When we think of Mon, or of knowledge in general, far too often the focus is just on the facts, but without the understanding. For much of our schooling we are measured by and taught to perform on tests of memorization rather than on real knowledge.

 

As a student, this was always so frustrating to me. The facts were in a book, written down. Being able to recall them immediately never seemed like it should be the focus of learning. As a point, I remember learning about the Battle of Hastings. What was required for the test was to know that it took place in 1066. What wasn't taught to me was anything important. Maybe we discussed who fought, and who won, but that wasn't material for the test, and so for my exercise I have intentionally remained ignorant of that to this day. We never discussed why they fought - and not just the superficial reason, but the deeper reasons which always underly conflicts. We didn't discuss what the outcomes were, in the first year, or twenty years down the line. We didn't discuss how tactics and warfare may have changed from innovations in battle.

 

When science is taught to students, rarely, if ever, is the students curiosity evoked to draw them into the questions that predicated the experiments to understand. Instead, they are taught facts, shown the wonders, and allowed to play with 'safe' chemicals to see effects. Imagine if we could take that childish sense of wonder and curiousity and develop it, to lead them to the questions and ideas behind some of the seminal experiments and then to have them perform them.

 

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." - Albert Einstein

 

True knowledge is about much more than just facts. Fullness of Mon is far more than just an ability to remember. Mon encompasses curiosity, understanding, analytical thinking, focus, discipline.

 

Curiosity is the ultimate motivation to understanding. Curiosity asks questions that only understanding can answer. Most of us are most curious as children, but far too many lose way too much of their curiosity as they grow.

 

A foundational part of developing your Ons is re-awakening your childlike curiosity about the universe and all the things, creatures and people within it. The goal of developing your curiosity is to get you to the point that you can look at the entirety of the universe with a sense of wonder and a deep penetrating curiosity.

 

 

 

 

Building from your curiosity, but containing other elements, we want to grow your own personal quest to understand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A layer deeper than just understanding is your ability to analyze and think critically about information. It's pretty easy to construct a sequence of statements that appears to lead to an easy to understand conclusion that is completely wrong.

 

Being able to think critically about information that you are presented, whether through a meme, a friend, a media story, a text book, or a scientific paper, is a necessary skill. The level to which people go to decieve, distract, confuse, and manipulate us is at all time high, while the ease of use and power of the tools to do it is only growing.

 

 

 

 

 

Your ability to focus your attention is a double edged sword - it allows some pretty incredible feats, but it blinds you to so much as well.