Herbert Simon argued that we manage complexity not by knowing more, but by constraining the problem.
Compression is not summarization. Compression is removing dimensions that do not change action.
Humans cannot process infinite complexity, so we construct boundaries to make problems solvable.
When you feel mentally heavy or blank, it’s often because you’re treating every dimension of a domain as if it matters equally. You’re trying to solve an infinite problem.
@mapto What's an invariant in skill acquisition and learning something new?
@impactology I'd argue that answering this question is close to half of mastery. Because it tells you where not to put your attention, because it remains fixed.
@mapto "Variation theory argues that the most effective way to help students understand a concept is to focus on providing opportunities for students to experience variation in the features of the concept that they currently take for granted"
This is very helpful thank you!
@mapto So this method can help teacher curate examples of a concept intentionally
@impactology if interested, see also phenomenographic variation theory
https://kb.edu.hku.hk/approaches_variation_theory/