Article highlights:

  • The American (public) education system was built largely based off the Prussian Model of 1806. The Prussian Model was originally designed to produce one thing: obedient soldiers.

  • As a result, most of us have been taught to homogenize & memorize—not learn.

  • Homogenization yields a conforming, average life. Memorization is of minimal value due to the internet. Therefore, we must figure out how to actually learn and apply it.

  • imho, the 3 most effective ways to learn are: 1) share a summary of what you learned, 2) act on what you learned (ideally in the form of a habit), and 3) teach what you learned to someone who might be interested.

  • These 3 ways to learn—Share, Act, Teach—form a nerdy yet memorable acronym: S.A.T, i.e. the SAT Method for learning.

“It is nothing short of a miracle the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom.” —Albert Einstein

From Prussia, with love

America adopted the “Prussian Model” of 1806 that was originally devised to educate and train young men to be obedient and not run away in battle. Americans like Archibald Murphy and Horace Mann (public education founding father) brought the model to the US in the mid-1800s. This highly-regimented system was a far cry from the “freedom” Einstein espouses above.

One could argue top-down government-sponsored schooling was late to the scene: by 1880, when national compulsion was enacted, over 95% of 15-year-olds were already literate! How did that happen? Bottom-up voluntary education had already evolved with no government intervention.

What to think vs. how to think

Education is dominated by creationist thinking. The curriculum is too prescriptive and slow to change, teachers are encouraged to teach to the exam vs. student strengths, and textbooks are infused with instructions about what to think instead of how to think.

As a result, most of us have been taught to homogenize & memorize—not necessarily learn.

The SAT Method for learning

To compete in today’s knowledge economy, one must be learning constantly. If you aren’t moving forward, the sheer force of change will push you back. I’ve found its really hard to become a lifelong learner, so I started experimenting with various ways to catalyze—and solidify—my learning.

Over time I devised the SAT Method to be both simple and recursive:

  • Share: whenever you invest time in learning something—a new skill, a new trade, a book, a podcast—take the time to write down what you learned—your experiences—and share it with your friends. This accomplishes two things: 1) writing encodes the knowledge by forcing your brain to kick it back out, and 2) sharing creates a “knowledge dividend” by which your friends/colleagues will inevitably acknowledge what you shared, and append their own valuable perspective. This is one of the reasons I started the DBT Library a couple years ago. Effort level: low

  • Act: “talk is cheap,” as the saying goes. Act soon, or the energy is wasted. The law of diminishing intent can erode even the strongest of convictions. Convert potential energy into kinetic energy, rapidly. This can vary widely based on what is being learned, but the key here is that you must take some net new action. For example, I recently read the Chinese classic Tao Te Ching and wrote down several specific actions (in green boxes), some of which have been completed, e.g. 1/2 day meditation. “A real decision is measured by the fact that you've taken a new action. If there's no action, you haven't truly decided.” —Tony Robbins. Decide to learn. Effort level: medium

  • Teach: when interviewing candidates for a job, one of favorite interview questions is: “Teach me something.” Wonderfully ambiguous, this request usually elicits excitement or terror. The candidate then has to do something be don’t do very often: TEACH. When was the last time you taught something? The best teachers know how to captivate students, anchor concepts, and foster discussion. It’s no surprise that elite universities like Stanford and Harvard structure many of their classes as debate/discussion-centric. I’m fortunate to work with a boss who is an exceptional teacher. He regularly teaches our team tactical job skills and concepts, e.g. skill of discovery, the hero’s journey, etc. When we teach something, we truly codify what we’ve learned—the ultimate manifestation of knowledge. Below of is a picture of my boss about to teach via whiteboard. Effort level: high

So there you have it: the SAT Method for learning. Share, Act, Teach. Share! Act! Teach!

Given the ascending effort level, I tend to do the first two much more (Share, Act), and save the last one (Teach) for when I’m more confident in a topic. Maybe I should be more brave.

Colorful pyramid

According to the NTL Institute of Applied Behavioral Science, the learning format is highly indicative of learning efficacy. While I don’t fully agree with the below model, you can see how little we actually learn/retain from a lecture (5%), reading (10%), or a podcast (20%).

The SAT Method—share, act, teach—skews heavily to the kinesthetic base of the triangle where deeper learning occurs.