You are on page 1of 2

What's for Dinner, a Cow or a Steak?

To Share is to Care
The Art of Communication Rests in Understanding.
The Sheldons need to learn to KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)
Dumb It Down, Fangirl
By Thomas Johnson
The goal of this essay is to bring to attention that a portion of the liberty mo
vement's ideas and arguments fail to take root in popular culture because they a
re too complicated and theoretical and thus appear inapplicable to common everyd
ay life.
The final recomendation will be to reduce information and theories to their simp
lest structure possible and then apply them to issues that will show their impor
tance, IG personal finance, freedom, etc.
Reduce all ideas to their simplest concetual components
A theory is only as useful as how well people can make use of it.
Insistence of minute detail that derails flow of informing new comers, confuses
novice listeners and alienates them.
Fangirl, Twilight, Dr.Who, Star Trek, Tolkien
In order for a theory to be commonly useful, it must be commonly understandable
and applicable to the common man (average person) and his needs and understandin
g.
You must cease to be an idolizer and become a master of the theories and princip
les you endorse. This is the only way you can teach it to others. To teach is to
be flexible with the material in order to make it available to the student's ne
eds.
(Reference Kick is a kic, punch is a punch)
Bruce Lee said
"Before I learned the art, a punch was just a punch, and a kick, just a kick.
After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick, no longer a kick
.
Now that I understand the art, a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick
."
When you master a concept, you spread it out as far as you can and you look at e
very detail to understand it. However, When you are learning the basic idea of
the concept, having it spread out as far as it can go will only confuse and bewi
lder you. In order to be able to share with novices, you have to take everything
you know and condense and simplify it into a seed that will sprout in the other
person's understanding. You do not have to tell them every little detail and it
is alright for them misunderstand a piece of the idea so long as they get the b
ig picture.
You cannot see the forest because of the trees.
(Dumbing Down Don't Mean They're Dumb)
Just because you are simplyfing your message so that your audience can understan
d it doesn't make them dumb. Do not even entertain that thought in your head, wh
enever you feel yourself thinking things like "How dumb is this guy?" or "Why is
n't she getting this?" stop yourself immediately! Here are two good reasons why.
1. It's your job as the teacher to cater to the student, especially if you inn
itiate the encounter (setting up a table counts as initiating btw). 2. You are n
ot as good a liar as you think. People can tell when you are speaking down to th
em. That's a surefire way to shutdown a conversation.
An "expert" refuses to sully his tools with practicality.
A master puts his tools to the task of accomplishing his goals.
Applicational, conceptual
Examples:

Relationships is the key to communication. When you understand the person you ar
e talking to, you can tell them what they need to know.
If you understand what is important to them, you can tell them what they need to
know.
A martial arts master once gave this analogy. To a novice, a kick is a kick and
a punch is a punch. When the novice becomes a student, a punch is so much than p
unch, and a kick is so much more than a kick. When the student becomes a master,
a kick is a kick and a punch is a punch.

You might also like