Vinaire's Blog

Please see Course on Subject Clearing

Subject Clearing is the most powerful tool currently available to bring clarity to the mind on any subject. It not only brings about a much better understanding of a subject but also helps detect the basic postulates, assumptions and erroneous ideas present in that subject.

The basic postulates help one understand the grounds on which a subject stands. Ideas based on these postulates must be demonstrable. There must not be inconsistencies among these postulates, ideas and reality.

If assumptions and erroneous ideas are not detected and isolated, it can cause serious problems with the application of the subject. Such erroneous ideas can be very pervasive, and may even enter the definitions of words provided in dictionaries. It is, therefore, very important not to miss them in your study. 

The true purpose of study is to resolve inconsistencies (things that do not make sense) as you come across them in a subject or in life. This develops clarity of mind and the ability to think fast on your feet.

Since additional information on a subject may easily be accessed through Internet these days, the purpose of study is to not memorize but to improve critical thinking.

.

The Steps

Here are the steps to Subject Clearing:

1.    Make a list of key words in the subject.

Every subject has its own vocabulary. It may even use certain common words in a special meaning. Start making a list of key words used in that subject. If you are familiar with the subject you may already know some of those words. Otherwise, skim through the chapter that you are going to study, and obtain some key words from it. Put that list on an Excel worksheet. This list may grow as your studies get deeper into the subject.

2.    Enter the broad concept on a worksheet next to the word.

Look up the word in good dictionary. Read the ‘history’, ‘origin’, and/or ‘derivation’ for that word. Simply work out the broad concept underlying that word and write it down on the worksheet next to the word. Do so for each word on the list. Here are some broad concepts associated with some words.

STUDY = “eagerness, intense application”.
MATHEMATICS = “something learned”.
ARITHMETIC = ARITHMOS number + TECHNE skill = “number skill”.

3.    Read the subject material one paragraph at a time.

Procure the study materials in the form of an editable file on the computer. Study the materials of the subject one paragraph at a time. If the paragraph is too big, break it down into chunks of reasonable size.  If the paragraph is too small, and the thought continues to the next paragraph then read the two paragraphs together. Go over the paragraph as many times as necessary to understand the main thought.

4.    If the paragraph is fully understood, write down your understanding of its main thought along with your comments.

Make sure you fully understand the paragraph. If not then go to step 5. Once you have fully understood the paragraph, then summarize its main thought in your mind and look at your reactions to it. Write down below that paragraph your understanding of its main thought along with any comments. Treat this action as having a conversation with the author. Then go to step 7 below.

See examples of such comments at Comments on Books.

5.    If the paragraph is difficult to understand then look for the first word not fully understood.

If you find your mind going blank as you read the paragraph, something in that paragraph is not fully understood. Trace that sense of confusion to the earliest sentence in that paragraph, and to the earliest word in that sentence that is not understood. Here you have to be very careful because the misunderstanding can come from having assumed the wrong definition for a simple word like “on”, “of”, “in”, et cetera. Usually there is an obvious word, whose meaning you may have guessed in the past, but never actually looked up in a standard dictionary. At least there is some uncertainty in your mind about how that word is being used in the given context. We shall call it MU (misunderstood) for short. Write that MU word down on a sheet of paper. 

NOTE: If it is a key word in that subject, then see if its is defined in that paragraph or in the glossary of that book. Then write its definition down on the Excel worksheet of Step 1 above.

Do not look for anything else in that paragraph until you have cleared up this MU. You must be very honest with yourself in keeping this discipline.

6.    Clear up the MUs in that paragraph until that paragraph is fully understood.

(6a) Look up the MU word in a standard reference — This reference could be a standard dictionary or an Internet resource, such as, Wikipedia and Google Images.

(6b) Understand the concept underlying the word — Per step 2 above.

(6c) Look up the definitions of the word — Look up the definitions of the word. Visualize the definition in the context in which that word is used. If it doesn’t fit go to the next definition. You may visualize a definition better if you make a few of your own sentences, or examples from your experience, with that word. Some words may require the use of “Google Image.” Always keep the basic concept in your mind that underlies the word . It is best to check out all definitions this way until you find the definition that clarifies the MU. 

(6d) Look up MUs in the definition — If a definition contains an MU then look it up per this procedure. Write that MU down below the earlier MU. This may sometime get you in a long chain of MU words. Keep an account of these words on the list as you add them or cross them out after clearing them. It is okay to look up the same word again several times. Each time you look up the same word you get a deeper understanding of its meaning.

(6e) Review the original sentence — Review the sentence in which the original MU was found. Make sure that it now makes sense. If not then there may be another MU word in the sentence. Repeat the above procedure until that sentence is understood.

(6f) Review the paragraph — Once the sentence is cleared up, go back to step 4.

7.    Check the paragraph for key words/definitions.

Check the paragraph for key words and/or key word definitions that do not already appear on the Excel worksheet. If a key word definition is expanded upon then add it to the Excel worksheet.

8.    Continue with subsequent paragraphs per steps 4 to 7 until the end of chapter.

Continue as above with rest of the chapters building up the key word list on the Excel worksheet.

9.    Gradually build up the key word list for that subject.

Build up the key word list, with broad concepts and meanings, as you study the subject chapter after chapter, and book after book. Note down any additional concepts and meanings next to the appropriate word on the Excel worksheet. Also note down the questions that may arise in your mind about the key words or the underlying concept.

The broadest case would be the subject of religion. You may first make a key word lists for Judaism by studying the scriptures and commentaries. Then you may make key word lists for Christianity and Islam respectively. Then you may combine these lists to generate a key word lists for Abrahamic religions. Similarly, you may combine the key word lists for the Vedas, Hinduism, and Buddhism, etc., and generate a key word list for Eastern religions. Finally, you may combine all these word lists to generate the key word list for religion.

Here you may find many different definitions for the same key word, such as, God, all written down in one place. You may also find different words used in different religions for the same fundamental concept.

As you work on this step for a subject you will have many realizations along the way. This is a continuing step. So, you continue with the subsequent steps as well.

10.    Arrange the key words in sequences appropriate for understanding.

The concepts in a subject always evolve in some sequence. This sequence may be linear at first but then it branches out in different directions like a network or a matrix of concepts. This can easily be seen in Mathematics and Science.

In Excel, you may separate the key words on two different worksheets categorized as “fundamental concepts” and “derived concepts”. Then arrange the concepts in each worksheet in the order they evolved.

Since the sequence of the evolution of these concepts is multi-dimensional, you may set up the Excel worksheet to sort out these key words in different sequences. To do this you may create different “priority columns” in the worksheet. In each “priority column” assign a unique number to the key word so it sorts out in the order you want. The whole idea is to arrange these words in different ways to examine the connections among them.

11.    Note any inconsistencies among the concepts and clarify them.

As the study of the subject progresses, you’ll be collecting more data to describe each key word. Resolve any inconsistencies among that collection of concepts and meanings for each word through careful examination and contemplation. Once resolved, express the broad concept for each word in your own words. There may be one broad concept but several distinct meanings for a word. If so, then express the multiple meanings by numbering them. You are creating your own glossary.

Next, examine the evolution of the key words by arranging and rearranging them in different sequences. You are looking for inconsistencies that do not make sense. Here it is very important that you do not inject justifications in your examination. There may just be holes among those concepts that need to be filled. Be wary of arbitrary notions, assumptions and beliefs that may be covering those holes. Isolate the areas of inconsistency. Trace existing ideas in the area of inconsistency one by one for arbitrariness. 

Deeper research may be required to clearly identify the holes among the concepts, and then fill them. First review your study materials to clarify such inconsistencies. If it does not clarify easily then note it down on the worksheet; and research through other materials in the library, or on Internet, until the inconsistency is resolved.

12.    Clarify the fundamentals of the subject as a priority.

The consistency of the fundamentals determines the consistency in rest of the subject. Any inconsistency at the fundamental level must be handled as a priority. For example, a unified theory is desperately being looked for in the subject of Physics, which could bring the fundamentals of Newtonian Physics, the Theory of Relativity, and Quantum Mechanics in line. This means that inconsistencies exist in our understanding at the fundamental level of physics

There are likely to be many contributors to a subject who may use different words for the same concept. This is the case with religious knowledge from different cultures. Group such words together to discover inconsistencies among concepts.

Study of inconsistencies may lead to discovery of arbitrary beliefs that were advanced in the absence of knowledge, or you may find erroneous observation, or simply some notions that are taken for granted. This may reveal gaps in the subject itself. Develop your own understanding by seeking consistency among the fundamental concepts in a subject.

13.    Make the subject as complete as possible.

There are many examples in the subject of religion where gaps in knowledge are hidden under fixed beliefs and dubious explanations. This may be the case with any subject where inconsistencies abound. Follow up on inconsistencies, which may then reveal gaps in the subject. Real progress then becomes possible.

Fill gaps in the subject with wider research. Make the subject as complete as possible through direct experience and experimentation.

14.    Keep your viewpoint as objective as possible when you research a subject.

This step is done after one has acquired a good bit of experience with subject clearing. This is an advanced step that consists of doing the following: Meditation from Mystery to Knowing.

.

Summary

These are the steps of SUBJECT CLEARING. You do them again and again for the same or different subjects. These steps lead you to wonderful realizations that keep coming. As you assimilate those realizations your viewpoint moves up toward KNOWING on the Know-to-Mystery scale.

You may find examples of NOTES & COMMENTS resulting from Subject Clearing below.

Comments on Books

.