Reference: The Book of Subject Clearing
Suppose we have selected the subject of mathematics to subject clear. We shall first clear the subject title MATHEMATICS. We find that the word MATHEMATICS comes from a Greek word, máthēma, which has the concept of “learning” or “knowing”. “Knowing” is very different from memorizing. You get the sense of “knowing” when you learn to ride a bike. See What is Mathematics?
Then we take up the key words of mathematics, starting with those related to the broadest concepts. Mathematics consist of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, etc. Therefore, the next word we take up is ARITHMETIC. We look up its derivation. It literally means “number skill.” In Arithmetic we learn about numbers and how to add, subtract, multiply and divide them. We also take up the words ALGEBRA and GEOMETRY. See Mathematics Overview.
We then dive into the subject of Arithmetic listing its key concepts/words from broad to narrow. The word NUMBER is followed by the key concepts: COUNTING, DIGIT, THE RULE OF ABACUS, PLACE VALUE, GROUPING OF DIGITS, READING & WRITING NUMBERS. See Counting and Abacus, The Concept of Numbers. And so it continues.
By arranging these concepts in a logical order, we discover where the concepts needs to be further detailed and developed.
From all this study, we start to generate a basic curricula. See The Book of Mathematics.
All this subject clearing helps us discover the following principle:
One should always develop and clear up the basics of a subject first before trying to understand the later details.
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Summary
The core idea of Subject Clearing is as follows:
The fastest and guaranteed method to discover and resolve the earliest holes in the understanding of a subject is to follow the logic of that subject.
The first logical step is an understanding of why a subject is there. This may be grasped from the title of that subject.
The next logical step is to understand the postulate on which that subject is based. Here we isolate the broadest concept, and continue with the next broadest, and so on.
Thus, we find that the purpose of ARITHMETIC is to develop skill with numbers; and the subject of MATHEMATICS is based on the postulate that all things can be counted or measured.
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Comments
I would have said, I have routinely said your Einstein quote, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” This is because I live and operate in a macro-world of explainable things.
But I seriously doubt that Einstein ever said this. He worked in an imaginative world spoken in the language of mathematics. His world was very abstract, indeed. Feynman was very clear about these types of over simplifications when he said, “If you think you understand quantum physics, I can assure you that you don’t.” (or somesuch)
Nevertheless, as regards “subject clearing,” I approve of this message! Keep going!
These may be actual quotes from Einstein:
Albert Einstein Quotes
Good! These could be.
But no references.
If you are interested you can always verify them by yourself. For me, it is going off on a tangent.
When you wrote “I am asking for a list of names that you associate with the present difficulty in the area of governing of USA.” and “I mean identities (present and past) like presidents, or others, that represent the present condition of the US government in your mind–actual people. I would like to explore those identities.”
I took your advice and looked again at your “subject clearing” per your recommendation. It seems that we quote the sayings of other people for two reasons. One is to give credit for a thought. In acadamia, A. this matters so as not to give any apparency of plagiarism, and B. so as to allow our references to be re-researched and peer checked by others and the other reason seems to be as a name-drop to help persuade.
In normal conversation, when we are simply discussing topics of interest, where there is not a reason to persuade but only to discuss, we wouldn’t need to quote or give credit at all but maybe simply say, “You know that old saw . . . ?” Give the “quote” or saying and make our point and move on. That is my only reason for commenting on the Einstein “quote.” The internet is full of misquotes. Nevertheless, if a saying seems apt, clever, or pertinent to the discussion, for me they are fun to share. They do not require a famous person to validate. 🙂
Your essays on many topics are fun and educational to read. They stand on their own. Just sayin’.
That request for the list of identities was just an L10 approach. You seem to be making a mountain out of a molehill. It is ok – you don’t have to provide a list.