AN ACID TEST OF UNDERSTANDING

To me, the acid test for understanding a concept or an idea, irrespective of whether it comes from a book, or a seminar, or a talk, or even just a casual conversation, is often reflected in your ability to articulate what you have learned from it, and more importantly, your ability express it in your own words.

I am always puzzled when I often asked, especially professional folks, about their learning takeaways after having read a book, or attended a seminar or even listened to a talk, I often get at best a perfunctory reply.

Worst still, in many instances, I often get a blank response.

Then, think about this: what's the point of reading a book, or attending a seminar, or listening to a talk? or, what's the point of telling the world that you had attended this talk or that seminar?

After all, as I have argued before in my earlier Facebook postings, true knowledge is measured by what you do, i.e. your productivity, and not by what's stored in your head.

Or, is it because they just don't want to share with the world at large about what they had learned?
From my own experience, personally as well as professionally, knowledge can only spiral upward if shared, as often epitomised in the axiom, 'Knowledge Shared is Power Squared'.

According to my opinion, additional aspects of the acid test of understanding will necessarily come in the form of your ability to relate your learning takeaways with what you have already mastered before, as well as your ability to mingle or juxtapose them with other known concepts or novel ideas, especially from the standpoint of using them in different contexts of personal application.

I often like to cajole folks that, if you could explain a concept or idea to your grandmother, and she could understand you clearly, then you had thoroughly understood what you had learned.

Think about it.