Knowledge media face an awkward chasm between theories.
The old theory was naive transmissionism: "I'll convey this knowledge by telling you about it." That's effectively books' learning model.
But we know that model's wrong: learning is an active process of assimilation.
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Books (and videos and lectures) sometimes work anyway, but because the learner's doing the heavy lifting—making connections, posing & answering questions, etc
In apprenticeships and great classrooms, the new theory (constructivism) operates: teachers foster active assimilation.
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But what's the equivalent of a "book" which was composed using an effective theory of how its reader will learn? We don't know.
It's a rock and a hard place: we know the old theory's wrong; we don't know how to make media which operate under our new theories.
Exciting times.
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Pretty sure the awkward chasm is between your platitudes about the past and your knowledge of it.
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Books, videos, etc. work great for learning, provided one chooses for oneself what to do and when, and can stop or switch anytime for any reason.
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Yes, those are valuable preconditions for learning in any medium, but it's just not the case that they reliably work great, even in that setting. Effective learning from a book requires tons of challenging metacognitive work—which is why works like How to Read a Book are popular.
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This thread really condensed and clarified vague feelings I’ve had for a long time. Really insightful!
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That's kind; thank you!
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