Usefulness of Learning Through Observation

The famous Swiss biologist Louis Agassiz set a fish specimen on the table in front of his graduate student. 

“That’s only a sunfish,” the student said.

“I know that,” Agassiz replied. 

"Write a description of it," he said next. "Try to learn as much as you can without damaging the specimen. I'll question you after it appears you have completed the task."

Louis Agassiz and the Power of Observation

The student wrote for almost an hour before he was satisfied that he had learned almost everything there was to know about this specific fish.

To the student's surprise, Louis Agassiz did not come see him again that day. The following day, his teacher did not show up either. Not for the next full week, too. The pupil eventually understood Agassiz's trick: the instructor wanted him to examine the fish more closely. The student noticed smaller details that had previously escaped his vision after studying for almost a hundred hours: the placement of the teeth, the shape of each individual tooth, the patterns formed by the fish's scales, and so forth. When Agassiz eventually came back, he said, "That's not right," after the student finished explaining everything he had learned. 

The student, initially shocked and furious, gradually returned to the task with a new energy. He threw away his earlier notes. Over the course of a week, he studied the fish for ten hours every day. The student had turned in work that "astonished" Agassiz when they finally met.

The Art of Comparing Objects

The student of Agassiz wrote, "I had learned the art of comparing objects," following his examination of the sunfish. Which tooth is this and which one is next to it? What is the difference between this scale and the one on the other side? What is the difference between the fish's top and bottom halves' symmetry?

The art of comparing objects is a remarkably useful strategy in many areas of life. Consider weightlifting as an example. The famous author of the book “Atomic Habits” James Clear shares that he got mediocre results from lifting weights for the first five years. He figured that what was stopping him was information. Like a lot of people, Clear believed that he would be set once he discovered the ideal exercise routine. He was blind to the fact that his quest for the ideal pre-made formula was keeping him from seeing the outcomes he was really getting.

Clear discovered that his body responded better to higher volume than higher intensity when he began to watch more closely. He observed that he lacked the fundamental strength needed for exercises like the deadlift and squat. These observational findings allowed him to customize his training to meet his needs, which allowed him to advance much more quickly. Clear made progress by comparing what he was doing with what was genuinely effective for him.

The Price and Result of Doing Work for Yourself

“I never pay attention to anything by ‘experts.’ I calculate everything myself.” -Richard Feynman

The incredible physicist Richard Feynman noticed something unexpected while developing a new theory of beta decay. Experts had been claiming for years that beta decay happened in some specific way, but Feynman's actual experiments consistently produced different results.

After a while, Feynman looked into the original data that all the experts were using to support their theories and found that the research was flawed. No one had bothered to read or replicate the initial study in years! The experts simply continued to quote each other, using their shared opinions to support the theory. Then Feynman came, who, just by doing the math himself, turned the whole thing upside down.

Get the Job Done to Stay 2 Steps Ahead

“Take the facts into your own hands; look and see for yourself!” - Louis Agassiz

It is a fact that very few people truly work in life. Most people cite a secondary source's headline instead of reading the original study. Most biology students would look up the fish's description online rather than spend a hundred hours studying every detail of the fish. Most people actually mean to say, "I read the title of an article on climate change," when they say, "I read an article on climate change."

This is the exact reason why consistently completing tedious tasks is a competitive advantage. Ignore the advice of so called experts and focus on what works for you.