Understanding

• Information begins to understand when all of its interacting elements is processed in working memory at least once.

• Information is difficult to understand when it consists of more interacting elements than can readily be processed in working memory.

• Understanding is the bridge between data and knowledge.

• In almost any scientific field, it would add enormously to the understanding of what does work by showing what doesn’t work.

• Understanding a process means being able to visualise it.

• When you are always a passenger in a car, you are less likely to learn your way around. To truly understand something, you need the drive to make it understandable.

• Understanding is deeper than just knowing, more mature phase of learning. It involves a mental grasp of how something works, why it matters, and how it fits within a broader context.

When you understand something, you can:

1. Explain it in your own words without jargons
2. Recognise its components and the relationships
3. Apply it in practical situations, solve problems or make decisions based on it.
4. Make connections: You can relate the concept to other ideas, seeing patterns, similarities, or differences.
5. Predict outcomes: You can anticipate the results of applying the concept in new situations, understanding its implications.

To understand information:

1. Interest: You must be interested in the information.
2. Structure: You need to find out how the information is organised
3. Relate: Connect the new information to ideas you already know.
4. Test: Compare the information with what you know and look at it from different perspectives to fully grasp it.

• Bloom’s taxonomy
• Hermeneutics circle
• To understand is to perceive patterns
• Understanding Understanding by Richard Saul Wurman
• Johari window for self-awareness and mutual understanding