Borrowed vs Internalised Knowledge

How do we become better thinkers?

During our school years, it seems that memorising model answers and mindlessly reciting information hold the keys to our educational success. But as we enter the working world and take ownership of our lives, the path to success is not as straightforward as it once was.

Beyond reeling off information, we're asked to be adaptive, think outside the box, and make decisions without knowing the eventual outcomes. 

In an era when an endless volume of information is being fed to us with a single click or swipe, we have to be more active in filtering out which information is helpful to us and construct our own thoughts surrounding them.

The two types of knowledge

Essentially, there are two layers of knowledge: borrowed and internalised knowledge.    

Borrowed knowledge is when you have taken in the information, but you haven't processed its possibilities and tested it out in real-world situations. 

Internalised knowledge is when you have sieved out the relevant information through trial and error, gathered feedback, and connected the new information to your current pool of knowledge. In doing so, you have the mental agility to adjust the knowledge to different circumstances.

To transition a piece of information from borrowed to internalised knowledge, we need to take a proactive approach towards the information we consume daily.

How do we acquire our own wisdom? (Five tips)

Ask why 🤔 – When we read a text or hear someone else's opinion, we should pause and probe the line of thought to consider the underlying assumptions, explore the counter-arguments, and discuss the conclusions.

Read critically 📚 – Read books that interest you and engage them by highlighting sentences and writing notes. You may also want to cross-reference what you've read with other books and articles on the same topic and evaluate the various arguments.

Write it down 📝 – Our minds handle information that's outside of our heads better than the internal thoughts that are rattling around inside of our heads. Writing things down helps you capture ideas and encourages your mind to reflect and examine what you know from different angles.

Voice it out 🗣 – Speaking to yourself or another person is another effective way of externalising your thoughts. The key to vocal externalisation is to find an audience who is willing to listen as you talk through your ideas. 

Think like a scientist 🔬 – Scientists constantly make experiments to test and fine-tune their hypotheses. Similarly, we can adopt an experimental or growth mindset by applying our knowledge to real-life situations and refining our knowledge based on the results. By testing our knowledge, we will have a more accurate framework of the world around us.

Admittedly, the road to forming our own ideas and opinions is not without trials and tribulations. We'll make mistakes along the way, and that's fine—it's all part of the process.

As long as we continue to polish our ideas, we're well on our way to becoming better thinkers and making smarter decisions.

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Illustration by Natasha Remarchuk from Ouch!