Contrition is repentance for sins one has committed. The remorseful person is said to be contrite.

Self-Compassion is extending compassion to one's self in instances of perceived inadequacy, failure, or general suffering. Being composed of three main components – self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness.

Redemption is the act of refraining from sins that are known to cause more harm then good, It is stopping oneself from doing evil.

Don't confuse Acceptance with Understanding

Acceptance is only a pause in time, you can come back later after you have learned more about the subject and understand just what exactly is happening, then and only then do you adapt to that reality. 

Adapting is to change and modify oneself to new or different conditions. Make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose. 

Adaptation is to enhance the fitness and survival of individuals by adapting, learning and changing to ones environment.

I have been ashamed of myself a few times in my life. I have done things and said things that were incredibly stupid, and they were not even close to being logical. So what causes a person to lose control, or to lose awareness, or to lose their understanding of things. You can easily say that I never learned the right things at the right time that would give me the skills and self-control and awareness that a person needs. I never learned how, and I never learned why? So I'm thankful I felt shame, at least I knew I made a mistake. It seems that shame makes us aware that we have a conscience. Some people never feel shame about the mistakes they make. It's not that they don't feel shame, they just don't feel shame when they should. Shame comes from being able to see yourself as the other person, as well as being able to know how it feels to be victimized yourself, which mostly comes from memories of being victimized. So I know what being victimized feels like, so I can apply that feeling as reference to what people feel like when they are victims of my ignorance. But not all people learn the same way, or do we have access to the right information and knowledge.

Knowledge

Knowledge is knowing certain facts and descriptions. Knowledge is being aware of information that helps you to understand someone or something. Knowledge is having skills and information that were acquired through experience, or by education, or by perceiving, discovering or learning. Knowledge is the psychological result of perception, learning and reasoning. Knowledge is knowing facts, truths, or principles that came from studying, general erudition or from an investigation. Knowledge is an acquaintance or familiarity gained by sight, experience, or report. Knowledge is the perception of fact or truth and having a clear and certain mental apprehension. Knowledge is the awareness of a fact or circumstance. Knowledge is the cognitive condition of someone who understands, knows and comprehends the nature or the meaning of something. Knowledge is to become aware of something through the senses. Knowledge is understanding something well enough in order to accomplish a particular task. Most of what we perceive as knowledge, is abstract, it exists only in the mind. You have to have knowledge in order to understand knowledge. And you can't have knowledge without information, but information can exist without knowledge, but how would you know, unless you had knowledge? Knowledge is the information that helps you to understand yourself and understand the world around you. Knowledge is the collection of facts that you can use to make good decisions. Knowledge is the accumulation of your experiences that helps you to navigate the world and react to the current reality. Knowledge is your control center that helps you to manage all the signals from your bodies senses and the signals from your environment. Knowledge is an important utility that helps you to create amazing tools and technology. Knowledge is the foundation of who you are and the structure that you can build on to grow and develop. Knowledge is the key that unlocks the energy and the power within you. Category: Knowledge (wiki).

Knowledge is skills learned through experience, whether the experience comes from doing, watching, reading or listening. Knowledge is to have the ability to process and understand information correctly and accurately and then knowing how to use that information effectively in order to accomplish a goal. Knowledge is a collection of valuable memories. Knowledge is relative. Be a consumer of valuable knowledge.

It takes knowledge to understand knowledge. It takes knowledge to explain knowledge. The process of comprehending and communicating knowledge is multifaceted. There is a definition of the word "knowledge", but the definition of knowledge will never fully explain how important knowledge is or explain the power of knowledge. Just like the word energy. The definition of the word "energy" will never fully explain what energy is. There is so much more to know beyond the definition of a word. Words can have power, especially when there is a force behind the word. But this force is abstract and difficult to explain in words. Knowing the cause and effect never fully explains the phenomenon, it only mentions the details of some complex system that we can't fully grasp just yet. Explanatory gap is the difficulty a person has in explaining something to another person who lacks knowledge about a particular subject.

Almost all Knowledge is Relative and only pertains to a specific subject. In order to understand a unique area of knowledge, you need previous knowledge about that subject. You must know something in order to understand something. That's everything in life. The problem is that people can pretend to know something and believe that they know something, but that is not knowing, that's only a fantasy. Knowing is understanding. Knowledge is understanding. You have to know, because not knowing is empty and void of any meaning. But most people don't even know that they don't know something, or know that they don't understand something, mostly because they lack the knowledge that is needed to self analyze themselves and they lack the knowledge that is needed to measure what they know and how smart they really are.

Knowledge of Cognition includes knowledge about oneself as a learner, knowledge about learning strategies, and knowledge about why and when to use a given strategy. Regulation of cognition includes the ability to plan, monitor, regulate and evaluate your learning process.

Information is any type of signal that can be interpreted and understood as a collection of verified facts or data that are correct and free from error so that conclusions may be drawn. A signal is any nonverbal action or communication that encodes a message. Information can be in the form of words, letters, numbers, diagrams, symbols or digital matter. Information can also be knowledge acquired through study or experience or instruction.

Information Data Processing - Data Analysis

Information is everything around you and everything inside you, everything is an expression of information, and knowledge is the understanding of information and knowing how to use information effectively. Information is the input and knowledge is the output, but knowledge can also be the information that someone can input or output. So Knowledge can also be information, but information is not knowledge. Information can exist without knowledge, but knowledge can not exist without information. Knowledge is learned and information is learned, and without learning, knowledge does not exist.

Wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge and information into the correct action to achieve a goal, or to solve a problem. Wisdom is showing good reasoning and good judgment by measurement or research. Wisdom is also understanding the future and the different events that might happen. Being aware of trends, because some changes might be indications that bigger changes are coming, so good preparation and planning is needed. Wisdom is understanding how all your actions and inactions effect yourself and the world around you. Wisdom is understanding value.

Genius is knowing how to maximize your actions so that you can continually progress, while at the same time, lower your risks and lower your vulnerabilities and slow down decay.

"Genius is the capacity to see ten things where the ordinary man sees one, and where the man of talent sees two or three, plus the ability to register that multiple perception in the material of his art." - Ezra Pound

Intelligence is the ability to build upon various raw information to create new meaning. Intelligence is fully understanding knowledge, information and wisdom. Intelligence is searching for truth, looking for answers, and always learning. Intelligence is the ability to use knowledge and information together to learn more about yourself and the world around you. Intelligence is continually acquiring more abilities and more skills so that you can increase your potential and creativity.

Artificial Intelligence - Self Directed Learning

Knowing is to be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information. Be aware of the truth of something; regard as true beyond any doubt. Be familiar or acquainted with a person or an object. Not the same as conscious or awareness. Have firsthand knowledge of states, situations, emotions, or sensations. Highly educated; having extensive information or understanding. Acknowledge - Recognize.

Nous or Noesis is a term from classical philosophy used for describing the faculty of the human mind necessary for understanding what is true or real. English words such as "understanding" are sometimes used and the word is sometimes equated to intellect or intelligence.

Know - What do you Know - I know - Pretending to Know

Knowledge by Acquaintance. I am acquainted with many people and things, which I know very little about.

Social Knowledge - Knowledge Economy - Consuming Knowledge

General Knowledge is information that has been accumulated over time through various mediums. It excludes specialized learning that can only be obtained with extensive training and information confined to a single medium. General knowledge is an essential component of crystallized intelligence. It is strongly associated with general intelligence and with openness to experience. Studies have found that people who are highly knowledgeable in a particular domain tend to be knowledgeable in many. General knowledge is thought to be supported by long-term semantic memory ability. General knowledge also supports schemata for textual understanding. General Knowledge has been defined in differential psychology as "culturally valued knowledge communicated by a range of non-specialist media" and encompassing a wide subject range. Explicit Knowledge.

Common Knowledge is knowledge that is known by everyone or nearly everyone, usually with reference to the community in which the term is used. Common knowledge need not concern one specific subject, e.g., science or history. Rather, common knowledge can be about a broad range of subjects, such as science, literature, history, and entertainment. Often, common knowledge does not need to be cited. Common knowledge is distinct from general knowledge. In broader terms, common knowledge is used to refer to information that a reader would accept as valid, such as information that many users may know. As an example, this type of information may include the temperature in which water freezes or boils. To determine if information should be considered common knowledge, you can ask yourself who your audience is, are you able to assume they already have some familiarity with the topic, or will the information’s credibility come into question. Many techniques have been developed in response to the question of distinguishing truth from fact in matters that have become "common knowledge". The scientific method is usually applied in cases involving phenomena associated with astronomy, mathematics, physics, and the general laws of nature. In legal settings, rules of evidence generally exclude hearsay (which may draw on "facts" someone believes to be "common knowledge"). "Conventional wisdom" is a similar term also referring to ostensibly pervasive knowledge or analysis. Briefed - Public Knowledge.

Descriptive Knowledge is the type of knowledge that represents an objective fact, or a statement that can be admitted as evidence.

Know-How is knowledge and skill required to do something correctly or effectively, or having procedural knowledge and knowing the best way to perform some particular task. Know-how is having practical knowledge but not necessarily expert knowledge. Know-how is having ingenuity or the ability to improvise and come up with ideas when problem solving, It's being able to use your creative imagination to visualize possible outcomes. Having knowledge by acquaintance or experience, and having the knowledge of something's existence.

Posteriori Knowledge is experience-based knowledge or empirical evidence. Truths of ordinary perceptual experience and the natural sciences. Priori Knowledge is intuition.

Intuition knowledge is the ability to acquire knowledge without proof, evidence, or conscious reasoning, or without understanding how the knowledge was acquired. Beyond the Senses - Subliminal.

Factual Knowledge are facts stored in long term memory.

Conceptual Knowledge the awareness of concepts stored in long-term memory.

Metacognition is the awareness of one’s own cognition.

Metastrategic knowledge is a sub-component of metacognition that is defined as general knowledge about higher order thinking strategies.

Metaknowledge is Knowledge about knowledge.

Knowledge Engineering refers to all technical, scientific and social aspects involved in building, maintaining and using knowledge-based systems.

Tacit Knowledge is the kind of knowledge that is difficult to transfer to another person by means of writing it down or by verbalizing it. Prerequisites might be needed in advanced in order to understand. Tacit is something understood or implied without being stated, such as interpreting someone's body language.

Explicit is something readily observable that can be precisely and clearly communicated, something that leaves nothing to implication, though misinterpretation can happen. Something in accordance with fact or the primary meaning of a term. Explicit Learning (implicit).

Extrinsic is not part of the essential nature of someone or something. Something coming from or operating from outside, or arising or originating from the outside.

Intrinsic is belonging to a thing by its very nature.

Implicit is something implied but not plainly expressed. Inherent in the nature of something. Being without doubt or reserve. Implicit Knowledge.

Implied is to express something indirectly or suggest as a logically necessary consequence. Implication is an incriminating connection.

Meta-knowledge is knowledge about knowledge used to create methods of planning, modeling, tagging, and modification of a domain knowledge.

Content knowledge or declarative knowledge is understanding one's own capabilities, such as a student evaluating their own knowledge of a subject in a class. It is notable that not all metacognition is accurate. Studies have shown that students often mistake lack of effort with understanding in evaluating themselves and their overall knowledge of a concept. Also, greater confidence in having performed well is associated with less accurate metacognitive judgment of the performance.

Task Knowledge or procedural knowledge is how one perceives the difficulty of a task which is the content, length, and the type of assignment. The study mentioned in Content knowledge also deals with a person's ability to evaluate the difficulty of a task related to their overall performance on the task. Again, the accuracy of this knowledge was skewed as students who thought their way was better/easier also seemed to perform worse on evaluations, while students who were rigorously and continually evaluated reported to not be as confident but still did better on initial evaluations.

Procedural Knowledge is the knowledge exercised in the performance of a task or the necessary steps to complete a task. Procedural Knowledge refers to knowledge about doing things. This type of knowledge is displayed as heuristics and strategies. A high degree of procedural knowledge can allow individuals to perform tasks more automatically. This is achieved through a large variety of strategies that can be accessed more efficiently.

Strategic knowledge or conditional knowledge is one's own capability for using strategies to learn information. Young children are not particularly good at this; it is not until students are in upper elementary school that they begin to develop an understanding of effective strategies.

Declarative Knowledge refers to knowledge about oneself as a learner and about what factors can influence one's performance. Declarative knowledge can also be referred to as "world knowledge".

Conditional Knowledge refers to knowing when and why to use declarative and procedural knowledge. It allows students to allocate their resources when using strategies. This in turn allows the strategies to become more effective. Similar to metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive regulation or "regulation of cognition" contains three skills that are essential.

Tribal Knowledge is any information or knowledge that is known within a tribe but often unknown outside of it. A tribe may be a group or subgroup of people that share a common knowledge. With a corporate perspective, "Tribal Knowledge or know-how is the collective wisdom of the organization. It is the sum of all the knowledge and capabilities of all the people.

Traditional Knowledge refers to knowledge systems embedded in the cultural traditions of regional, indigenous, or local communities.

Self-Knowledge - Basic Knowledge

Inert Knowledge is information which one can express but not use. The process of understanding by learners does not happen to that extent where the knowledge can be used for effective problem-solving in realistic situations. An example for inert knowledge is vocabulary of a foreign language which is available during an exam but not in a real situation of communication. An explanation for the problem of inert knowledge is that people often encode knowledge to a specific situation, so that later remindings occur only for highly similar situations. In contrast so called conditionalized knowledge is knowledge about something which includes also knowledge as to the contexts in which that certain knowledge will be useful.

Sociology of Knowledge is the study of the relationship between human thought and the social context within which it arises, and of the effects prevailing ideas have on societies.

Knowledge by Presence or consciousness, is a degree and kind of primordial knowledge in the Illuminationist school of Islamic philosophy. This knowledge is also called the illuminative doctrine of knowledge by presence or al-ilm al-huduri al-ishraqi This theory is attributed to Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi. According to this theory self knows himself directly through a kind of cognition. Humans in their ordinary experience show themselves as the primary subject of knowledge. Humans communicated with non-humans with different methods such as mind, language and reason. In any kind of knowledge and before any knowledge, always there is a kind of knowledge called knowledge of oneself or consciousness. This consciousness is foremost and prior to any knowledge.

Open Knowledge - "If you want true knowledge to be common, you must make common knowledge true" "If you want common knowledge to be true, you must make true knowledge common". Open Education.

First there's information, and then there's knowing how to process and understand the information, then there's knowing what correct action to take based on the information, knowledge and your experience. Input - Process - Output.

Processing is to perform mathematical and logical operations on data according to instructions or prescribed procedures in order to obtain the required information.

Information Processing - Process - Science - Process - Thinking

Epistemology studies the nature of knowledge, the rationality of belief, and justification. Ancient Knowledge.

Epistemic Modal Logic is a subfield of modal logic that is concerned with reasoning about knowledge.

Epistemic Processes are processes that are used to gain knowledge about something.

Knowledge Gap - Knowledge Divides - Knowledge Preservation

Knowledge Base - To Know or Not to Know

Knowledge Representation and Reasoning is the field of artificial intelligence (AI) dedicated to representing information about the world in a form that a computer system can utilize to solve complex tasks such as diagnosing a medical condition or having a dialog in a natural language. Knowledge representation incorporates findings from psychology about how humans solve problems and represent knowledge in order to design formalisms that will make complex systems easier to design and build. Knowledge representation and reasoning also incorporates findings from logic to automate various kinds of reasoning, such as the application of rules or the relations of sets and subsets. Examples of knowledge representation formalisms include semantic nets, systems architecture, Frames, Rules, and ontologies. Examples of automated reasoning engines include inference engines, theorem provers, and classifiers.

Knowledge Representation is the field of artificial intelligence dedicated to representing information about the world in a form that a computer system can utilize to solve complex tasks such as diagnosing a medical condition or having a dialog in a natural language.

Knowledge Visualization (mind maps)

Knowledge Retrieval seeks to return information in a structured form, consistent with human cognitive processes as opposed to simple lists of data items.

Knowledge Acquisition is the process used to define the rules and ontologies required for a knowledge-based system.

Knowledge Extraction is the creation of knowledge from structured (relational databases, XML) and unstructured (text, documents, images) sources. The resulting knowledge needs to be in a machine-readable and machine-interpretable format and must represent knowledge in a manner that facilitates inferencing.

Information Extraction - Enlightenment (knowing enough)

Knowledge Spillover is an exchange of ideas among individuals. In knowledge management economics, knowledge spillovers are non-rival knowledge market costs incurred by a party not agreeing to assume the costs that has a spillover effect of stimulating technological improvements in a neighbor through one's own innovation. Such innovations often come from specialization within an industry.

Body of Knowledge is the complete set of concepts, terms and activities that make up a professional domain, as defined by the relevant learned society or professional association. It is a type of knowledge representation by any knowledge organization. Structured knowledge is used by members of a discipline to guide their practice or work. The prescribed aggregation of knowledge in a particular area, is what an individual is expected to have mastered to be considered or certified as a practitioner, including the systematic collection of activities and outcomes in terms of their values, constructs, models, principles and instantiations, which (a) arises from continuous discovery and validation work by members of the profession and (b) enables self-reflective growth and reproduction of the profession (Romme 2016). A set of accepted and agreed upon standards and nomenclatures pertaining to a field or profession (INFORMS 2009). A set of knowledge within a profession or subject area which is generally agreed as both essential and generally known (Oliver 2012).

Domain of Knowledge is valid knowledge used to refer to an area of human endeavor, an autonomous computer activity, or other specialized discipline.

Domain Knowledge is knowledge of a specific, specialized discipline or field, in contrast to general knowledge, or domain-independent knowledge. The term is often used in reference to a more general discipline, as, for example, in describing a software engineer who has general knowledge of programming, as well as domain knowledge about the pharmaceutical industry. People who have domain knowledge, are often considered specialists or experts in the field.

Knowledge Organization - KM - Knowledge Management

Outline of Knowledge familiarity with someone or something, which can include facts, information, descriptions, and/or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. It can be implicit (as with practical skill or expertise) or explicit (as with the theoretical understanding of a subject); and it can be more or less formal or systematic.

Knowledge Transfer is the practical problem of transferring knowledge from one part of the organization to another. Memory.

Nomothetic and idiographic describes two distinct approaches to knowledge, each one corresponding to a different intellectual tendency, and each one corresponding to a different branch of academe. Nomothetic is based on what Kant described as a tendency to generalize, and is typical for the natural sciences. It describes the effort to derive laws that explain types or categories of objective phenomena, in general. Idiographic is based on what Kant described as a tendency to specify, and is typical for the humanities. It describes the effort to understand the meaning of contingent, unique, and often cultural or subjective phenomena.

Knowledge Value stated “All wish to know but none wish to pay the price". Internet.

Constructivism in philosophy of education is a philosophical viewpoint about the nature of knowledge.

Gnosticism is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis) above the proto-orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions. Gnosticism is from Ancient Greek that means 'having knowledge', interpreted as knowledge, enlightenment, salvation, emancipation or 'oneness with God'. Gnosticism may be reached by practicing philanthropy to the point of personal poverty and diligently searching for wisdom by helping others. The world of God is represented by the upper world and is associated with the soul and perfection. The world of God is eternal and not part of the physical. It is impalpable and timeless. Gnosis taught the deliverance of man from the constraints of earthly existence through insight into an essential relationship, as soul or spirit, with a supramundane place of freedom. Gnosticism is the salvation through knowledge. Gnosis is the Greek noun for knowledge.

"Knowledge is multi dimensional with many layers. So if you only see the surface of what is known, then you will never understand knowledge enough in order to use it effectively or efficiently enough to solve problems or make positive improvements in life. This is one of the main reasons for improving education."

"If we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must be free to follow wherever that search may lead us. The free mind is not a barking dog, to be tethered on a ten-foot chain." - Adlai Stevenson Speech at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (8 October 1952).

Curious - Inspired - Intelligence - Education

Knowledge and information is mostly abstract and exists only in your mind. I can show you a Human made object that you can touch, feel, smell, taste, see and hear. But the knowledge and information that creates your senses exists only in your mind. I can write down everything that explains how and why the object exists, but only the human mind can make sense of the words and what they mean, so even then, that knowledge and information is mostly abstract and exists only in your mind.

Knowledge Palace - Knowledge College

"Great knowledge often comes from the humblest of origins."

"Knowledge is love and light and vision." - Helen Keller (born with the ability to see and hear, but at 19 months old she contracted an unknown illness that left her both deaf and blind for the rest of her life). World Without Words.

"Knowledge is something that can not be easily explained, it's abstract, nonobjective, subjective and non-subjective."

Knowledge does not come with age, knowledge comes from learning. Experience does not guarantee learning, or that understanding will take place. And not every experience will benefit you. Though the lesson was given, there's no sure way to tell if the knowledge was correctly understood. Knowledge comes from learning, and associating what you have learned with the appropriate experiences and knowledge that you have acquired up to this point. Accumulating and building, becoming more aware and more wiser, all because you continue to learn, and not from growing older.

Knowledge is like knowing the equation and the formula that will give you the most accurate answer to a problem. If you don't have certain knowledge, then you don't have an equation that will give you the most accurate answer. Thus you will most likely never solve your problem, and the problem will never go away.

What if you were in the ocean on a raft that was sinking and you did not know how to swim, you would be overcome with fear and anxiety with knowing that you would drown and die. But what if you knew how to swim and could see the shore, you would not be afraid and would simply abandon the raft and swim to shore and live. That is why having useful knowledge, information and skills is so valuable. Without knowledge, information and skills, you will eventually drown.

Be a Consumer of Knowledge

If you never stop learning, you will become a little smarter everyday. You will continually improve things. You will become better at solving problems. You will become an even better person then you were the day before. You will become more knowledgeable about yourself and the world around you, to a point where nothing will seem impossible. You will be incredibly intelligent with unlimited abilities and unlimited potential. Knowledge and information will accumulate into a beautiful system of love and awareness.

Binging on valuable knowledge and information is probably one of the most beautiful addictions that you can ever have. You need a healthy information diet, and you need to avoid junk information.

Binge is a period of time that is devoted to a particular activity with very little interruptions or distractions. Binge-watching is the practice of watching content for a long time span, usually without taking many breaks. Cramming for a Test.

Harvesting Knowledge - Filtering - Making Knowledge Digestible

Knowledge doesn't grow on its own, you need to feed it. Knowledge needs to be a healthy diet that has highly nutritional knowledge with no toxic additives. It must be unprocessed raw data with just numbers, facts and resources. You must avoid opinions filled with contractions and unverifiable information that has no clear relevance to anything important.

Knowledge gives you Power, Power gives you Control, Control gives you Freedom, Freedom gives you Potential, Potential gives you Endless Possibilities. Live, Learn, Love and Progress.

The more you know, the more you understand. The more you understand, the more control you have. The more control you have, the more power you have. The more power you have, the more freedom you have. The more freedom you have, the more potential you have. The more potential you have, the more possibilities you have. The more possibilities you have, the greater your life can be. There will always be more, as long as you keep learning the right things at the right time.

Food goes in the mouth using the process of eating. Information and knowledge goes in the brain using the process of learning. Food gives you the energy to live, and knowledge and information gives you the ability to harness energy. Without food, a human will starve. Without knowledge and information, a human will starve life.

Getting High on Information means to be so overwhelmed or stimulated by consuming a large amount of information, often to the point of feeling almost intoxicated or euphoric by the knowledge gained. Getting high is a metaphor, suggesting that the act of absorbing large quantities of information can feel similar to a drug-induced high, providing a temporary sense of excitement or exhilaration. Getting high on information is a phrase from the Red Hot Chili Peppers song Californication. Getting high on information can also imply a sense of being overloaded with data, sometimes even to the point of losing perspective. The band is critiquing the excesses and superficiality of modern Californian culture, including the constant influx of information, which often carries a negative connotation, implying that the person is consuming information without critically evaluating it or considering its accuracy.

Schools today are just a primer. You don't finish school, because school is just an introduction. 80% of the worlds most valuable knowledge and information is outside the classroom. So the real learning comes after school. But that's only if you have access to the worlds most valuable knowledge and information, and, have a firm understanding about what you should be learning, and when you should learning it.

Learning Economy - Healthy Consumption

"Consuming the fruit from the tree of knowledge is good for you, except when it has pesticides."

Pursuit is to seek and gain with effort, or to accomplish a goal over a period of time. To continue to investigate, explore, or discuss a topic, idea, or argument. To continue or proceed along a path or route. To engage in a supporting activity or course of action. A search for an alternative that meets cognitive criteria. The action of following something or something in an effort to overtake or to capture something.

Feed the Brain Information and Knowledge

You must consume more than just food and water daily, you also need to consume knowledge and information daily. Learning should be as easy as eating food. And consuming knowledge should make you feel good. Healthy food and exercise makes you healthy and strong. Healthy knowledge makes your mind strong and increases your potential. You need healthy food to live. You also need healthy knowledge to live. You need clean water to live. You also need clean information to live. Either you find clean information or learn how to filter information to make sure that it's free from errors, or viruses. Unclean information creates mistakes that don't need to be made. If you want healthy food you may need to grow it yourself. If you can't find healthy knowledge then you have to learn how to create your own healthy knowledge. Unhealthy food will cause unhealthy body, unhealthy knowledge will create an unhealthy mind with unhealthy behaviors. You need to consume knowledge and information, so you you need to know what knowledge and information is important.

Accumulate - You are what you Read - Language Controls Thoughts

Your Brain needs Knowledge and information, so please don't forget to Feed the Mind.

It's your brain, feed it - 9 Great Ways to "Feed Your Brain" - Marc David (youtube)

Food increases growth, so does knowledge.

Feed in Seymour - Little Shop Of Horrors - Feed Me (Got It) (youtube)

Why would you fill your car with gas and then let it run without driving it anywhere? Then why would you eat and not use that energy to learn something new or to do something constructive?

Information and knowledge needs to be clean and edible so that it can be easily consumed. And just like food, you have the eat the right foods in the right amounts at the right times. Imagine eating a food and having the energy from that food stay with you forever, that is what knowledge is, that is why learning the right things at the right time is so extremely important.

Life Long Learning is the same as Life Long Eating. Learning everyday is like eating everyday. You eat to live, you learn to live, you learn to live better. Not learning how to improve yourself, or not learning how to make yourself more knowledgeable about yourself and the world around you, is like eating everyday but never doing anything valuable, never working or never doing anything productive or meaningful, or never doing things that enhance or improve your life, so you're pretty much just waiting to die, which is a total waste. So please keep learning.

A Mind is a terrible thing to waste (wiki) - Information Diet (overload)

When feeding the hungry and starving you must also feed them knowledge and information that would educate people enough so that they will be able to solve their own problems without having to depend on others. Making them self-reliant and self-sufficient, as well as, give them the abilities to help others who are also experiencing difficulties. This is the intelligent thing to do; this is the right thing to do. Invest in education and not just agriculture. Energy from food diminishes in a few days. Knowledge stays in the memory for life. And this knowledge has the potential to create energy. Feed the mind, not just the body. Some of the energy from food should be used for learning, if not, then the energy from the food is wasted, and an opportunity is lost.

"If you don't eat, you will eventually die from starvation, if you stop learning, you will eventually die from lack of education, like the tens of thousands of people who die every single day from things they could have avoided. If they had the necessary knowledge, they would have lived full lives."

If you can learn to read on your own, from a tablet pc or other ways, then you could have access to the worlds most valuable knowledge and information. From there, you could learn how to use knowledge and information effectively to reach your goals, and learn things that are needed that would improve your life continually. Things may start out slow, but every day that you take a step, is a step closer to fulfilling your goals and creating a healthy and happy life. You must learn something new and valuable everyday. Your brain has incredible memory bank, and if you keep depositing more valuable knowledge everyday, you will have built and saved an enormous wealth of knowledge, And your personal bank of knowledge never closes, and you can carry your wealth of knowledge where ever you travel, and the knowledge yours to keep, no one could ever take it from you or steal it from you. This is why Knowledge is the worlds most perfect currency.

Summer School - Homework - After School

Summer School is a school, or a program that provides lessons and activities during the summer vacation.

Homework is a set of tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside the class. Common homework assignments may include a quantity or period of reading to be performed, writing or typing to be completed, math problems to be solved, material to be reviewed before a test, or other skills to be practiced. The effect of homework is debated. Generally speaking, homework does not improve academic performance among children and may improve academic skills among older students. It also creates stress for students and their parents and reduces the amount of time that students could spend outdoors, exercising, playing sports, doing chores, educating themselves, sleeping, or doing other activities that could be beneficial.

Home Schooling - Remote Work - Studying - Testing - Less Homework More Play - Seeing the Whole Picture - Book Report - Argument - Grey Literature - Multiple Degrees - Body of Knowledge - Purpose of Education

Homework should be about homework, it should not be school work done at home. Schools should not force kids to take work home with them. If you can't teach students effectively enough at the school, then something is wrong with the school. A student should only take home valuable knowledge and information, not more work, especially if it's disposable assignments. Everyone needs balance. It's not good to take your work home with you, especially when your home needs work too. All work and no play is just abusive.

After-School Activity or After-School Program is an organized activity that is focused on helping students with school work and helping students get evolved in other activities that can be beneficial to them in other ways. An after-school activity is any organized program that youth or adult learner voluntary can participate in outside of the traditional school day. After-school activities are a cornerstone of concerted cultivation, which is a style of parenting that emphasizes children gaining leadership experience and social skills through participating in organized activities. Such children are believed by proponents to be more successful in later life, while others consider too many activities to indicate over-parenting. While some research has shown that structured after-school programs can lead to better test scores, improved homework completion, and higher grades, further research has questioned the effectiveness of after-school programs at improving youth outcomes such as externalizing behavior and school attendance. Additionally, certain activities or programs have made strides in closing the achievement gap, or the gap in academic performance between white students and students of color as measured by standardized tests. Though the existence of after-school activities is relatively universal, different countries implement after-school activities differently, causing after-school activities to vary on a global scale. Elective Courses.

Extracurricular Activity or extra academic activity or cultural activities is an activity, performed by students, that falls outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school, college or university education. Such activities are generally voluntary (as opposed to mandatory), social, philanthropic, and often involve others of the same age. Students and staff direct these activities under faculty sponsorship, although student-led initiatives, such as independent newspapers, are very common. However, sometimes the school principals and teachers also bring in these activities in the school among the students.

Proposition 49, which passed in 2002 and was implemented in 2006, dedicated an estimated $6.77 billion dollars to support school-based expanded learning programs across the state of California. After School Alliance - High-Quality After-School Education Programs in Los Angeles.

After-School All-Stars is a national non-profit organization that partners with schools across the United States to expand the learning day for low-income children. It provides after-school programs. Currently, ASAS serves nearly 92,000 students on over 400 school sites in 14 regions across 10 states.

Structure (what schools should be like) - Memory

Assignment is a task or piece of work that is given to you as part of a job or as part of a course of study. An undertaking that you have been assigned to by an instructor. A duty that you are assigned to perform. Assigning is to allocate a task to a person. Select something or someone for a specific purpose. Attribute or give. Decide as to where something belongs in a scheme. The act of putting a person into a non-elective position. The act of distributing something to designated places or persons. Assignment in computing is an operation that assigns a value to a variable. Assignment in law is the process whereby a person, the assignor, transfers rights or benefits to another, the assignee. An assignment may not transfer a duty, burden or detriment without the express agreement of the assignee. The right or benefit being assigned may be a gift (such as a waiver) or it may be paid for with a contractual consideration such as money. The instrument by which a claim, right, interest or property is transferred from one person to another. A transfer of property by deed of conveyance. Transfer one's right to. The attribution of someone or something as belonging.

Allocate is to distribute according to a plan or set apart for a special purpose. Not the same as transference.

Delegate is to transfer power to someone. Give an assignment to. A person appointed or elected to represent others. Delegate is someone who attends or communicates the ideas of or acts on behalf of an organization at a meeting or conference between organizations, which may be at the same level or involved in a common field of work or interest. Mediate.

Summer School doesn't mean that you're a slow learner, it may just be an indication that your school sucks. All young people experience learning losses during the Summer Vacation because schools are inadequate and ineffective. In order to be good at something, you need to practice, when you stop practicing, your skill level decreases. When you are not actively using knowledge that you have learned, it's easy to forget what you have learned. If you don't use it you lose it. Students need to learn how to maintain their skill level and knowledge level, but they must be given the right knowledge and the right skills, if not, you're wasting time, energy resources and people. Schools need to teach students how to use their skills and knowledge in the real world, instead of just on paper. 

"It's amazing how we still made progress even after all the mistakes that we made. We spent years experimenting with many different ideas, most of which did not benefit us. We have made a lot of mistakes ,and we have wasted a lot of time, but we have learned many things. It's time to put our knowledge into actions. We know what to do, and we know what not to do. But we must do. Just knowing will not solve our problems."

"Learning should be like life, a chain reaction that is self perpetuating and self sustaining."

"The more you learn the more you will see, whether that is good or bad depends on you." 

"Everyone should be an avid searcher of knowledge"

I guess this was just a natural progression of my curiosity. I went looking for adventure and I eventually found knowledge, and some of that knowledge actually pertained to me. But I wouldn't say that I found myself, I would just say that I understand myself a lot more then I did before, and I also understand the world more then I did before. Seeking knowledge is truly the greatest adventure of all time."

"I'm sometimes 20 or 30 questions ahead of the current question, only because the current question needs certain questions answered first before you can even start to figure out just exactly what the actual question is, and sometimes people are just asking the wrong question, which makes it almost impossible to answer correctly."

"When you're 5 to 10 questions ahead of the conversation, you are at a level of thinking that solves problems a lot faster."

"Some people just ask questions but never really look for the answers, I like to search for answers because searching for answers is much more rewarding instead of just wondering what the answers might be."

"If you don't try to be great at something then you will never be great at anything. But you can be good at doing many things, which could count as doing something great, but being really good at something will have its own rewards."

"I sometimes feel like a black hole, and my curiosity is the gravitational force that gradually pulls in knowledge and information from the universe. The more knowledge and information I consume, the farther I see. Everyday is another step forward on a never ending quest to understand more. Breaking down knowledge into smaller more defined elements. With each element symbolizing a doorway in the hallways of knowledge. And each door acting like an electrical circuit, open or closed, on or off. Eerily similar to my computer counterpart. But instead of words being defined as zeros and ones, the words in my mind are defined by on or off. On or Off? Natural intelligence and Artificial intelligence working together in harmony as if they were one. Ones and zeros, on or off...Huston, we have lift off...Engage."

"Learn as if you will live forever...because there is a chance that you may live forever"

"If you don't learn the things that matter, then learning doesn't matter." Memory - Learning Games.

Questioning - Learn to Ask Questions - Ask

Questioning is the need for more information in order to understand something more accurately, and to learn something. Questioning is to verify the accuracy of the information presented. Questioning is a linguistic expression used to make a request for information, or the request made using such an expression. The information requested should be provided in the form of an answer.

Question is to challenge the accuracy, probity or propriety of information. A sentence of inquiry that asks for a reply to a question. Uncertainty about the truth or factuality or existence of something. Place in doubt or express doubtful speculation.

Who? When? Where? What? Why? How?

Inquiry is a search for knowledge. A systematic investigation of a matter of public interest. 

Inquisitive is showing curiosity. Inquiring or a desire to know something by researching. Conduct an investigation.

Ask is to request information about something. To seek an answer. To address a question to someone and expect an answer from someone.

Request is to express the need for something or a desire for something. To ask for something or to ask a person to do something. Prompt - Wish - Pray.

Follow-Up Questions are used to expand on and complete the information obtained from the initial questions. Follow up Question is a question you ask someone after they answer a previous question. The follow up question is to clarify or elicit further information from a person. An example of a follow up question is..Can you tell me more about that? Can you give me an example? Can you explain it a little further? Do you have any proof about what you say?

Relationship Questions - Background Questions - Security Questions - Trick Questions - Opinion Pole - Surveys - Q & A - Multiple Choice Questions - Questioning the Law - Learning Methods - Scientific Inquiry - Questions are Relative - Asking Chabot's Questions - Paraphrasing

Clarifying Questions are tools used by active listeners to ensure understanding and obtain essential information. These types of questions are simple inquiries of fact. They require brief or concise answers that don't typically provide new information, simply a more concrete understanding of the matter at hand.

Pick Someone's Brain is to obtain information by questioning someone who is better informed about a subject than oneself.

Pointed Question is a question that gets directly to the very heart of the matter.

The Million-Dollar Question is a question that is very important and difficult to answer.

Age-Old Question is an age-old story, tradition, or problem that has existed for many generations or centuries.

Burning Question is an urgent or crucial issue or heated discussion with questions that need to be answered. If the questions are not answered, this lack of information may cause unrest and constant worry, which could cause a burning concern as if something is on fire. The fire could be extinguished if questions are answered.

Open-Ended Question is a question that cannot be answered with a "yes" or "no" response, or with a static response. Open-ended questions are phrased as a statement which requires a longer answer. They can be compared to closed questions which demand a “yes”/“no” or short answer. Open-Ended Questions start with “Why?” “How?” and “What?” They encourage a full answer, rather than the simple “yes” or “no” response that is usually given to a closed-ended question.

Closed-Ended Question is a question format that limits respondents with a list of answer choices from which they must choose to answer the question. Generalizing.

Yes-No Question is formally known as a polar question or a general question, is a question whose expected answer is either "yes" or "no". Formally, they present an exclusive disjunction, a pair of alternatives of which only one is acceptable. In English, such questions can be formed in both positive and negative forms (e.g. "Will you be here tomorrow?" and "Won't you be here tomorrow?"). Yes–no questions are in contrast with non-polar wh-questions, with the five Ws, which do not necessarily present a range of alternative answers, or necessarily restrict that range to two alternatives. (Questions beginning with "which", for example, often presuppose a set of several alternatives, from which one is to be drawn.)

It's all Relative - Trick Questions - Multiple Choice Questions

Interrogative Word or question word is a function word used to ask a question, such as what, which, when, where, who, whom, whose, why, whether and how. Pronouns.

Interrogative is a term used in grammar to refer to features that form questions. Thus, an interrogative sentence is a sentence whose grammatical form shows that it is a question. Such sentences are sometimes said to exhibit an interrogative mood—thus treating interrogative as one of the grammatical mood. This applies particularly to languages that use different inflected verb forms to make questions. Interrogative sentences can serve as yes–no questions or as wh-questions, the latter being formed using an interrogative word such as who, which, where or how to specify the information required. Different languages have different ways of forming questions, including the use of different word order and the insertion of interrogative particles. Questions are also frequently marked by intonation, in particular a rising intonation pattern – in some languages this may be the sole method of distinguishing a yes–no question from a declarative statement. Interrogative mood or other interrogative forms may be denoted by the glossing abbreviation INT.

Four kinds of Questions are, a general question, alternative question, special question, and a disjunctive question. A general question requires the answer “yes” or “no” ? An alternative question denotes a choice? A special question begins with an interrogative word or phrase such as where, How, Why, How many, What color, etc.) A disjunctive question requires the answer “yes” or “no” and consists of two parts.

Question Structure is a Question Word + Auxiliary Word + Subject Word + Main Verb Word and some extra information if needed.

Being able to explain and ask a question correctly is half the job of getting the correct answer that you are seeking.

Questionnaire Construction is a series of questions asked to individuals to obtain statistically useful information about a given topic – when properly constructed and responsibly administered, become a vital instrument by which statements can be made about specific groups, or people, or entire populations.

Questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents.

Socratic Method is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presumptions. Socrates.

Arguments - Discussions - Debates - Avoid being Vague - Questions are Relative

Socratic Questioning is disciplined questioning that can be used to pursue thought in many directions and for many purposes, including: to explore complex ideas, to get to the truth of things, to open up issues and problems, to uncover assumptions, to analyze concepts, to distinguish what we know from what we don't know, to follow out logical implications of thought or to control the discussion.

Socrates argued that the attitude of wanting one’s ideas to be always ‘validated’ and not questioned is intellectually stagnating and is a mark of ‘ignorance’. He pointed this out in his idea of ‘wisdom’. A wise person is one who is always willing to ‘learn’. Such a person assumes tentatively that she does not know. She is willing to methodologically suspend her belief and question it for the purpose of exploring it, to expand her knowledge. The process of questioning—for the purpose of eliciting information and adequate justifications—represents an epistemic attitude which is necessary for critical thinking. Such attitude is often what teachers want to engender in students as critical thinkers.

Dialectic is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to establish the truth through reasoned arguments.

Problem Solving - Creative Thinking - Philosophy - Investigation - Junk Science

Frequently Asked Questions or FAQ is generally used to provide information on frequent questions or concerns where common questions tend to be asked. The format is a useful means of organizing information and text consisting of questions and their answers . Communication.

Internet Searches - Seek more Information

Twenty Questions is a game where one player is chosen to be the answerer. That person chooses a subject or object but does not reveal this to the others. All other players are questioners. They each take turns asking a question which can be answered with a simple "Yes" or "No." In variants of the game, multiple state answers may be included such as the answer "Maybe." The answerer answers each question in turn. Sample questions could be: "Is it bigger than a breadbox?" or "Can I put it in my mouth?" Lying is not allowed in the game. If a questioner guesses the correct answer, that questioner wins and becomes the answerer for the next round. If 20 questions are asked without a correct guess, then the answerer has stumped the questioners and gets to be the answerer for another round. Careful selection of questions can greatly improve the odds of the questioner winning the game. For example, a question such as "Does it involve technology for communications, entertainment or work?" can allow the questioner to cover a broad range of areas using a single question that can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no". If the answerer responds with "yes," the questioner can use the next question to narrow down the answer; if the answerer responds with "no," the questioner has successfully eliminated a number of possibilities for the answer. The game encourages deductive reasoning and creativity. Twenty Questions (PDF).

Can you Solve the Three Gods Riddle? - Alex Gendler (youtube)

Inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death.

Trick Questions (misleading) - False Memories

Cross-Examination is the interrogation of a witness called by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination, which is the process of adducing evidence from witnesses in a court of law. Interrogation is formal systematic questioning or inquiry that asks for a reply or to get a confession, sometimes by force or manipulation. False Dilemma.

Question Mark is a punctuation mark that indicates an interrogative clause or phrase in many languages. The question mark is not used for indirect questions.

Why is a question word that is used to get an answer or to receive a reason or cause for something that can help justify or explain that something so that a person can understand that something effectively.

Five W's are Who, What, Where, When, Why and How?

Etiology is the study of causation, or origination.

Movie clip where the kid keeps asking the question 'Why ?' over and over again. This is a clip from the HBO pilot show called Lucky Louie. You should always answer with better answers of course. Never Discourage a Child's need for Answers. "A stupid question is a lot easier to answer than a stupid mistake".

"Not everyone who raises their hand to ask a question gets heard."

"The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life." – Confucius.

"I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” - Richard Feynman (wiki)

"I would rather ask too many questions than to give too many few answers."

One of the main goals of questioning is to help you avoid jumping to conclusions, but you have to be asking the right questions.

"Sometimes people don't know what questions to ask, and other times, people believe they know the answers, so they don't bother asking questions."

"Asking a stupid question usually gets a stupid answer, but asking no question, gets no answer."

"If you don't ask, you don't know. But just because you ask, this doesn't mean that you will get the right answer."

"I question everything, even myself."

"I never gave up on asking why. My interest in the world has always been with me ever since I was a child." Right to Know.

I have no problems, I only have solutions.

"He who has a strong enough why can bear almost any how." - Friedrich Nietzsche - A person with nothing to live for subconsciously prefers death, but someone who has something to live for, and has the reason why they continue to live, can endure almost anything and learn how to survive almost anything. Meaning is not found in circumstances, but rather in the pursuit of objects, people, or activities that an individual finds purpose in.

Security Question is form of shared secret used as an authenticator. It is commonly used by banks, cable companies and wireless providers as an extra security layer. Some examples of security questions are, What is the name of your favorite pet? The name of your teacher in 3rd grade?

Are you a Robot? Are you a Scammer? Are you Two Faced?

Personal Verification Questions is a question and/or answer that a customer may be required to choose and/or provide answers to when prompted.

Authenticator is a means used to confirm a user's identity, that is, to perform digital authentication. A person authenticates to a computer system or application by demonstrating that he or she has possession and control of an authenticator. In the simplest case, the authenticator is a common.

Authentication is the act of proving an assertion, such as the identity of a computer system user.

Electronic Authentication is the process of establishing confidence in user identities electronically presented to an information system.

Knowledge-Based Authentication requires the knowledge of private information from the individual to prove that the person providing the identity information is the owner of the identity.
secret question.

Cognitive Password is a form of knowledge-based authentication that requires a user to answer a question, presumably something they intrinsically know, to verify their identity.

Password or passcode is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity.

Passphrase as a short sentence that's at least 15 characters in length and consists of four or more words. By contrast, a password is usually shorter and more complicated.

Private Key or Secret Key is a variable in cryptography that is used with an algorithm to encrypt and decrypt data. Secret keys should only be shared with the key's generator or parties authorized to decrypt the data.

Wonder Wall is a bulletin board or a student question board that is a designated space in a classroom where students can ask questions. Sometimes teachers can use the wonder wall to ask questions or to save questions that they don't have time to answer in class.

Questions are Relative

Questions are relative, especially when a question only applies to a particular situation. So you must specify an example of a particular scenario and then base your questions on that particular scenario only, because you don't want to ask questions that make underlying assumptions. You don't know the answers to questions that you never asked, so don't make assumptions. Ask questions, and don't pretend to know the answers.

Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How?

Sometimes when people ask a question, the original question is not the actual question that they are asking. They are in fact asking other questions, most likely because they're making false assumptions or they have no idea which questions they should be asking. So you might have to verify what the actual questions are that someone is asking, without you yourself making any assumptions. This also applies to certain answers that people may give. The answer someone gives might not be the whole story, so you may have to investigate and ask a few more questions in order to get the truth. This type of awareness and skill is the power of Human Intelligence, an ability that Artificial Intelligence will never be able to accurately reproduce or imitate. And when things can't be accurate, then they can't be trusted, whether it's a machine or a human. Listen, and then Analyze. There may be a story within a story. Example Scenario: I know this person, so when they ask a particular question at a particular time, I know what they are really asking me. And when they answer a particular question at a particular time, sometimes the answer is saying that they don't want to talk about this particular subject at this particular time. They may also be saying that they are unclear how to answer that question accurately. Example Questions and Answers: So how do you feel? I'm OK. Where have you been? Around. Do you want to talk about something? Not right now.

"Knowing the reasons for your question will always help you ask the right question, just being inquisitive is not enough."

In order for me to answer your question accurately, I would first have to know the reasons why you are asking me this question? This is because the reasons why a question is asked will have an effect on the type of answers that are given to that question. And if an answer can be interpreted in the wrong way or used out on context, then several answers will need to be given, with each answer only applying to that particular question. If this agreement can not be guaranteed, then no answer can be given at this time under these circumstances, especially if the reasons you give for asking the question are misleading in any way.

Clean Language is a technique that aims to support clients in discovering and developing their own symbols and metaphors, rather than the therapist/coach/interviewer suggesting or contributing their own framing of a topic. In other words, instead of "supporting" the client by offering them ready-made metaphors, when the counselor senses that a metaphor would be useful or that a metaphor is conspicuously absent, the counselor asks the client, "And that's like what?" The client is invited to invent their own metaphor. Clean language is primarily used in counseling, psychotherapy and coaching but now also used in education, business, organizational change and health. It has been applied as a research interview technique called clean language interviewing.

Trick Questions - Vague Questions

Clean Language Interviewing aims to maximize the reliability that information collected during an interview derives from the interviewee. CLI seeks to address some of the "threats to validity and reliability" that can occur during an interview and to increase the "trustworthiness" of the data collected. It does this by employing a technique that minimizes the unintended introduction of interviewer content, assumption, leading question structure, presupposition, framing, priming, tacit metaphor and nonverbal aspects such as paralanguage and gesture that may compromise the authenticity of the data collected.

I ask a lot of questions, and some people will say "what are you writing a book?", and this time, I can actually say yes, I am writing a book. But it's more than a book, it's a story that evolves and continually updates. You can't close this book and say I'm finished, because this book has no ending.

It's good that more people are questioning things. But it's bad when people assume things and pretend that they're not being gullible. Questioning things is not about pretending to know the answers to the things that you are questioning. If you stop asking questions, then you are gullible.

Doubt - Skepticism - Scrutiny

Skepticism is doubting the truth or accuracy of something. Questioning certain knowledge or beliefs.

Agnostic - Junk Science - Ponzi's - Skeptic - Skeptic - Sardonicism - Contrarianism

Doubt is being unsure of something. Uncertainty about the truth or factuality or existence of something.

Manufactured Doubt is when someone tries to convince you that certain facts are not accurate in order to make you not trust the information or make you not believe the information.

Biased Research - Conspiracy Theories - Bazar Factoids - Propaganda

Cartesian Doubt is a systematic process of being skeptical about the truth of one's beliefs or doubting what is believed to be true.

Refute is to prove and argue something to be false or incorrect using evidence.

Debunk is to prove something to be false or to expose an exaggerated claim about a myth, idea, or belief.

Scrutiny is to examine carefully for accuracy with the intent of verification. The act of examining something closely for mistakes or errors. To look at critically or searchingly, or in minute detail. A prolonged intense look. 

Intermediate Scrutiny is the second level of deciding issues using judicial review. The other levels are typically referred to as rational basis review or least rigorous and strict scrutiny or most rigorous. In order to overcome the intermediate scrutiny test, it must be shown that the law or policy being challenged furthers an important government interest by means that are substantially related to that interest. That should be contrasted with strict scrutiny, the higher standard of review that requires narrowly tailored and least restrictive means to further a compelling governmental interest.

There's a big difference between skepticism and an ignorant denial of the facts. Skepticism may question facts, but ignorant people wont even look at the facts or even verify the facts.

Misgiving is doubt about someone's honesty. A fearful expectation or anticipation. An uneasiness about the fitness of an action.

Fallacies - Pseudoscience - Science Fraud

Incredulous is when you are not disposed or willing to believe something. Unbelieving.

Misrepresentation refers to a false statement of fact made by one party to another party, which has the effect of inducing that party into the contract.

Misinformation - Beliefs - Money - Philosophy

Cynic is someone who is critical of the motives of others.

Second Guess is to judge or criticize someone with hindsight. To anticipate or predict someone's actions or thoughts by guesswork.

Is it doubt or is it a premonition? Is it doubt or is it paranoia? Intelligence decision making relies on telling the difference between a feeling and a higher level of awareness. Do you look for a sign or do you wait for a sign? To say yes or no is one thing, to understand the reasons why you said yes or no is another.

Hocus Pocus? Testing Miracles | DW Documentary (youtube) - Debunking people who believe they have special powers.

The Society for the Scientific Investigation of Parasciences in Würzburg Germany offers 10,000 euros in prize money to anyone whose supernatural claims can withstand rigorous scientific testing. The society is a gathering of physicists, biologists, and psychologists who don’t want to discount those who delve in the paranormal as crazy, but analyze their claims in laboratory conditions. But so far, all candidates have failed the test, and the 10,000 euros are still in the pot.

James Randi extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively called "woo-woo". Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87. Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator". He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, famously exposing fraudulent faith healer Peter Popoff, and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit! Before Randi's retirement, JREF sponsored the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, which offered a prize of one million US dollars to eligible applicants who could demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties. In 2015, the James Randi Educational Foundation said they will no longer accept applications directly from people claiming to have a paranormal power, but will offer the challenge to anyone who has passed a preliminary test that meets with their approval. An Honest Liar is a 2014 biographical feature film documentary that documents the life of former magician, escape artist, and skeptical educator James Randi, in particular the investigations through which he publicly exposed psychics, faith healers, and con-artists. Activism.

Answer - Reply - Respond

Answer is a reply to a question. An answer is the speech act of replying to a question. An answer is a statement made in response to a question without being vague. An answer can be a solution to a problem or a response to a problem. An answer is a statement that solves a problem or explains how to solve the problem. An answer may help you to understand the meaning of something and be sufficient or adequate in either in quality or quantity. An answer may be satisfactory and meet the requirements of some question and serve as a purpose for a particular action. An answer is to react verbally or in writing that shows a response or a reaction to something or as the result of something.

Math Calculation - Next Word Algorithm -  Validity - Bias Errors - Q&A

The answer my friend may not be blowing in the wind, the answers may be floating around in your head, and maybe you have not yet made the right connections to the information and knowledge that you already have that would make you realize the answers that you already have. But if you don't have certain information and knowledge, then you will never find the answers. This is why learning is so extremely important.

Closure is seeking answers to questions that can explain an event so that understanding can be obtained in order to learn from the experience and avoid confusion or ambiguity and the vulnerability of experiencing a similar mistake again in the future. Also to avoid reliving a traumatic moment people should always attempt to acquire new knowledge to satisfy questions regarding particular issues. Seek a resolution or a conclusion but always leave room for new information that might formulate a more accurate understanding.

How many questions do you think you need to ask in order to fully understand something? Depends on the answers. Why? Why does this matter? What? What is the most important matter at this moment? What are the priorities? Where? Is the location relevant? Where is this information leading to? Who? What person or people is this in reference to? Does it matter who it is? When? When will this information affect me? When will I need to end this transmission? How? How did this happen? How did this transmission first initiate? Do I have the time? Do I care what time is? Am I learning something? Am I teaching something? Are there any other questions that I should be asking? After the transmission is completed, please show appreciation without discrimination. So what's next?

Who Knows is an answer that someone gives when they don't know the answer, and they assume that no one knows the answer either.

Who Knew is an answer that someone gives when they don't know the answer, and that maybe no one knew the answer either.

You need to know the difference between opinion and fact, and you also need to know why some people criticize. Some people have personal motives when giving opinions, so they are corrupted, narrow minded and very dangerous. 

So called experts need to be questioned too, as well as the research.

Don't Blindly Believe - Conformity - Propaganda - Information Literacy - Denial - Morals - Memory - Self-Directed Learning - Media Literacy

People who decline information or avoid certain information are just misinformed and really don't understand the benefits of information and how knowing things actually helps their decision making. This is just another side effect of our failing education system that is combined with our ignorant media outlets. If people were better informed on how to use information, and better educated to correctly understand information, then people would never decline or avoid information, in fact people would seek information instead of waiting for it to appear. People opting to remain ignorant is just a learning disability that they can easily fix.

Questioning as an Epistemic Process of Critical Thinking. POLYCARP IKUENOBE. Department of Philosophy, Kent State University. Educational Philosophy and Theory, Vol. 33, Nos. 3 & 4, 2001 -  Introduction: The idea of questioning one’s idea is regarded by many as an affront. This attitude towards questioning suggests that it is rude, especially when it is persistent. Questioning is considered a way of casting aspersions on one’s ability or the reasonableness of one’s view. Questioning is often taken to mean that one is not making a good point or one is not articulating one’s ideas properly. As a result, questioning tends to engender a defensive response. This attitude has a long tradition. It was responsible for how Socrates was received by Athenians, and why he was eventually killed. By questioning persistently for justifications and clarifications, Socrates got on people’s nerves and sometimes humiliated them; he made people realize they did not quite know what they thought they knew. This angered them. Socrates argued that the attitude of wanting one’s ideas to be always ‘validated’ and not questioned is intellectually stagnating and is a mark of ‘ignorance’. He pointed this out in his idea of ‘wisdom’. A wise person is one who is always willing to ‘learn’. Such a person assumes tentatively that she does not know. She is willing to methodologically suspend her belief and question it for the purpose of exploring it, to expand her knowledge. The process of questioning—for the purpose of eliciting information and adequate justifications—represents an epistemic attitude which is necessary for critical thinking. Such attitude is often what teachers want to engender in students as critical thinkers. In this paper I explore, in general, the sense in which questioning may be regarded as an epistemic process of critical thinking and I offer a theoretical foundation and argument for encouraging such process. More specifically, I do this by analyzing the notion of questioning, to show its logic as an open-ended process of inquiry and its function, as a process of critical thinking. Critical thinking involves a disposition to a rigorous process of inquiring, learning and acquiring knowledge, in terms of rationally evaluating and justifying beliefs. I argue that the open-ended logic of questioning reveals its epistemic feature and heuristic value as a process of critical thinking. And that the epistemic value of this process is given credence and motivated by human fallibilism. The realization of such fallibility and the effort to avoid or correct errors is a motivation for critical thinking, construed in terms of fallibilistic epistemology. The epistemic value of questioning is usually not adequately appreciated, hence its negative connotation. An appreciation of the plausible epistemic basis and value of questioning may obviate the negative connotation it engenders. This apparent problem unduly hangs clouds over questioning as an epistemic process and a pedagogical tool. Any theoretical effort to motivate questioning as a process of learning and teaching will be adequate only if it is sensitive to this problem. We should bear in mind the theoretical connection between the process or method of learning or acquiring knowledge (epistemology) and the tools or methods for teaching (pedagogy). The process or method of imparting knowledge, teaching and helping people learn and the process or method of acquiring knowledge are theoretically coextensive. As such, questioning may be a valuable tool for teaching and learning critical thinking skills. I do not provide a detailed description of how this strategy could be used in class the way Hyman (1979), Dillon (1983) and Blosser (1973) do. I only provide a theoretical foundation and justification for its use in relation to teaching and acquiring critical thinking skills and abilities. Thus my concern is whether there is a way to motivate questioning or highlight its value both as a process of acquiring knowledge and of teaching, to make it appealing. I suggest that exploring the logic, epistemology and functions of questioning as an epistemic process of critical thinking may be able to do this. In order to appreciate how questioning may be construed as an epistemic process of critical thinking, we need to understand the nature of critical thinking and its plausible motivation. We may start by addressing the following questions: (1) What is critical thinking? (2) What are its epistemological features and motivation? (3) What are the logical and epistemological nature and functions of questioning? (4) How does the nature and function of questioning make it a process of critical thinking? Fallibilism and an Epistemic View of Critical Thinking Critical thinking involves the rigorous process or method of ascribing reasonableness to a belief. In Goldman’s view (1986), an epistemic theory of justified belief is necessary to account for a justifiable ascription of reasonableness to a belief. A plausible epistemic conception of the process of critical thinking may be couched in terms of a normative fallibilistic epistemology. This view is grounded in the fact of human fallibilism, the limitations in human cognitive abilities, our awareness of such a fact and the conscious effort and willingness to avoid or mitigate such fallibilism. Such effort or willingness involves adopting a rigorous and critical attitude for evaluating a belief, which requires that we be tentative about the reasonableness of our beliefs and that we be always open to other plausible evidence or counter evidence. Fallibilism in this sense implies that we accept a belief tentatively in the context of the currently available evidence. We may need to distinguish between substantive skepticism and fallibilism (which is a kind of methodological skepticism). Substantive skepticism says we do not or cannot have knowledge. This view is considered incoherent because to say that we do or cannot have knowledge is to imply that we do in fact have some knowledge, which is that we cannot have knowledge. Fallibilism says we could be mistaken but grants that we do in fact know some things. The implication of fallibilism for critical thinking is that we should adopt stringent methods, whereas the implication of substantive skepticism is that there is no need to try. An epistemic view of critical thinking specifies how we ought to acquire and justify beliefs. This process must involve rigorous inquiry and the critical analysis and evaluation of evidence. The normative view regarding how we ought to acquire beliefs implies that we have an epistemic obligation to use the appropriate method or process that will lead to reasonable beliefs. If we do not, there is a reasonable basis to make an epistemic judgment that we do not have a reasonable belief. However an epistemic theory must be sensitive to human fallible cognitive processes, which are the causal and justificatory basis for acquiring belief. These causal processes and beliefs are circumscribed by and contingent on the facts about one’s context and condition. So the normative view of fallibilism is parasitic on some factual properties and conditions about human fallibilism. The normative view presupposes, in part, that we are cognitively capable of using the normatively prescribed process or method. One needs to appreciate the distinction between the factual and epistemic claims about fallibilism in order to understand the plausible connection between them, as a way to illuminate the epistemic notion of critical thinking. The epistemic claim of fallibilism involves a prescription to adopt critical thinking process and attitude regarding what ought to be considered knowledge. It specifies the rigorous standards by which we determine whether one’s belief is justified or reasonable. To the extent that we are aware of our fallibility, we should make reasonable efforts to guard against, avoid and correct our errors. This involves being tentative and methodologically skeptical (McPeck, 1981). It involves questioning and ‘methodologically casting aspersions’ on beliefs and evidence, being open to new evidence and being willing to change one’s beliefs with new evidence. This process is methodologically adversarial and confrontational. According to Siegel (1988), Fallibilism is ‘the thesis that all our knowledge-claims are open to revision and are possibly mistaken’ (p. 145n). This statement regarding the nature and motivation for critical thinking is ambiguous in a sense. It could be understood as a factual thesis about the nature of human knowledge-claims. It could also be understood as a normative statement regarding how we ought to determine the nature of a knowledge-claim. This is the view that is directly relevant to the nature of critical thinking as an epistemic process of inquiry. We need to know how such factual statements may motivate an epistemic view of critical thinking as a process by which we ought to reason, acquire beliefs or engage in inquiry. Fallibilistic epistemology, as a normative thesis, says that S knows that q, if and only if there is a justification r for S’s belief that q, such that r being a confirmed and ‘undefeated’ evidence for q only makes it highly probable that q is true. This theory allows a person to know ‘something’ on the condition that a plausible justification exists in support for what one claims to know, such that the supporting evidence being well confirmed and ‘undefeated’ only makes it reasonable to believe that what one claims to know is highly likely to be true. Fallibilistic epistemology implies that if a belief is well confirmed and we have no negative evidence or ‘defeater’ to vitiate our justification, we hold it as conditional knowledge or justified belief in the given context of relevant alternatives and available evidence, we are able to get new information to improve our state of knowledge, such that when the hitherto warranted evidence no longer supports our beliefs, we are bound to modify our beliefs. There is a plausible universal and intuitive appeal for fallibilistic epistemology. Part of this appeal derives from the obvious truth that human beings are by their nature susceptible to error. Human beings realize as part of their rationality that they are fallible, and this is reacted in their cognitive processes which play an important role in their process of acquiring, justifying and modifying beliefs. Our perception and reasoning are susceptible to error, and since knowledge is a product of either the process of reasoning or perception or both, it is invariably susceptible to error—as a function of the ‘faulty’ process. However people have strong intuitions that we do know many things. Fallibilistic epistemology is the attempt to articulate a theory of knowledge, which will square with our common-sense view that we do know many things, and that we are also susceptible to error. It is an attempt to avoid substantive skepticism in spite of our fallible cognitive processes. Fallibilism provides a foundation for Nicholas Burbules’ (1991) conception of critical thinking as reasonableness, which he argues, involves ‘being willing to admit that one is wrong’ (p. 250). Such reasonableness suggests that we are willing to evaluate evidence and that we make concerted efforts to provide adequate justifications. Since we can be in error, we should not immediately accept a belief without proper examination. Critical thinking specifies a set of attitudes, processes, methods and contexts which will facilitate our ability to do inquiry, to avoid and correct errors so as to arrive at a reasonable belief. Such attitudes include, according to D’Angelo (1971), open-mindedness, intellectual curiosity, flexibility, intellectual honesty, methodological skepticism, persistence, objectivity and respect for views (pp. 7–9). The plausible connection between the factual and epistemic claims of fallibilism—in terms of the factual claim motivating the epistemic claim—may be illuminated by the ‘ought implies can’ principle. What we ought to do implies what we can indeed do. If we cannot do something, then it is unreasonable to expect that we ought to do it or make a judgment about us on the basis of a standard which we cannot achieve. This suggests that we may not hold one ‘epistemically responsible’ persona or epistemically evaluate one’s belief on the basis of what it is impossible for one to do or avoid doing. So considerations about how we ought to acquire knowledge or what ought to be considered knowledge (epistemic claim) has to be sensitive to, or parasitic on, considerations regarding how we can possibly acquire knowledge and what we can possibly know (factual claim). If we ought (or are expected) to acquire knowledge or justified belief by the process of questioning and critical examination, then (1) we must, given our cognitive abilities, be capable of engaging is such process, and (2) the conditions and context which support such processes of questioning and examination must exist. Such context includes what Bridges characterizes as moral preconditions, namely: reasonableness, receptivity, peaceableness, orderliness, truthfulness, freedom, equality and respect (Bridges, 1979, pp. 21–24). These conditions imply that we do not see questioning as critical thinking ability in a negative light; we should be receptive to it instead. They imply that we provide a motivation for the requisite abilities and investigate the ‘contexts that support or encourage them; and into the barriers that impede them’ (Burbules, 1991, p. 250). The epistemic importance of the plausible connection between the factual and normative theses of fallibilism with respect to critical thinking has to do with the idea that the factual thesis and our realization of such fact engender that we set a high and rigorous standard for acquiring knowledge, with a view to avoiding or correcting errors: this is the motivation for critical thinking. The fact that our knowledge is only highly probable (given human fallibilism) implies that there is a window of opportunity for one to be in error. Insofar as such a window exists, no matter how small, we should be committed to questioning and critically exploring it. This is because the most reasonable belief is one which approximates the truth and is held by one based on critical thinking. Truth in some metaphysical or logical sense is an ideal (Popper, 1985; Russell, 1965) that we are trying to epistemically get at by a process of inquiry. This requires that we engage in the process of critical thinking which is more likely to get us closer to such an ideal. It is assumed that given our fallibilism, we may not know what the truth is or arrive at the ideal, in terms of the true metaphysical nature of reality. Truth in this metaphysical sense is the actual state of affairs or reality itself in terms of what Kant calls the noumena, to which statements approximately correspond. It is in this regard that Popper sees truth epistemically as a verisimilitude. Human knowledge can be conceived only in terms of a verisimilitude because it is based on induction, the ‘defeasibility’ of available evidence, and susceptibility to error; this necessitates critical thinking. The more rigorous our critical thinking and the more the belief is confirmed via such processes, the nearer to the truth our knowledge will be and the more reasonable. Bertrand Russell (1959) argues that most of our beliefs are based on induction, and we accept them because they have a probability of being true. The higher the probability the nearer we are to truth, but we may never reach the truth because there is always the possibility of error. He concludes that the highest probability is all we ought to seek via a critical process; it is all that we can achieve. To accept a belief as the truth (as opposed to an approximation of the truth or the most reasonable belief) is, in some sense, to say that the belief is no longer open to question or further consideration of new evidence. The inquiry is closed! This attitude is considered in many relevant contexts as dogmatic. This is inconsistent with the idea of critical thinking and fallibilism. So the attitude or principle of rigorous inquiry which a critical thinker must have entails an understanding of the criteria for assessing reasons offered for the justification of one’s beliefs and being able to apply these criteria. This idea is couched in the normative notion of ‘reason’ and its cognates, such as rationality, evaluation, justification, reasonableness, assessment and judgment, which feature pervasively in the different conceptions of critical thinking. To think critically involves being able to question and evaluate beliefs in order to optimize the reasonableness of a belief. This is a process of placing evidential strictures on one’s doxastic attitude and the process of justification, to approximate the truth. After critically evaluating and questioning a number of evidence, then one is ‘moved’ to make the judgment that there is adequate evidence to consider it reasonable. 330 P. Ikuenobe It is in this sense that Siegel (1988) argues that critical thinking involves being ‘appropriately moved by reasons’ (pp. 32–42) to accept a belief after a rigorous process of questioning. This involves using the reasoning skills, critical dispositions, attitudes and habits that are required to assess statements, beliefs and issues as a basis for accepting them as reasonable. He accepts that the criteria by which we assess the appropriateness of the reasons which ‘move’ us to accept beliefs as reasonable are fallible, open to revision and are possibly mistaken (p. 145). Thus critical thinking ‘may include the use (or rejection) of methods, strategies and techniques as exemplars’ (McPeck, 1981, p. 13), which requires questioning our fundamental methods. This suggests why we may not accept a belief as the truth such that we regard further inquiry closed. Critical thinking process suggests some strictures which may help us to minimise our fallible tendencies. Siegel (1988) makes this point rather ambiguously with respect to the connection between critical thinking and fallibilism, when he argues that ‘Fallibilism… requires that we keep open the possibility of criticizing the very criteria of legitimate criticism we utilize’ (p. 144n). It is not clear whether it is the fact of human fallibilism and our awareness of it that requires this or the epistemic standard regarding how we ought to know, or both, in the sense that the epistemic is dependent or parasitic on the factual. So a robust sense of critical thinking may be seen as a fallibilistic epistemic process of questioning and evaluating statements, beliefs, arguments, knowledge and experience. Being able to question as a rigorous process of inquiry, to evaluate evidence and determine the reasonableness of a belief, is regarded as the hallmark of a critical thinker, who is also regarded as the paradigm of a liberally educated person. This process implies that all available evidence, assumptions and general network of beliefs in a given context be questioned and critically examined and evaluated. This, according to Paul (1982), involves a broad view or a ‘strong’ sense of critical thinking. This involves, (1) the avoidance of atomistic view of logical errors in individual reasoning, (2) a concern about self-deception with respect to reasoning, and (3) the disposition of a person in a given context to have a reasonable doxastic attitude. It also requires some sensitivity to the psychological, sociocentric, cognitive and egocentric components of one’s world-views, which shape one’s beliefs and reasoning. The ‘strong’ sense of critical thinking requires the exploration of the network of arguments, issues and views as the context for justification, in the attempt to ‘depersonalise’ one’s world-view. This strong view demands that people be willing and encouraged to actively question, challenge and criticize their most fundamental beliefs. A core feature of some conceptions of critical thinking involves having a disposition, attitude, and willingness, (1) to actually use one’s abilities to effectively analyze issues, solve problems, reason, organize and express ideas, and make reasoned judgments, and (2) to contextualize the use of these abilities to different relevant subject matters. According to Morgan & Wayne (1995), one of the points ‘of agreement among the definitions concerns the effective component of critical thinking. Critical thinking is dependent upon a person’s disposition to use it’ (p. 338). Critical thinking involves a disposition which depends on a context that allows for its development and use. Hence the process of questioning needs to be taught in the context of a subject matter. We also need to teach how it is best used to achieve the requisite result. This idea is illuminated by Aristotle’s view of virtue. Critical thinking involves, in some sense, the practical disposition to be epistemically virtuous. Such virtue would emerge only if someone learns to do virtuous acts all the time and thus forms the habit of doing virtuous acts; this requires a context which engenders such disposition and actions. Hence many theorists (McPeck, Siegel and Burbules, among others) see critical thinking as a set of intellectual behaviors and abilities which have to be used, nurtured and demonstrated—but only when such a context exists. The Logic and Epistemology of Questioning Hintikka argues that a striking feature of questioning as a philosophical method, and in my view as an epistemic process, is its inherent open-ended process, in that there is the possibility of one question to lead to another. The process of questioning implies that it has the logic of open-ended question-and-answer sequences. Questioning implies a process of continuously opening up issues about the reasonableness of a belief; it requires providing better evidence or counter-evidence. This idea is coextensive with the idea that, with better evidence or counter-evidence, what we thought we knew could in fact be false—which is the idea that we are indeed fallible. The epistemic standard of fallibilism which is parasitic on this idea or fact about human fallibilism provides a theoretical motivation for critical thinking, which involves the need for us to acquire and adopt a fallible disposition and critical attitude. Such an attitude or disposition involves using the process of questioning to critically engage in inquiry. Such an attitude can be learned if one can be taught to appreciate the logic, functions and significance of questioning with respect to knowledge acquisition. However it is pertinent to address more precisely the logic of questioning as an open-ended process. In this regard, Jaakko Hintikka’s analysis of questioning as a philosophical method may illuminate its nature as an epistemic process of critical thinking. In his analysis, he argues that questioning ‘offers a useful model for many different types of knowledge-seeking’ (1984, p. 25). These types of knowledge-seeking include, in my view, learning, inquiring, eliciting information, reasoning, evaluating evidence and determining the reasonableness of a belief. Hintikka construes questioning as having a logical structure, which involves a question-and-answer sequence. A question has a logical correlative in terms of an answer, which provides the information being sought by questioning. It is by virtue that this logic may be seen as an epistemic process of critical thinking, to the extent that critical thinking involves the process and attitude of being always open to new evidence and questioning one’s evidence and the reasonableness of beliefs. This logic implies that we should never dogmatically accept a belief or regard any issue as settled. However we may accept that an issue is tentatively settled and a belief is unquestionable given the evidence we have. To regard an issue as unquestionable implies an attitude of dogmatism which is opposed to the fact that we may be mistaken. This is also akin to the idea of critical thinking insofar as critical thinking is opposed to dogmatism. To the extent that questioning has the logic of opening up a new set of question-and-answer sequences and the opportunity to be open to new evidence it is not dogmatic. The logic of questioning implies that we have the attitude that we may be mistaken. This logic indicates its value as an epistemic process of critical thinking. This logic is manifested in our ordinary use of language. When we say that the point is ‘unquestionably’ correct, this implies that the issue is resolved, it is understood and no further questions may be asked to explore it further. But if it is questionable, then it has to be explored or clarified further. By this open-ended logic of questioning, ‘we can discuss and evaluate, not just someone’s state of knowledge at a given time (vis-a-vis the evidence one has at the time) but also entire strategies of knowledge-seeking’ (Hintikka, 1984, p. 30). Anytime a person asks a question, she is seeking information in the form of an answer. This information seeks to eliminate some plausible alternative answers to the question. For instance, the question ‘What caused the American civil war?’ suggests that there is a logical correlative in terms of an answer, ‘x caused the American Civil War.’ The question seeks information regarding x, which ‘is a conclusive answer if and only if it provides the questioner with the information that was requested’ (Hintikka, 1984, p. 27). For this information to be knowledge, (1) it must be true or at least likely to be true, (2) the person who provides it is honest, serious and sincerely believes in it, and (3) it is backed up by sufficient and ‘undefeated’ evidence. When the information is presented to the questioner and she accepts it, it becomes reasonable for her to say truly ‘I know that so-and-so caused the American Civil War’. The information presents a factor in a possible range of factors that may have caused the American Civil War. The information may not imply that one and only one factor caused the American Civil War. The person who provides the information must not absolutely believe that one and only one factor caused the American Civil War. Her belief or answer can be further questioned or explored to determine its adequacy and reasonableness. There may be other information, evidence, factors and insights that have not been explored which may justify one’s belief. This idea is given credence by the iterative nature of justification which might be understood against the background of human fallibilism. If I use x to justify my belief y, then I need to justify x with z, and z with w, and so on. Hence a belief is reasonable only in the context of evidential or inferential relations among all available beliefs and evidence. Thus the value of any answer is determined in terms of the information it provides for the questioner in the context of the inferential and evidential relations among all available evidence and accepted beliefs and the opportunity and possibility for it to lead to further indeterminate question-and answer sequences. However an answer to a question may not satisfy a questioner. In this regard, the notion of questioning has a psychological correlative, which is the expectation that an answer should provide some information and satisfaction. This derives from the idea that an answer must satisfy our curiosity and make sense, in that we believe it is likely to be true based on its evidential relations to our background beliefs, meta-beliefs and conceptual scheme. We are then emotionally satisfied by an answer if it makes sense to us; it is consistent with our coherent set of beliefs; hence it is considered justified. If the information is inconsistent with our system of beliefs and our expectation of what the ‘correct’ answer should be, then we are not likely to be satisfied with the answer provided. Such inconsistency provides an uncomfortable feeling of dissatisfaction with the answer provided. The process of questioning helps us to critically think and react on our background beliefs and the inferential relation between answers and our beliefs, to make sense of it in order to satisfy us. Thus questioning is a powerful epistemic tool, with tremendous value in that it allows us to regard any issue as open—it is not unquestionable. This open-ended logic of questioning, Hintikka (1984) argues, derives in part from the fact that questions are usually not asked in vacuum, but within the context of some assumptions, background beliefs, meta-beliefs and the available information. There are explicit or implicit evidentiary and inferential links between assumptions, evidence or justification, and answers or beliefs, which questions, and the process of questioning, seek to bring out, to get a satisfactory answer. In this regard, questions and answers are context- or theoryladen in the same way in which the reasonableness of a belief is contextual in relation to the available evidence. This gives credence to the idea that critical thinking as a process of questioning and determining the reasonableness of a belief is also contextual (Burbules, 1991). The assumptions and context that underlying questions raise are in themselves antecedent questions, which have to be answered in order to provide adequate information which may illuminate the target question. Just as a question presupposes other questions and answers, an answer is also provided within the context of assumptions about other questions and answers. These assumptions may raise questions which have to be answered, to see how the individual who provides an answer ‘makes’ the logical question-and-answer connection or the inferential connection between belief and evidence. This includes observational or perceptual beliefs and evidence. What we claim to know, as the basis for answers, may derive from observations and beliefs. They are a kind of inference which is made on the basis of our conceptual scheme, background beliefs and meta-beliefs. Critical thinking in this regard involves the process of questioning, examining and evaluating beliefs to determine whether our experience and beliefs are warranted. We may say that the process of observation involves critical thinking: that of making a reasoned connection between our conceptual scheme or background beliefs as evidence and our perception. For instance my ability to adequately observe, justifiably believe, identify or know that a certain object is a chair suggests that I do have some concept of a chair. This means that the object that I perceive falls into the conceptual category of things that I think of as ‘chairlike’. So if my concept of chair is correct, and my ‘perception’ of the features of the object is correct, my identification of the object as a chair cannot be false; it follows necessarily from my premisses. We can ‘see’ and evaluate a conceptual scheme and the reasoning process of making observations by asking some appropriate questions. If someone asks me why I identify x as a chair, I would answer by providing the necessary and sufficient conditions for what I think must hold for an object to be designated as a chair. I would catalogue the relevant features of a chair that the thing x has and I would say that it is as a result of these features that I have categorized x as a chair. You will then have an idea of my beliefs about the nature of a chair, the object x, and my reasoning in terms of how I make the connection between my idea of the nature of a chair and the features of x as observations or beliefs. The fact that a question-and-answer sequence has the possibility of generating other series of question-and-answer sequences suggests that there is always the possibility of exploring the context and assumptions which underpin the questions and answers. This helps one to come to grips with one’s fallibilism and assumptions which were not obvious. If a set of assumptions is seen as plausible, then one is able to know this in relation to one’s belief and answers. If they are not plausible, then they have to be jettisoned, modified or changed. This idea of seeing a network of assumptions and beliefs and questioning or examining them is what is captured by Paul’s (1982) view of ‘strong’ critical thinking. When certain assumptions are questionable and therefore questioned, then one realizes that the basis for one’s answer is suspect. One can reasonably see how such assumptions may contaminate one’s answer for one to be mistaken. One may see how differences or similarities in assumptions, evidence and reasoning may illuminate a view and make it understandable. This realization may engender the process of critical thinking and a positive attitude towards questioning. The Functions of Questioning: epistemic and pedagogical implications From the analysis of logic questioning, we can, in some sense, see some of the functions it performs and their epistemological and pedagogical implications. Questioning performs the functions of increasing our overall knowledge, which may result in our ability to avoid or correct errors because we are fallible. It helps us to get a deeper understanding of issues. In this regard, we may identify two fundamental functions of questioning. The primary function is that it is information-seeking. An answer to a question provides information which adds something to the epistemic state of the questioner. The secondary function is that it engenders critical analysis. Questioning can help us to explore issues about the initial information provided, to determine its adequacy. This secondary function of questioning includes, among others, challenging and criticizing in a positive and constructive way, to help people explore their ideas. The questioning that proceeds after an initial question has been answered may be for the purpose of exploring and providing new perspectives. This could be in the form of playing the ‘devil’s advocate’, in order to provide an opportunity for both the questioner and the questionee to react on a belief and the underlying reasoning or evidence. The function of questioning is illuminated by its logic, which is similar to the logic of dialectics. Such a dialectical process involves seeing the answer to a question as a thesis, which can be further questioned to arrive at an antithesis. The antithesis can in turn be questioned to arrive at a synthesis, and this may be seen as a different thesis which can be questioned ad indium. This open-ended nature of questioning involves a method of moving knowledge and inquiry forward. With respect to the primary and secondary functions of questioning, we may distinguish between fact-finding questions and analytical questions. Fact-finding questions are questions which require one to supply informational facts which are verifiable. For instance, I may ask, ‘On what date did America become an independent country?’ or ‘Who is the author of Macbeth?’ These questions are fact-finding, in that they are seeking specific answers in the form of facts which can be verified. The notion of ‘information-seeking’ is broader than the notion of ‘fact-finding’. One may seek information in terms of opinions or ideas which may not constitute facts. If, for instance, I ask in an Ethics class, ‘What is your stance on abortion?’ or ‘What is the argument for your stance?’, I am seeking information about a plausible opinion and reasons which are not facts as such. These are not fact-finding questions but are information-seeking; thus, all fact-finding questions are information-seeking, but the converse is not true. An analytical question is one which requires one to explore, explicate, examine, clarify, dissect, react on and relate issues or ideas. Analytical questions unlike fact-finding questions might help to elicit the reasoning behind an idea in order to fully unpack it and make it accessible and understandable, such that the reasonableness of the idea may be evaluated and determined. The following may constitute a systematic sequence of analytical questions in social and moral discourse: What do you mean when you say all humans are equal? What does equality mean? Can we distinguish between factual and prescriptive equality? In what sense are all human beings equal? Are you saying that as an adult, I am equal to a one-year-old baby? Do you want to suggest that a medical doctor should receive the equal wage to a cashier in a McDonalds restaurant? These questions do not seek facts as such, but they seek to explicate and analyze issues and concepts. These analytical questions are information-seeking in the primary sense; they open up the opportunity to ask further exploratory questions, to improve one’s epistemic state. So analytical questions may be information-seeking as well. Hintikka draws an analogy between the analytical-information-seeking variant of questioning in interrogation and deductive reasoning (1984, p. 35). He provides an example of this in Plato’s dialogue, Meno, which shows how by questioning, Socrates helped a slave-boy to analytically elicit complicated knowledge of geometry. This represents a classic case of how appropriate questioning may help someone to unearth tacit knowledge or unpack complex and implicit meaning of concepts. In this sense, analytical questions involve a process of critical thinking, in that they seek to explore implicit meanings, inferences, underlying assumptions and justifications. They involve exploring implications of ideas and the evidential or causal relations among evidence, ideas, contexts, patterns and trends. From the distinction and characterization of fact-finding and analytical questions, we can see that statements regarding the evidentiary or inferential connection between answer and question may be either a posteriori and synthetic or a priori and analytic. For instance, a question may be a way of requesting that one makes some analytic connections between two sets of ideas in order to clarify meaning. For instance, one might ask, ‘What do you mean when you say Jane is a spinster?’. The answer would be, ‘I mean that Jane is an unmarried female’. The question requires that one articulates the idea of ‘spinster’ which is not fully grasped by the questioner in terms of ‘unmarried female’. A question could also be a request for one to be aware of and to react on one’s tacit reasoning process or belief. In making the connection between inference or reasoning (which has relevance to the notion of critical thinking) and questioning, Hintikka (1981, 1983) argues very forcefully that what people call ‘inference’ or ‘deduction’ in a nonphilosophical parlance is actually a sequence of implicit question and answer. We sometimes see this in a court of law where a lawyer may use questions to elicit a set of answers from witnesses, from which she makes inferences and connections as a basis for making her cases, and by which a judge or jury decides a case regarding guilt or innocence. The questions in this case elicit tacit or implicit information. The principle of fallibilism, which requires us to be methodologically tentative about our beliefs, is a motivation for questioning, as a process of seeking information, activating tacit knowledge, evaluating evidence and examining beliefs. This principle governs the quest for the best deductive procedures (Hintikka, 1981, 1983). It has to do with a process of infusing rigor into inquiry, making sure that there is consistency or coherence among beliefs and that there is appropriate justifiatory connection between belief and evidence. The truth of a proposition in a deduction is evidentially transmitted to other propositions that it entails to form a consistent and justifiable set of propositions. This principle explains how we rationally form, justify, modify or change our beliefs. However it is pertinent to distinguish between the proper epistemic sense of questioning, that which performs the above functions and has the requisite logic and heuristic value, and the attenuated senses of questioning, which may legitimately engender negative attitudes. Some of these attenuated senses of questioning are used in a confrontational manner for badgering and as a rhetorical device. These senses my analysis of questioning as an epistemic process of critical thinking wants to delegitimise, to obviate the negative attitude. Questioning is supposed to help build a bridge between a questioner and questionee in terms of the each sides cognitive state; such possibility is vitiated by the negative attitude associated with it. If I ask a question with the expectation that you will understand my question and provide me with a plausible answer, then my assumption is that we do at least have similar or coextensive background beliefs or cognitive abilities. We have ideas about the nature of rational processes or background and meta-beliefs that a person should have in order to engage in a meaningful question-and-answer sequence for the sake of examining issues and improving knowledge. Critical Examination of Questioning as a Process of Critical Thinking In the Humanities, analytical questioning is used to explore the components of an issue, the reasoning behind views and beliefs, and their implications, such that one can come to a better understanding, and perhaps, different ways of looking at an issue. This point is usually not well appreciated by many students. They think that learning involves knowing the correct answer to a question, which is synonymous with knowing the truth. Thus they are more interested in finding the true answer to a question. Once we have arrived at an answer which represents the ‘truth’, inquiry ends. Their view is that the notion of truth is absolute. We should not question the answer any further to explore its implications, assumptions, merits and flaws. Although some students appreciate the importance of an intellectual inquiry in its attempt to arrive at truth, they do not seem to appreciate the importance of the rigorous, analytical and critical process for arriving at truth: that the rigor of the process determines in part the reasonableness of what is accepted as true. Such reasonableness depends on the adequacy of the evidence and the method bringing evidence to bear on our beliefs. As far as many students are concerned, if questioning has any merit at all, it is vitiated by what is considered its adversarial and confrontational approach, which engenders a negative attitude. This attitude towards questioning is similar to Moulton’s (1983) attitude towards the method of analytic philosophy. She argues that this method involves constantly looking for better reasons and counter-examples to refute or rebut another person’s argument. She argues that this method is fundamentally adversarial and it is not conducive for learning philosophy. Although Moulton’s argument is instructive regarding the attitude associated with the adversarial method, she does not address the adequacy of the rigour of such a method. One gets the impression that she is suggesting that the adequacy of the rigor of the method is irrelevant insofar as it engenders a negative attitude. However if questioning is seen as reacting this adversarial approach, then one can appreciate why, according to Moulton’s arguments regarding the negative attitude, it may not be seen as a tool that is conducive for teaching and helping students learn. It is also pertinent to mention that if one appreciates the heuristic value of questioning, the negative attitude it generates may be for the most part deemed unwarranted. One heuristic value of an argument for questioning in relation to fallibilistic epistemology is that it represents the falsification method of inquiry in science. Science is generally accepted as involving a paradigm case of rigorous inquiry. Questioning represents the rigorous process of testing a belief as a hypothesis. In an attempt to falsify it, we question the reasons and evidence that are brought to bear on it. This process, which many have characterized as critical thinking, may be uncomfortable. Because people usually emotionally invest in their beliefs, when the beliefs are deemed to be awed or unjustifiably held, it appears as if they have lost their investment. This is the idea reacted in the old saying ‘if ignorance is bliss it is folly to be wise’. The corollary of this idea is that if wisdom is unpleasant, then it is appropriate to be ignorant: if the process of learning and acquiring ‘wisdom’ is not pleasurable, then it is apparently more comfortable to be ignorant. A learning process is a humbling process, thus it is unpleasant. But the actual feeling involved in one’s realization and state of knowing (as opposed to the process of knowing) is pleasant, hence it is unpleasant if it turns out we do not actually know what we thought we knew. It is in the sense of such a possibility that learning, which derives from critical thinking, is an on-going, never-ending process. We always entertain doubt and question in order to expand our knowledge. Thus the rigorous process of acquiring knowledge is open-ended; this suggests why, given fallibilism, the open-ended logic of questioning is coextensive with the open-ended process of acquiring knowledge. 338 P. Ikuenobe However the open-ended implication of questioning and the indeterminacy of question-and-answer sequences could be seen as implying an unsatisfactory epistemological position. This is the position of perpetual or absolute skepticism, which is that, since we cannot be certain about our knowledge because we could be in error, therefore, we cannot have knowledge. If we cannot be certain about any belief because it is always open to question (not ‘unquestionable’), then it is not worth the name knowledge. So if we can always doubt our knowledge, it seems to follow that we do not know, since what we know should not be susceptible to doubt or error. This conclusion is a non-sequitur because the fact that we are sometimes in error (fallibilism) does not imply that we are always in error (skepticism). By a nonvacuous contrast, if we know when we are in error, then we should know when we are not likely to be in error. We do have strong intuitions that we know many things. The implication of open-endedness, Hintikka (1984) argues, should not count against the value of questioning as a philosophical and epistemic tool; hence, in my view, it can be used as a tool for teaching and learning. He argues instead that this view of questioning highlights its heuristic value as a methodology of learning and imparting knowledge. That it implies this interesting epistemic situation is a strong reason to favor it; it involves the process of exploring and examining beliefs to avoid dogmatism. However the fact that questioning can help us avoid dogmatism and move knowledge forward, in terms of the possibility of highlighting a lack of appropriate justification, it may lead to the frustration that we cannot arrive at the truth, especially in the Humanities, where many of the issues are abstract and conceptual. This is an indication of human nature with fallible cognitive processes; we should neither be frustrated about it nor lament it. Since questioning as an epistemic process helps to foster growth in knowledge, to avoid questioning is to foreclose growth in knowledge that may be brought about by new and rigorous perspectives, and to tend towards dogmatism. The connection between questioning and critical thinking can be understood, in part, by seeing that they are both conceptually grounded in the theory of fallibilistic epistemology—which is motivated by the facts about human fallibilism. In this sense, at least, they are conceptually coextensive. However we may also see questioning as theoretically motivated by fallibilism, where the process of questioning involves the process of critical thinking. Fallibilism helps us to make sense of the open-ended nature of the logic of questioning as a process of acquiring knowledge. Questioning and critical thinking both involve a process by which we are sensitive to human fallibilism and are able to bring about approximation to truth and progress in knowledge. We are able to bring about progress because, by the rigorous process of questioning involved in critical thinking, we unearth and explore what we did not know before or initially see as reasonable. We question and justify our beliefs so that those that are justifiable will be sustained and those that cannot be justified will be further questioned, examined, modified or changed. But the converse, that progress implies questioning with respect to rigorous critical analysis is not necessarily true, because progress could arise from guesses, fortuitous revelations and accidental discoveries without any concerted and rigorous efforts to question, inquire and examine. Given the plausibility of these statements, by modus tollens, to deny growth implies the denial of rigor inherent in questioning regarding critical thinking. An important character and value of rigorous and critical inquiry is its ability to bring about progress in knowledge. This is engendered by the process and method of questioning. This argument may be illuminated by Thomas Kuhn’s (1970) conceptual distinction between ‘normal’ and ‘revolutionary’ sciences. Kuhn argues that ‘revolutionary’ science has rigor, because it involves questioning and critical examination; this involves seeking new evidence, trying to falsify old theories, thus facilitating progress and growth in human knowledge. The concept of critical thinking and the associated principles and process involves being able eschew dogmatism and avoidable errors. This epistemic process of eschewing dogmatism requires that we be appropriately moved by reason, which involves, according to Siegel (1988), ‘a proper understanding of the relevance of reasons and the rules of inference and evidence’ (p. 43). This idea is captured by the notion of ‘constructive’ questioning or criticism, which is a rigorous process by which one may systematically bring evidence to bear on belief, to bring about growth and progress in knowledge. Lack of such process can lead to intellectual stagnation and decay. In this sense, questioning may be seen as an aspect of critical thinking which involves the process and general context of learning, the acquisition of knowledge and education. My analysis of questioning shows how its logic and functions provide a context which may encourage the epistemic virtue of the process of examining evidence as a basis for optimizing the reasonableness of beliefs and how lack of such context may impede the process. Paradoxically the advantage and heuristic value of fallibilism as a grounding for the process of questioning with respect to critical thinking may be part of the problem and the negative attitude usually associated with questioning. The relationship between questions and answers also creates an epistemic problem similar to Meno’s paradox. If I ask a question seeking information, I should already ‘know’ (implicitly) or presuppose an answer. If I do not already ‘know’ (implicitly) an answer, I would not know if the answer that is provided is the correct one in order to accept it as satisfying my inquiry. I would not even ask the question if I did not already ‘know’ (implicitly) the correct answer I should accept. The notion of question thus seems to suggest that one somehow presupposes the answer or a plausible range or spectrum of alternatives, hence one questions to get something that falls into the spectrum, to validate what one knows. At the same time, if one does not already know what the information or spectrum is, one will not know what one is looking for because even if one lands it one will not recognize it as representing what one is looking for, since one does not ‘know’ it. However the logic of questioning in its open-ended process helps us to avoid this epistemic problem in Meno’s paradox. The logic of questioning implies that nothing is absolutely known; assumptions are open to questioning and further exploration. By questioning the assumptions underlying questions and answers in an open-ended sense, we are able to clarify our ideas. When we ask a question, we do so within the contexts of our background beliefs, available evidence or knowledge, meta-beliefs and conceptual scheme. When we accept an answer, we do so tentatively within 340 P. Ikuenobe these contexts as inference to the best explanation which could be questioned further given better evidence. 
Conclusion: I have analyzed questioning to show its connection with fallibilistic epistemology as a basis to motivate critical thinking as a process of inquiry. By questioning texts, views, assumptions and beliefs, students may be able to learn the process of inquiry and acquire the ability and disposition of critical thinking. My analysis seems to lend credence to some commonplace views regarding how teaching and using the process of questioning could help students acquire critical thinking abilities. This requires that,
(1) instructors motivate questioning by explaining to students its logic, functions and basis as an epistemic process—this may help to vitiate the negative attitudes and implications;
(2) students have to see the connections among questioning, critical thinking, inquiry and learning, and fallibilism;
(3) instructors have to develop a constructive and non-threatening way to ask questions and teach students a process of asking questions so that one does not alienate and intimidate;
(4) the instructor must create, in general, a classroom environment that will allow students to express themselves, and they must be given the opportunity to actively participate in their own learning process, which involves acquiring the skills of questioning for the purpose of bringing about understanding, growth and progress in knowledge.
References
BLOSSER, P.E. (1973) Handbook of Effective Questioning Techniques (Worthington, Education Associates).
BRIDGES, D. (1979) Education, Democracy and Discussion (Windsor, England, NFER).
BURBULES, N. (1991) Rationality and Reasonableness: A Discussion of Harvey Siegel’s Relativism
Refuted and Educating Reason, Educational Theory, 41(2), pp. 235–252.
D’ANGELO, E. (1971) The Teaching of Critical Thinking (Amsterdam, B.R. Gruner).
DILLON, J.T. (1983) Teaching and the Art of Questioning (Bloomington, IN, Phi Delta Kappa, No.194).
GOLMAN, A. (1986) Epistemology and Cognition (Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press).
HINTIKKA, J. (1981) The Logic of Information-Seeking Dialogues: A Model, in: W. ESSLER &W.
BECKER (Eds) Konsepte der Dialektik (Frankfurt, Vittorio Klostermann).
HINTIKKA, J. (1983) Rules, Utilities, and Strategies in Dialogical Games, in: J. HINTIKKA & L.
VAINA (Eds) Cognitive Constraints on Communication (Dordrect, Holland, D Reidel).
HINTIKKA, J. (1984) Questioning as a Philosophical Method, in: J.H. FETZER (Ed.) Principles of
Philosophical Reasoning (Totowa, NJ, Rowman & Allanheld).
HYMAN, R.T. (1979) Strategic Questioning (Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall).
KUHN, T. (1970) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Chicago, University of Chicago Press).
MCPECK, J. (1981) Critical Thinking and Education (New York, St Martins Press).
MORGAN, J. & WAYNE, R. (1995) Critical Thinking—What Does that Mean?, Journal of College
Science Teaching, March/April, pp. 336–340.
MOULTON, J. (1983) A Paradigm of Philosophy: the adversary method, in: S. HARDING &M.B.
HINTIKKA (Eds) Discovering Reality (Boston, MA, D. Reidel & Co.).
PAUL, R.W. (1982) Teaching Critical Thinking in the ‘Strong’ Sense: A Focus on Self-Deception,
World Views and a Dialectical Mode of Analysis, Informal Logic Newsletter, 4(2), pp. 2–7.
Questioning as an Epistemic Process 341
POPPER, K. (1985) Truth and Approximation to Truth, in: D. MILLER (Ed.) Popper Selections
(Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press).
RUSSELL, B. (1959) The Problems of Philosophy ( New York, Oxford University Press).
RUSSELL, B. (1965) An Inquiry Into Meaning and Truth ( Baltimore, Penguin Books).
SIEGEL, H. (1988) Educating Reason (New York, Routledge).
ISSN 0013-1857 print; ISSN 1469-5812 online/01/03&40325-17 Ó 2001 Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia
DOI: 10.1080/00131850120064063326 P. Ikuenobe

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The Moody Blues- Question (youtube) - Question (wiki)

Lyrics
Why do we never get an answer
When we're knocking at the door
With a thousand million questions
About hate and death and war

It's where we stop and look around us
There is nothing that we need
In a world of persecution
That is burning in it's greed

Why do we never get an answer
When we're knocking at the door
Because the truth is hard to swallow
That's what the wall of love is for

It's not the way that you say it
When you do those things to me
It's more the way that you mean it
When you tell me what will be

And when you stop and think about it
You won't believe it's true
That all the love you've been giving
Has all been meant for you

I'm looking for someone to change my life
I'm looking for a miracle in my life
And if you could see what it's done to me
To lose the the love I knew
Could safely lead me through

Between the silence of the mountains
And the crashing of the sea
There lies a land I once lived in
And she's waiting there for me

But in the gray of the morning
My mind becomes confused
Between the dead and the sleeping
And the road that I must choose

I'm looking for someone to change my life
I'm looking for a miracle in my life
And if you could see what it's done to me
To lose the the love I knew
Could safely lead me to
The land that I once knew
To learn as we grow old
The secrets of our souls

It's not the way that you say it
When you do those things to me
It's more the way you really mean it
When you tell me what will be

Why do we never get an answer
When we're knocking at the door
With a thousand million questions
About hate and death and war

It's where we stop and look around us
There is nothing that we need
In a world of persecution
That is burning in it's greed

Why do we never get an answer
When we're knocking at the door...

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I Know - I Think I Know

Sometimes there are questions that you need to answer that go way beyond the five w's, like the philosophical questions and the logical questions, questions that if answered correctly, will help paint a clearer picture. Full Spectrum Knowledge.

Who? When? Where? Why? What? How?

What happened? Where did it take place? When did it take place? Who was involved? Why did that happen? How did it happen? Do you know the causes? Do you know the reasons? What can I learn from this? How do I accurately explain this to someone else?

Investigations - Questions

Sometimes, there are no simple answers, and sometimes, you don't ask the right questions.

What are you measuring? What is this relative to? Do you have an example?

Some statements create more questions then they answer. When people generalize or make assumptions, it forces other people ta ask questions because the person did not specify any meaning about their statement. And some questions create more questions. Not to say that the newly created questions are relevant or important, or does it mean that we should be discouraged from asking questions just because it may lead to more work or more questions. It only means that we must realize that just because we answered one question, that does not necessarily mean that we have answered all the questions completely. Some investigations need further inquiring in order for us to better understand something, this way we have a better chance of making the right decision. 

Knowing is a lot better then not knowing, but believing that you know enough is the most damaging thing in the world.

No Such thing as a stupid question is a popular phrase that has had a long history. It suggests that the quest for knowledge includes failure, and that just because one person may know less than others they should not be afraid to ask rather than pretend they already know. In many cases multiple people may not know but are too afraid to ask the "stupid question"; the one who asks the question may in fact be doing a service to those around them. Why?

Inward Wits: Good Instincts, Good Imagination, Good Memory, Good at Estimating and Good Common Sense.

Outward Wits: Sight, Hearing, Smelling, Taste and Touching or Feeling. Intelligence Types.

Ben Dunlap: The life-long learner (youtube)

"It's better not knowing what you don't know, then not even knowing that you don't know. Even if the pursuit of knowledge creates more questions, at least you know that there are more questions to answer, because if you didn't know that there was more questions to ask, then you will never become more knowledgeable. Learning is a good thing. Ignorance is a bad thing."

Asking too many questions can sometimes have the opposite effect by making things more complicated then they need to be. Stick with the known facts and hold the philosophy for a later time when more is known about the problem. 

When giving answers you want to avoid being superfluous. So how do you know how much information a person requires? By giving that person an answer and then saying that there is more information if needed. So depending on that person's knowledge, and their ability to know when more information is needed, will ultimately determine how much information is needed.

Information Overload - Fallacies

A funny thing happens when learning, the more you know the more you will realize what you don't know, which is not bad because now you know what you don't know, so you're still learning. But now you're a little more aware, and you now have more choices and more options, with several choices being, Do you need to seek out missing knowledge on your own? Or find someone who has the missing knowledge that you need? Or, if unable to access needed information, what actions can you make, without looking ignorant?

Learning how much you don't know is just the beginning.

Pretend to Know Enough - Knowing it All is Impossible - Knowing Something is Possible

Pi is kind of like learning, it's endless. The more you learn, the more you know. And the more you know, the larger your circle of awareness and understanding gets. And as you keep learning more, the more you learn about what you still don't know. But it's not just learning about all the different things that you still don't know, it's learning about all the things that you can know, and all the choices and possibilities that knowledge gives you. So you can say that learning is its own reward, but it's much bigger than that, much much bigger.

Our desire to know things and to learn things is either a gift from God or just a natural process that life created in order for life to prosper and survive. If we did not have this gift to learn we would not be here. So if you take this gift for granted, or ignore its potential, your life will be meaningless and very unproductive. 

Memory - Self Directed Learning

Knowing more and more about less and less until you know everything about nothing, is just another idiom for idiots.

"One side effect of learning is that the more you learn about the world, the more you will realize how many problems there are in the world, which is a good thing. Because you can't solve a problem if you don't realize a problem exists. Don't be discourage by knowing how f*cked up the world is, be thankful that you know it. And be thankful that this is not all that you know, because you also know how wonderful life is. You have to balance yourself between fixing the problems and enjoying life."

"What ever you do, do not discourage yourself from learning, or frustrate yourself because of difficulties. Obstacles and obstructions are a part of life. They are not barriers, they are only problems that require a little more thinking in order to solve them."

Rating System - Reputation - Rank

Rating is an appraisal of the value of something. An expert estimation of the quality, quantity, and other characteristics of someone or something. Rating is the evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of quality, like when a critic rates a novel, or in terms of quantity, as with an athlete being rated by his or her statistics, or some combination of both.

Credit Rating - Background Checks - Profiling - Slander - Comment Sections - Trust - Branding - PR - Rating System for Movies - False Consensus - Confirmation Bias - Argumentum ad Populum

Rating Scale is a set of categories designed to elicit information about a quantitative or a qualitative attribute.

Rating Site is a website designed for users to vote on or rate people, content, or other things. Rating sites are typically organized around attributes such as physical appearance, body parts, voice, personality, etc. They may also be devoted to the subjects' occupational ability, for example teachers, professors, lawyers, doctors, etc.

How Bank Rating Agencies fraudently minipulated value.

Rate is a measure, quantity, or frequency, typically one measured against some other quantity or measure. A quantity or amount or measure considered as a proportion of another quantity or amount or measure. To evaluate how important or likely something is. To be worthy of or have a certain rating. Rate also means a fixed price paid or charged for something, especially goods or services. An amount of a charge or payment relative to some basis. Rate also means a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit. The relative speed of progress or change.

Quality is something of superior grade. An essential and distinguishing attribute. A characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something. Excellence or worth measured by long lasting, durable, repairable, recyclable. Quality Control.

Characteristic is any measurable property of a device measured under closely specified conditions. Experiment.

In order to speed up the process of choosing and deciding what is the best or the most valuable product or process, you need a rating system that can quickly calculate the most important aspects and features, and at the same time explain why these aspects are the most important. A person might have particular needs, so then and only then, does a product or process need to be changed or modified. A Rating System can never be about opinions, it can only be based on scientific research, facts, statistics, user feedback and predictions. A Rating System can never be accurately measured using money because money does not have any useful information attached to it. Money only indicates the price of something, money does not calculate the true cost, the amount time, the amount of people, the amount of resources, its durability, its recyclability, its ease of repair, its ease of upgrading, or the impacts and the side effects that a particular product or process has on the environment or people.

Ratings and Reviews from others helps us to choose, but not without risk. There's more to choosing then meets the eye.

Ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either 'ranked higher than', 'ranked lower than' or 'ranked equal to' the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of objects. It is not necessarily a total order of objects because two different objects can have the same ranking. The rankings themselves are totally ordered. For example, materials are totally preordered by hardness, while degrees of hardness are totally ordered.

Rank refers to the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking.

Rating Warnings: Rating systems can be manipulated like with the 2008 Financial Scam that cost Americans almost 1 Trillion Dollars. And these criminals are still stealing money.

Deep Neural Networks for YouTube Recommendations (PDF)

Reputation is an opinion about that entity, typically a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria. Even Popularity can be Flawed.

Distinguished Reputation is when a person is standing above others in character or attainment. A reliable source.

Reputation System are programs that allow users to rate each other in online communities in order to build Trust through reputation. Some common uses of these systems can be found on E-commerce websites such as eBay, Amazon.com, and Etsy as well as online advice communities such as Stack Exchange. These reputation systems represent a significant trend in "decision support for Internet mediated service provisions". With the popularity of online communities for shopping, advice, and exchange of other important information, reputation systems are becoming vitally important to the online experience. The idea of reputations systems is that even if the consumer can't physically try a product or service, or see the person providing information, that they can be confident in the outcome of the exchange through trust built by recommender systems. Collaborative filtering, used most commonly in recommender systems, are related to reputation systems in that they both collect ratings from members of a community. The core difference between reputation systems and collaborative filtering is the ways in which they use user feedback. In collaborative filtering, the goal is to find similarities between users in order to recommend products to customers. The role of reputation systems, in contrast, is to gather a collective opinion in order to build trust between users of an online community. Collaborations.

Reputation Capital is the quantitative measure of some entity's reputational value in some context – a community or marketplace.

Reputation Management refers to the influencing and controlling of an individual's or group's reputation. Reputation management is the practice of attempting to shape public perception of a person or organization by influencing information about that entity, primarily online.

Review Site is a website on which reviews can be posted about people, businesses, products, or services.

Review is to appraise critically. Critical evaluation. Examination. Critic - Observer Effect.

Recommender System is a subclass of information Filtering System that seeks to predict the "rating" or "preference" a user would give to an item.

Inter-Rater Reliability is the degree of agreement among raters. It gives a score of how much homogeneity, or consensus, there is in the ratings given by judges. It is useful in refining the tools given to human judges, for example by determining if a particular scale is appropriate for measuring a particular variable. If various raters do not agree, either the scale is defective or the raters need to be re-trained. There are a number of statistics which can be used to determine inter-rater reliability. Different statistics are appropriate for different types of measurement. Some options are: joint-probability of agreement, Cohen's kappa and the related Fleiss' kappa, inter-rater correlation, concordance correlation coefficient and intra-class correlation.

Cohen's Kappa is a statistic which measures inter-rater agreement for qualitative (categorical) items. It is generally thought to be a more robust measure than simple percent agreement calculation, since κ takes into account the agreement occurring by chance.

Fleiss' Kappa is a statistical measure for assessing the reliability of agreement between a fixed number of raters when assigning categorical ratings to a number of items or classifying items.

Focus Group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members. During this process, the researcher either takes notes or records the vital points he or she is getting from the group. Care should be noted to select members of the group carefully for effective and authoritative responses.

Rating Systems - Consumer Search

Surveys - Public Feedback

Evaluation is a systematic determination of a subject's merit, worth and significance, using criteria governed by a set of standards. It can assist an organization, program, project or any other intervention or initiative to assess any aim, realisable concept/proposal, or any alternative, to help in decision-making; or to ascertain the degree of achievement or value in regard to the aim and objectives and results of any such action that has been completed. The primary purpose of evaluation, in addition to gaining insight into prior or existing initiatives, is to enable reflection and assist in the identification of future change.

Testing Errors - Research - Statistics

Expert Opinion, or an uneducated opinion, both can have value, and both can have very little Value.

Questions and Answers System (Q&A)

How to Spot a Fake Review on Amazon

Fake Spot has 236,337,760 Total Reviews Analyzed.

Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016- H.R.5111 restricts people from writing fake reviews or having other people write fake reviews on their behalf.  But how will this stop the propaganda?

A Rating System must standardized, incorruptible and easily deciphered. (5 Star)

The Rating System must be able to be updated when user feedback reveals new insights or new information.

Calculations - Techniques - Processes - Facts - Figures - Weights - Measures and Size - Dimensions - Technical Descriptions - Manufacturer Sustainability - Recyclable - Ingredients - Chemicals used - Parts - Components - Comparisons to other Techniques. Unbiased Product Reviews or User Feedback that analyzes and evaluates a product accurately. Empirical Evidence.