Learning to Unlearn..Again

I've been brewing this idea in my head for the last couple weeks, and wanted to make it into a post. I think it could help a lot of people, even just as a fireside codex entry.

When I started on this self-education journey there were 3 things I had to learn:

1. How to Learn.
2. How to ReLearn.
3. How to UnLearn.

Each being a bit different, and having its own hurdles to overcome in order to understand.

Learning how to learn, which is just being an autodidact, was probably the easiest.

Taking the skills

From the Feynman Technique, speed reading, speed listening, taking in a swath of information, etc. These are all things I had to learn in order to learn better.

Relearning was a whole other thing. It takes time for things for you to learn really cement into your brain. Spaced repetition and other methods of delaying the learning, they allowed for the information to be spread out. Eventually sticking much more deeply.

Finally we have the Unlearning. Which to most people might seem pointless. However it is probably the most important. If you get confronted with new information, that is even more correct than what you previously known. Then you must learn how to accept it, and unlearn what you knew before.

Every skill has a point like this, where you may learn how to do something in the beginning in order to make the learning curve easier. However it isn't the truly right way, and thus you relearn the skill by unlearning the short cut.

In recent months I have gone through a lot of changes. Mentally I almost feel like I am going through a metamorphosis. Having to reestablish my previous conventions, and understanding.

Even things that I felt were important to me, such as my hatred of Apple products. I love Steve Jobs, and I think Apple makes fine hardware, but I have always loathed their software and ecosystem philosophy. As it makes people anti-windows/android. Despite those really being better Operating Systems.

However I found myself stuck with my Podcast, as I needed to switch hosting providers. During that I had been required to make an Apple ID to manage my podcast. I even went as far as to make a Polycast exclaiming that I my shows won't be on Apple I guess anymore (or at all). However that does a disservice to my audience.

While my opinion remains the same. I still don't like the Mac OS or iOS, the act of me avoiding those products was just childish in a way.

I thus acquired a second hand ipad, of which now I can use ios only apps, and then also activate my Apple ID (as it turns out you cannot in any way activate without an ios device, I tried via itunes/apple music).

Other examples include my boycott of Eastside Tavern Karaoke

Recently I found myself shafted by a friend and establishment, that I was quite fond of both. After working hundred or more times as a karaoke host. I was screwed over, and someone else was picked to be the replacement when the former host stepped down.

It made me not want to talk to anyone of them again, or for a while, let alone really even go back to the establishment.

While my feelings were justified, and I could have continued down that path of avoidance. I also know that this may very well be my last summer in Columbia for a long time, or the rest of my life.

Would I regret more of avoiding that place in my old age? It is the closest thing I have to a "third place", and I do care about the people there.

I had to unlearn my bias towards Apple and my grudge against the karaoke place. In each case it was a bit different, and not quite unlearning a skill. However it is still the Skill of Unlearning in the first place.

It is akin to when I had a disagreement with someone over the SEO of my show, the Polymath PolyCast. They had created a temporary show (as it turns out didn't continue), but it was called the Polymath Podcast. Which is quite on the nose of my show's title. I chose the word PolyCast as it is more apt, and descriptive. There being multiple series and topics after all. However I also had the avoidance of the word podcast, due to my loathing of Apple.

However after the person refused to collaborate with me to mitigate the SEO issue. I decided to unlearn my bias towards the word podcast, and then used it for my own show. Now every one of my 130+ interviews, and nearly 2000+ interview clips. Use tags of both names to maximize reach and potential reach.

In any case. My inclination deep down is progression, success, and fitting into the "perfect timeline". Meaning I care more about succeeding, and living in the best possible outcome. More than I care about trivial rivalries, grudges, or bias.

Learning to Unlearn is helping me with this notion, and allowing me to progress forward without my own self holding me back.