@leovido.eth
A few years ago, I went off from technology (no smartphone, no laptop), to focus solely on playing the piano at a professional level. I studied for a music performance degree, specifically for classical music, for around 8 years. This experience meant that my sources of knowledge were mostly sheet music, people (teachers, colleagues, etc.) and books.
There was no AI; it was through the combination of the above + the synthesis of the following: study techniques, deliberate practice, and life experiences. The synthesis is what makes everyone unique. Each one of us has their own experience, uniqueness, that make us different.
There were times when things were easier to digest. It was far easier to play Mendelssohn’s music after playing Chopin, Liszt, etc. for many years. They are related. Same music period. It’s like a skill that you acquire through practice over time. You get familiarised with the style, techniques, etc. The neurons that connect all the movements, hand position, etc., are all grouped together in a neural connection that is likely stronger than someone who has focused solely on playing non-classical music. It’s wired differently. It caries discipline, determination, virtuosity and more.
The same thing happens with learning about music history. There’s a pattern.
- How long does a music period last? (i.e. baroque, classicism, romanticism, etc.)
- Who were the main 3-5 composers that led the current period?
- What was the main influence?
It’s an example of how subconsciously, I’ve created a mental model to memorise, and make it easier for me to understand. Could this come from someone else’s mind? Such as a teacher teaching us how to study? Sure, but the actual knowledge relationships, are unique to me, just like someone else feels about a certain piece of music. It’s the emotional side of us that also help us with memory.
The moment where it feels truly unique to us, is when we connect topics that seem irrelevant to us, but seem to work magically.
I never believed in locking myself into doing one thing for my entire life. I always believed that everything is connected, and learning is a never ending discipline. This is a good thing. Connecting different topics that seem unrelated, is what brings creativity.
Shifting our eyes on AI, fast forwarding to the present, I realise how I missed the days where I didn’t have to worry about AI development. It develops insanely quickly. I’ve already started embracing those practices above, but applying it to other disciplines, as I don’t play piano much these days.
Here are a few things that helped me reclaim back my own way of synthesising knowledge:
1. Mental models. Applied to everything new that I learn.
2. Systems thinking. If the problem I’m dealing with is a big one, this one helps me break it down and identifying bottlenecks to improve. e.g. managing a software team, where new features and releases are slow. The fix could be in adding more capacity, breaking down work into manageable chunks, etc.
3. Inversion. Imagine the worst, failing, and what to do in that situation. Often, this would prevent big problems from occurring. In the context of software development, this would be crashes in a mobile app.
4. Touching grass. Seriously. Remember ever typing AFK? Embrace it, you’ll feel much more recharged, inspired and motivated.
5.Connecting with existing knowledge.
In conclusion, my experience with studying classical music, led me to value my own way of thinking, combined with experiences that I had through interacting with colleagues, books, and simply living life. We are in an AI driven era, and being mindful about this, preserving and practicing it, is a sure way to be ahead and not get dominated by AI in the future.