So much this. I like the metaphor of tree-trunk learning https://lifehacker.com/elon-musk-on-learning-new-things-view-knowledge-as-a-t-1677850415 https://lifeha

So much this. I like the metaphor of tree-trunk learning https://lifehacker.com/elon-musk-on-learning-new-things-view-knowledge-as-a-t-1677850415 https://lifehacker.com/elon-musk-on-learning-new-things-view... — every bit of knowledge you can't connect to first principles or internalized second principles just falls down. The mentioned memoization techniques are like synthetic trees for real leaves, but these tend to rot extremely quick. Point in case: I had two history teachers I can remember. One only because he was the most boring teacher I ever had and because of him I dreaded history forever. I can't recall a single thing about his class other than he talked about stone age people once. He made us remember lots of dates with weird mnemonics and I forgot every single one of them. The other teacher was the best I ever had. She visualized the international politics leading from the age of industrialization in Europe to WW1 and WW2 so vividly in causalities, entities and relationships that I can recall the important development over 300 years of central European history any time. I don't have any year numbers for it, but it's one clear, coherent and logical story. It's been 20 years since I sat in her class.