> [!tldr] An illustration of how I arrive at a note. This is the story of how [[Distillation Applies to the Individual|this note]] and [[The Job of the Teacher is to Plant the Seeds Earlier|this note]] were created. # 4 Step Process ![[Case Study in the Thought Process 2026-07-25 10.47.59.excalidraw.svg]] %%[[Case Study in the Thought Process 2026-07-25 10.47.59.excalidraw.md|🖋 Edit in Excalidraw]]%% ## 1 - initial inspiration Can take many forms. In this case, a walk-and-talk with Zane. > [!example] > (I cannot reproduce the original conversation, sadly) ## 2 - dictation Speaking the words out loud, typically while moving, as part of my [[Decent LLM-backed Dictation Workflow]] > [!example] > The literal dictated text: > ```plaintext > Distillation and reducing something to its core essence is an incredibly valuable thing I wonder though if the individual who is receiving the core essence of something must be capable of understanding the greater whole of the unspoken parts of what did not make it into the core distilled essence of the thing in order to truly appreciate the essence of the thing this goes back to the conversation I just had with Zane about the car having a problem to me looking at it as my black box is making a funny sound whereas an experienced auto mechanic can address the individual constituent components of the actual situation the same type of thing I think applies for example the core essence of health can be boiled down to eat real food not too much move consistently and get enough sleep those things when done consistently our 90% of health with .01% of the necessary knowledge put into words but the problem is those fundamental truths at that level of distillation everyone can read or hear but not everyone can appreciate or understand the application of those general principles to their specific context so they are not ready for the distillation they are not yet primed with the necessary knowledge for the distillation to actually lock in and do its job therefore we need or at least we produce whether or not it is needed as a different question volumes upon volumes of information that go into the Y in the particulars of how to do those core distilled set of principles all of that framed a different way is to say it is not necessarily enough to be able to recite the principal you have to actually understand it and that understanding needs to be broadly applicable across context and you cannot state how a principle is applied across every possible context so we as individuals have to deduce or induce cause I can never remember which one is right the true underlying principle of behavior or whatever the thing is through repeated exposure to that which the principal applies against in different context and have the experience of seeing the results of how that principle was applied given the specifics of the situation only once I see that imagined features or neat use cases don't typically justify the introduction of complexity into a system through the lens of a multitude of different projects in which that general principle has been learned have I the wisdom to recognize it for what it is truly while for me it is enough to say the two words "simpler better" those two words are not enough for practically everyone else so ultimately for each thing it's ultimate form of distillation necessarily must be applied at the level of the individual. > > It is the job of the elder or the scholar or the architect or the professor to constantly be on the lookout for underlying principles and patterns and be able to articulate two their pupils the necessary seeds of knowledge in the form of distilled pre-distilled principles to help them jumpstart their holistic understanding of the principle to reduce the number of exposures across different contexts where that principle would have been useful before they recognize it for what it is and start to be able to apply it to achieve better results > ``` ## 3 - [[Large Language Models|LLM]] summarization to my [[Inbox]] The next steps of the [[Decent LLM-backed Dictation Workflow]]. > [!example] > The AI-organized version of the dictated text:[^1] > ```plaintext > Distillation — reducing something to its core essence — is incredibly valuable. But I wonder if the person receiving that distilled essence has to already be capable of understanding the greater, unspoken whole behind it in order to truly appreciate it. > > This connects to a conversation I had with Zane about his car having a problem. To me, the car is a black box making a funny sound. To an experienced auto mechanic, it's an addressable set of individual, constituent components. The same principle applies elsewhere. For example, the core essence of health can be boiled down to: eat real food, don't eat too much, move consistently, get enough sleep. Done consistently, that's 90% of health from about 0.01% of the necessary knowledge, put into a handful of words. > > The problem is that fundamental truths at that level of distillation can be read or heard by everyone, but not everyone can appreciate or apply them to their specific context. They aren't primed with the necessary knowledge for the distillation to actually lock in and do its job. So we produce — whether or not it's truly needed — volumes of information explaining the *why* and the particulars behind those core principles. > > Framed differently: it's not enough to be able to recite a principle. You have to actually understand it, and that understanding has to be broadly applicable across contexts. But you can't state how a principle applies in every possible context. So as individuals, we have to deduce or induce (I can never remember which is the right term) the true underlying principle through repeated exposure — seeing it applied in different contexts and observing the results. Only after seeing that — through the lens of many different projects where the general principle showed up — do I gain the wisdom to truly recognize it. Imagined features or "neat" use cases don't typically justify introducing complexity into a system; that's a principle I only came to trust this way. > > For me, it's enough to say "simpler better." Those two words carry the whole principle. But for practically everyone else, those two words alone aren't enough. Ultimately, the final, truest form of distillation for any given idea has to happen at the level of the individual. > > It's the job of the elder, the scholar, the architect, or the professor to constantly watch for underlying principles and patterns, and to articulate to their students the necessary seeds — pre-distilled principles — that jumpstart holistic understanding. The goal is to reduce the number of exposures across different contexts a person needs before they recognize the principle for what it is and can start applying it to get better results. > ``` ## 4 - revisiting and ultimate production Engage with the summary in the inbox - think about it further, and produce the final result. > [!example] > The final result: > [[Distillation Applies to the Individual]] & [[The Job of the Teacher is to Plant the Seeds Earlier]] **** # More ## Source - self - with thanks to Zane for the source material and making me think to write this note, too [^1]: again a very rare example of AI text directly showing up in [[My Notes]], which will only happen if AI text is the *point of the note*.