Something that took me a while to learn, and have yet to internalize fully:

The concept of a thing can get in the way of knowing it

Because when you think you know something (via the mind’s conception), you don’t give it the same attention in the present. Nothing is static, so the latter is the only way to truly know something

friendly neighborhood shitcaster // working on @pinetree

This is an area of advantage for smart uneducated people.

Educated people have other people’s ideas and concepts thrown at them.

Sometimes it helps to start with a blank state.

What we call first principles

Beginners mind is transformative 

Great book on the topic:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_Mind,_Beginner's_Mind

Well said!

Some call it beginner’s mind, others first principles — I think the core truth is that attention lies at the root of understanding

Thinking or reciting “education” are downstream — ie. If you’ve looked at something wrong, doesn’t matter if your solve is right

Working on building zkTLS infra/products. A ruthless empiricist and meme connoisseur.

/opacity
/eulerlagrange

Well said!

Some call it beginner’s mind, others first principles — I think the core truth is that attention lies at the root of understanding

Thinking or reciting “education” are downstream — ie. If you’ve looked at something wrong, doesn’t matter if your solve is right 

https://farcaster.xyz/nmadd/0x1f764683

100%, attention and observation are at the root of understanding 

Da Vinci is probably my favorite thinker and he was a master of observing nature and truly seeing things from first principles 

I love reading through his notebooks, you really get a feel for how obsessive he was about focus and observing things