Ways of understanding.

Essay by scion November 2005

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Of the six ways of thinking, I have to say that I use perspective the most. I often ask, why does that happen, why does it work this way? It ties in with self-knowledge. The way that I was brought up and the environment that I am in defines the way that I look at things. The metacognition shapes what choices I could make or not make.

An example of myself using self-knowledge and metacognition is when I want to study for an English exam, for instance, I may be aware at the time, that your study session will be more productive if you work in the quiet library or a similar study-suitable environment, rather than at home where there are many distractions. The knowledge of the task variables includes knowledge about the nature of the task as well as the type of demands that will occur during the process; this all will in-turn be place upon individual.

Depending on the assignment, I may know that it will take me longer to comprehend a physics explanation longer that an English text.

There may be several ways of approaching the topic at hand, and to pick one, I may use application. I would use it to determine how my way of thinking should change for this matter. The other way can possibly be the most suitable for the task and help me complete it with ease, as opposed to if I were to undertake the issue with a different mind-set, such as thinking that I may not totally understand it, and indeed I may not fully be able to comprehend it. Resulting I may give up for the moment and go to a different topic, then with a different mind state I can advance on the assignment.

Empathy is a way of understanding that I very seldom use. To fully use this way, I should ask what the contributor was trying to make me feel during the experience. I may do this if it were the assignment for a class, namely English; however I would not normally consider how I feel or am meant to feel during a reading or another form of expression. If I were reflecting on previous experiences, then I would consider the views that another person has. I would do this to find out why Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence the way that he did. In the style and tone that he considered to be moving for the people who would support him and many others in depending the colonies from the tyrannical ruler. To understand it even more, I would question myself what do I need to experience if I am to understand? A possible response would be that the people needed a way to live that they could raise their families in. they needed a reliable source of wealth. If Britain were to engage in a conflict with another European power, then the colonies would suffer and many could possibly starve.