2022-08-20

• I used to do a lot of flashcards. My reason for doing it was strongly based on a “destination” metaphor. I thought flashcards were “taking me somewhere”. This was manifested in an interesting specific belief. Basically, I thought that when I was 50, I’d finally have the knowledge I needed to “arrive” and do the important things in life that needed to be done. The power of compounding knowledge would take over after many decades and I would be able to handle all of life’s challenges. Of course, this “destination” metaphor at play in my flashcard habit extended beyond flashcards. I thought my whole life was “going somewhere”. I no longer believe my life is “going” anywhere. This is because of some recent updates in my understanding of the role of metaphors in structuring thinking. The idea that “life is a journey” and you have “some place to be” is, of course, metaphorical. Like all metaphors, this helps clarify some things, but obscures others. For me, thinking I had a “destination” with my flashcards clarified a sense of purpose. It also obscured the ideas that there could be “other destinations” or that maybe that was no “destination” at all. Eventually, even without understanding explicitly this idea about clarity vs obscurity in the foundations of metaphors, I realized that my commitment to flashcards was missing some part of a bigger picture. I didn’t really know what it was, but I knew my flashcard obsession was very likely not taking me where I wanted to go. At that point, I was ready to reconsider the role of flashcards in my life. At first, I stopped doing flashcards entirely. In hindsight, during this phase, I was exploring “other destinations.” Eventually, I realized these “other destinations” were not particularly compelling either. I actually just had more fun creating and studying flashcards than doing other things. So, I started back up with flashcards again. This time, the scope of the habit was severely reduced. Flashcards could no longer take me to a “promised land”, so I didn’t feel the need to create and review them at all times. But the joy of creating and reviewing flashcards was still real and powerful. And that’s really the only reason you need to do anything. So, here we are. I’m not really sure what the new metaphor is for my flashcard usage. I’m mostly trying to avoid falling into the old thinking around the “destination” metaphor. Maybe something like “dancing” is relevant, who knows. But what’s nice is that I’m sure it will be a big surprise when I figure it out, and it’s exciting to have something to look forward to, even if you aren’t really “going anywhere”.
  Notes
  
• React
  • axios

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