Learning by becoming - the art and science of becoming expert and finding ourselves

Expertise can be a blessing and a curse.

At the heart of expertise is the ability to see what others cannot see. A chess master who sees the patterns on the board, a doctor who can read a patient's symptoms, a teacher who sees the dynamism and learning in a class that just looks messy to others.

On the other hand, an expert is often just someone who knows a lot about what others have discovered, and who has a closed mind to change. This characterises all those doctors who don't see that stress underlies many illnesses, or educators who cannot adapt to the age of technology.

So this site is dedicated to the development and acquisition of

open minded expertise

Central theme: Understanding learning

The word "learning" means many things. There are many different learning processes, and many diffferent types of learning outcome. For example, a person may understand a theory really well, and yet not have a "feel" for it, which means that he or she cannot adquately use what they know in the real world. this applies equally to technicians, supervisors, teachers, leaders, and everyone else.

The key, as Covey says, is to "begin with the end in view." Be clear about what you want and tailor processes to that end. Some examples:

Memorizing facts and procedures;

Learning for deep understanding and mastering core skills;

Growing additional perceptual lenses - new ways of seeing things;

Becoming expert;

Developing executive functions such as social and emotional intelligence;

Self knowledge; and

Finding one's spiritual path in work.