Learn how to learn
Almost all of us went through some form of education, formal or informal. We went to school, universities, we took courses to LEARN new things. But have we ever learned HOW to LEARN?
What is the adequate method by which one acquires knowledge?
The answer is The TRIVIUM method.
Unfortunately, virtually all the public schools in the world do not teach this classical yet critical information anymore.
Let me tell you a story of how important the TRIVIUM was (and still is) :
In Ancient Rome only the elite class and some Roman citizens were allowed to learn and master the trivium method. The slave class was not allowed to even hear of it. For they would be able not only to read but to learn, comprehend, have critical thought and take action. One day, near a battlefield the roman legions have settled. They raised tents, washed after fighting, cooked food and stayed for the night. Among the Roman soldiers were also their slaves. That night Caesar was walking among the tents and there he noticed a soldier talking to a slave. When he came closer, he heard that the soldier was teaching him the trivium. Caesar was furious! He chastised the soldier telling him if he ever even mentions the trivium to a slave again he will have him beheaded. No slave could be allowed to understand this hidden knowledge, otherwise, he would not be a slave anymore.
So what is the trivium method?
The word trivium means three courses. The trivium was the name applied to the three verbal arts in the classical liberal arts curriculum: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The ancient Romans coined the term liberal arts to refer to the studies that they thought were appropriate for free men, but not for slaves. The liberal arts helped a young man think for himself and express himself persuasively.
It may sound dry and boring at first, but these 3 arts are FUNDAMENTAL to developing a truly critical and discerning mind. Once you get through all three stages it will be easier for you to go through certain information, understand it, break it down, analyse it and conclude whether it is truthful or false.
The three stages of freeing your mind:
- GRAMMAR- or INPUT of knowledge. Gathering data from an eclectic array of knowledge without pre-judging it. Answers questions: who, what, when and where? (raw data)
- LOGIC- or PROCESSING/UNDERSTANDING. Comprised of 3 basic sub-steps: filtration, correlation & analysis. Learn to recognize logical fallacies and cognitive biases. Enables us to learn why? (what is the reason, meaning, purpose)
- RHETORIC- or OUTPUT/WISDOM. Speach and ACTION based upon the knowledge that one has gathered and understood. This is how knowledge and understanding are propagated so that real and positive change can be created. “Knowledge not shared is knowledge wasted”
It is highly important that we start LEARNING and TEACHING this forgotten yet paramount living science. Before we dive into any other field of knowledge we must first know HOW to dive into it.
After TRIVIUM one can start learning the QUADRIVIUM. What is that now? We’ll discuss that some other time…
