The Three-Person Problem

I have to say: Gong's book, Learning & Teaching for Exponential Growth: A Three Person Problem, has got to be one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read.  It was part epiphany, part obvious, and part wow.

Epiphany because it led me to so many "aha!" moments where I thought of how I could use this in teaching my own kids, in guiding them to a love of learning, or of teaching the children in my Sunday School class, helping them find joy in both learning and teaching each other and others, or with just how I can learn more myself and find greater enjoyment.  It did a great deal towards helping me to find that joy in seeking out new knowledge and gaining new insights.

Obvious because so much of it was like walking out into the sun and saying "yes, it is bright."  I have heard many times that one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it.  This forces you to organize your thoughts and to put things in your own language, or manner of speaking.  That reinforces whatever you are teaching in your own mind, helping it to be solidified.  This was something I knew, and yet I was excited to find it mentioned within the book, most likely since it confirmed what I believed to be true.

And "wow" because it succeeded in amazing me.  There were so many ways it pushed my understanding and provoked my thoughts towards higher meanings.  The entire idea of exponential learning just boggles my mind.  And yet it also calls to me.  I have always loved learning, but I had previously felt that learning at exponential speed and recall was only for the lucky few.  Now I have a goal to strive for and a task to complete.  I want to learn at that rate.  I want my family to be able to learn like that.  I want everyone I meet to learn like that.