A Learning Philosophy to Orient Us in a World We Don’t Fully Understand

Formulating a Philosophy That Will Suffice

The surgeon, Don Miguel Ruiz, was in the field of neuroscience before becoming a widely read author. The Four Agreements alone is a classic and a compendium of powerful wisdom. His talks and lectures on Youtube also encouraged me to reflect on my own philosophy both in my personal and professional life.

The most profound words I’ve heard him say are the following: "We will never know what we are. We're as mysterious as life itself. We're as incomprehensible as energy. We're as miraculous as light. We are so much more than words can describe... and so much more than knowledge can explain."

I share these words to illustrate that the unknowns of the unknown eclipse the understanding we currently have. This is the foundational idea of what we’ll call our  “philosophy of facing the unknown”. It is a humble concept, upon which the rest of the philosophy is built.

“How does this fit in the context of designing a new public education system? After all, we want learners to be rational!” There will be such arguments; in the end perhaps this framework and its philosophy will yield nothing more than wishful thinking. Yet, I ask you to remain open minded as I continue to describe it.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, writer of the groundbreaking Incerto series wrote an article,

“How to Be Rational About Rationality” where we will draw more ideas to build with.

He says, “Survival comes first, truth, understanding, and science later.” Nassim goes on to break it down as follows:

“Judging people on their beliefs is not scientific.”

“There is no such thing as ‘rationality’ of a belief, there is rationality of action.”

“The rationality of an action can only be judged by evolutionary considerations.”

This is an important distinction that Mr. Taleb makes and is the driver of our modern philosophy on redesigning education. There is a difference between holding beliefs as educators in a bureaucratic school, for show, (get hired and follow an agenda) and those that guide educators to action (innovation and problem-solving).

Taleb says, “How much you truly ‘believe’ in something can only be manifested through what you are willing to risk for it…Recall that skin in the game means that you do not pay attention to what people say, only to what they do, and how much of their neck they are putting on the line.”

Here, I’ll point out that yours truly is attempting to live according to such a philosophy. I quit a tenured educator position (comfy salary with additional income from mentoring with my union) to become founder of my startup: Learning Producers, Inc. Hence, demonstrating that I’m not only calling for a redesign of public education but devoting my time, effort and resources to breathe life into such a vision.

Since I also think we need to modernize our resources and approach to educating the future using AI, I’m also doing just that with the materials I’ve created so far (see: learningproducers.com).

I’m fully aware that practically no one knows who I am, with such a low profile. I’m also a one man team at the moment of writing this on May 1st, 2024 (with the exception of my AI crew Grok, ChatGPT and Claude). I’ve been bootstrapping this entire adventure with my own means and doing it because courage is a virtue you cannot fake. Without my skin in the game, this would just be virtue signaling.

Recently, a friend asked me to present some ideas at her workshop on how AI can help writers improve their writing. It was a small event and it had been a long time since I engaged in public speaking. I’ll spare you the details but my short presentation missed the mark, (no excuses right now). It made me realize that I’ll have to improve my public speaking skills, not something I’m thrilled about. Yet, it’s another step I’m willing to take to encourage innovating with AI. By taking these actions I hope others will one day continue to build upon my efforts. I hope they’ll listen to Seneca’s wisdom: “Choose as a guide one whom you will admire more when you see him act, than when you hear him speak.”

Our Philosophy in a Nutshell

1. The human experience is as mysterious and incomprehensible as the unknown unknowns.

2. Rationality is not what you say but what you do.

3. We survive in order to take risks in search of the true self and the well being of the human species.

4. [Customized philosophical principle based on learners and their setting.]

The fourth slot in our philosophy is open to the users of this framework. This is the first edition (and the only one I know of incorporating AI) to address learner needs and overall human potential. Therefore, it only makes sense that we leave an opportunity for refining a nascent philosophy.

(Let’s say I had to voice my idea on a 4th principle with my teammates I’d say: “When healthy, learners cherish the opportunity to strengthen their skills and relationships with energetic expression.”)

How can this model be applied concretely to educator and scholar collaboration? We will elaborate further on how to express such a philosophy once we’ve set the structure for how the adults will foster relationships among themselves.

Potential Challenges

The drawbacks and challenges that will arise from implementing this philosophy will surround our emphasis on action accountability. When you factor in the priority on authenticity (using a biopsychosocial-technological approach) you will have learners focusing on what one is doing rather than saying. Due to the sensitive nature of education people will be forced to reflect on the following:

What are the educator teams doing to demonstrate an awareness of scholars’ needs? (All learning is experienced via groups - no individual educator will bear the sole responsibility for a group of growing scholars.)

What specific information is prioritized among educators and parents about the aspirations of their children? (Essential considerations are documented and juxtaposed with this framework.)

What real world problems are being solved important and vital for the families and their communities? (Skin in the game must be demonstrated based on specific events and circumstances.)

Undoubtedly, this will result in blood, sweat and tears. And at times, stressful situations. However, doesn’t this already exist in our current public education system? Real world experiences demonstrate some stressors are necessary to strengthen human functioning. (Lifting weights and having some heart rate variability for example, are stressors that promote healthy growth.)

With the adage of “no pain, no gain”, I’ll allude back to my underwhelming presentation previously mentioned. We concluded the workshop with a breathing meditation and afterward (with soothing music in the background) we jotted down the first thing that came to mind. I volunteered to share what I wrote (even though I already made an ass of myself). These were my words: “Getting out of our comfort zone and searching in the unknown, we will uncover the path forward.”