One of the things that makes understanding easier is asking questions.
We are often tricked by our own intelligence because we think we understand, whereas in fact we don’t: We’re not truly understanding something.
What’s stopping us from understanding the solution is getting deeper into the problem.
But how do you get much deeper into the problem?
It’s something that I also touched upon in the past.
I think the point is asking questions, A LOT of them.
The thing, though, is that you need to go many levels deeper, to truly understand. The first question is rarely enough.
Questions
A basic way to approach this is to just ask why.
For example, let’s say someone invented or designed a solution for a new pen.
Well, why?
Maybe they did it because they thought that this new way of writing with this pen is more efficient.
Why is it more efficient?
They can tell you that the ink is gliding more.
Why?
They can go even deeper and tell you that, to make the ink glide better, they use a new nanoparticle that is not available yet to the market, and that basically creates a new space between the ink and the paper.
Why? (Or how?)
They might continue, and continue, and continue.
Every time you ask why, you go deeper into the problem and deeper into the understanding of the mechanics of the problem itself.
The mechanics of why
Questioning helps us building a mental map of the product, the problem or the issue. That’s what makes learning.
You understand the whys. You understand how things fit together, how they connect together to make something possible.
From fake ink that glides more, to whatever you have on your plate.
You don’t need a good question, as you saw: Why and how are more than enough.
In fact, they might be even better than smart questions, because with smart questions you might risk posing a question only because you think it’s smart, not because it helps you move your understanding forward.
Whereas why and how are more than enough to get deeper.
Why and How
The why is a question that you need to be mindful of, because when you’re directing this question to a human, it can feel judgmental.
In that case, it’s better to use how and what.
But, if you’re trying to understand how AI did some work, why is valid and good to use .
Broad why and how questions are fantastic to get deeper into the problem. I tested this today to understand some work that I was doing with AI, and it proved to be really good.
You can get much deeper, not only is the AI forced to think about it, but you’re also forced to think about it.
The more why and how, the better.
This is a way to get deeper into the problem, to develop an understanding of anything you have around you.
Don’t be shy, ask why.
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