The content argues that excessive consumption of trivial online content, termed "brain rot," degrades cognitive function, and advocates for self-education as a powerful defense mechanism to reclaim mental acuity and intellectual depth.
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This is me teaching myself Latin and
piano and cooking and herbalism and
literary theory. Why? Because social
media is rotting my brain and I want it
back. The modernist writer Virginia Wolf
once said, "Thinking is my fighting."
She was talking about fighting World War
II, but I would argue we're in the midst
of a war right now. A war for our
attention, our literacy, our
discernment, our very cognition, and
thinking is our best defense.
maybe our only defense. I never used to
be much of a social media user, but
during isolation, scrolling the feeds
became awfully seductive. Watching real
after real, Tik Tok after Tik Tok
distracted me from my loneliness. It
made me feel like I was still connected
to the world. It took me years to notice
that my memory was shot. I was reading
less. I stopped journaling and came up
with exactly zero interesting writing
ideas. I found myself constantly
wondering, "How do I get back to who I
used to be?" Little did I know that the
way back was something I've been doing
my entire life in one form or another.
And you probably have, too, learning
stuff. You don't need to go back to
school, hire a private tutor, or sign up
for some Instagram guru's business
course. As long as you have an internet
connection, a notebook, a little bit of
time, and a lot of motivation, you too
can reclaim your brain with
self-education. And by the end of this
video, you'll have a simple four-step
framework to get you started. But first,
what we talk about when we talk about
brain rot, brain rot, the Oxford
dictionary's 2024 word of the year,
which is concerning in and of itself.
The dictionary defines brain rot as the
supposed deterioration of a person's
mental or intellectual state, especially
viewed as a result of the overconumption
of material, now particularly online
content, considered to be trivial or unchallenging.
unchallenging.
also something characterized as likely
to lead to such deterioration. That's a
lot of words to say when scrolling Tik
Tok makes you dumb. Brain rot takes many
forms, but much like, shall we say,
material of an adult nature, I know it
when I see it. It's the short videos
that engage the eye, but not the brain.
It's nonsense words that delight
It's outsourcing every question you
could ever have to chat GPT. It's over
stimulation for the sake of viewer
retention. I think brain rot can also be
the act of scrolling itself, which is
more likely to ensnare the kind of
person who would click on an education
video, myself included. Maybe the
content you're scrolling past does have
some value to it. Maybe even artistry,
like a product review or a crafting
tutorial, but it's still passive
consumption that draws our attention
away from activities that would demand
more of us. Maybe you're wondering if
there's any truth to the term brain rot.
Like, sure, those Roblox storytime Tik
Toks are not making us smarter, but are
they actually hurting our brains? Well,
in the name of honesty, we don't really
know. In my research, I couldn't find
any studies conclusively linking content
consumption to cognitive decline. And
that may be because that would require a
longer term study. And this question is
still quite new. But I am aware of the
study that took the internet by storm
just a few months ago called your brain
on chat GBT which found that
participants who used LLMs to help them
write essays had less brain activity and
neural connectivity. The study is both
fascinating and disconcerting but it has
not yet been peer- reviewviewed and the
authors do clearly state that their
findings don't prove that LLM llm usage
damages brain function. But I have to
wonder, does it matter? Does it really
matter that the almighty studies aren't
here yet? You probably clicked on this
video because you remember a time when
your brain felt better and you know that
the reals and the Tik Toks and the
Twitter feeds are not giving you what
you need. In many ways, the brain is
like a muscle. You use it or lose it. I
came across an article from Utah State
University that explains brain health
very simply. The cognitive reserve
hypothesis suggests that a very healthy
high-capacity brain, a brain with high
cognitive reserve is one where there are
a lot of healthy brain cells and those
brain cells have a lot of connections
with one another. A brain with low
cognitive reserve does not have as many
connections between the brain cells and
likely has fewer healthy cells. In order
to build connections between brain cells
and increase the connections between
existing brain cells, you need to use
the cells to establish the connection
and then keep using the cells to
maintain that connection. And that I
think is the key here, maintaining the
connection. Short and easily digestible
content just isn't enough of a workout
to keep our brain cells strong. Brain
rot may not be literal rot, but it is
neglect. Why self-education is the
antidote. It's so simple that saying it
almost sounds stupid. Actively using
your brain is good. But seriously,
thinking is our fighting. If we want to
build larger muscles, we work them out.
So too, if we want caked up brain cells,
we need to give them a challenge to chew
on. The article I just mentioned lists
learning new information and processing
it at a deeper level as its top brain
stimulating activity. An article called
Lifelong Learning in the Delaware
Journal of Public Health looked at the
link between learning and dementia
prevention and found that mentally
stimulating activities can promote the
production of new neurons and neural
connections, which in turn promotes
problem solving, critical thinking, and
creativity. So, the opposite of brain
rot. Obviously, you can get the same
benefits of education in a classroom,
but I recommend self-education for a few
reasons. And the first of which is
accessibility. School is expensive. My
bank account knows that full well. And
it takes time. Usually a set schedule
over a period of weeks or months that
you, as an adult, which according to my
analytics, you almost definitely are
might not have. When you're directing
your own learning, you can find
materials that work within your budget,
and you can slip studying into pockets
of time. And as I'll discuss more in a
minute, we are spoiled for resources and
access to knowledge has never been more
widespread than it is right now. But the
real reason I love self-education so
much is this. It relies on intrinsic
motivation. It's something you do for no
other reason than to improve yourself.
Maybe there's a reason you're learning a
certain thing, like you want to speak
the local language on an exciting trip
you have planned, or you want to better
chat with your partner on something they
enjoy. But still, there's no one telling
you to study. You're not working toward
a promotion or a straight A report card.
And personally, I think that intrinsic
motivation is another skill we're losing
nowadays. The ability to do something
hard simply because it enriches us. And
that enrichment feels good, not because
it will get us something. You know, this
actually reminded me of when I was in
middle school. I would sit myself down
and just write out lists of everything I
wanted to learn one day. Subjects from
ecology to theology to uh web
development and fashion design. And I
wanted to learn these things entirely
because I was 13, thought they were
cool, and I didn't know what a resume
was. But now if you Google
self-education or why self-education,
every page argues that it's an essential
soft skill that will give you a
competitive edge in today's labor
market. I have no doubt that's true. But
personally, I would urge you to approach
it not from a place of professional
development, but instead from a place of
curiosity and childlike wonder, which
the pushers of brain rot also don't want
you to have. But real quick, if you're
enjoying this video so far, you might
also enjoy my brand new Substack
newsletter. Over there, I'll be sharing
more practical advice on building a
creative and thought oriented life, as
well as reading recommendations, writing
prompts, and essays that put the
personal in personal essay. It's
completely free and in return for your
subscription and as a token of my
undying love and gratitude, you will
receive well- read in 32 weeks an 11page
reading plan of over 50 classic books
I've read and loved that will give you a
solid foundation in great literature.
So, if you don't know where to start
with self-education, you could start
there. The newsletter will be linked
down below, but if you're just a video
person, I respect that. In which case,
you know which button to hit. my
four-step self-eing framework, aka the
SCAR method. And why, yes, I did spend
an unreasonable amount of time coming up
with an acronym. Step one, select.
Choosing your topic is essential because
your interest in it will determine how
far and deep you go. You want to avoid
topics you think you should know and
focus on what you're genuinely drawn to.
For example, as an American, I know I
probably should study Spanish. I would
get way more use out of it than
classical Latin, but about 50% or so of
English is Latin. And as a writer, I
want to better understand where the
words I write come from. If no topic
immediately jumps out to you as one you
want to study, I recommend just taking a
few days, maybe a week, just being
conscious of where your attention is
drawn. And here you can actually put
your for you page to work. Do you maybe
tend to stop scrolling on cooking
videos? Well, have you considered maybe
studying food science or proper cooking
technique? Or are you a true crime
devote? If so, maybe you actually want
to study forensics. In my experience,
your interests will start closer to home
and connect more to things you're
already doing and then expand outward as
your sphere of knowledge grows. Step
two, curate. Locate your resources. I
find this stage exceedingly fun because
it's the first official foray into an
exciting new topic and we are truly
blessed to have nearly everything we
could ever want to know at our
fingertips all the time largely for
free. That said, it's very easy to get
overwhelmed by the sheer amount of
information out there. And that's why I
implement a rule of three. One
foundational text, one expert to follow,
and one active community. to go back to
my Latin study that looks like my
foundational text is the textbook
Familia Romana. My expert is Steve
Calfman's language channel here on
YouTube and my active community is
r/Latin. I plan to go more in depth on
where exactly to find study resources in
a future video, but it doesn't have to
be complicated. To find a foundational
text, a quick Google on your topic plus
books will find you a list of essential
reading or of course you can ask your
local librarian for guidance. Your
expert can be a teacher, a tutor, a
course if you're able, but if not, there
is a wealth of experts creating quality
quality content on YouTube. And a
community can be a Meetup group or a
study group in your area, a smart
friend, or something as simple as a
subreddit. Step three, apply. If you've
ever heard of the Fineman technique,
this stage will sound familiar.
Physicist and Nobel Laureate Richard
Fineman developed a learning technique
that focused on simplifying concepts for
better understanding. After selecting
and studying your material, he wants you
to teach it to a child. That means you
have to present the information in plain
English as simply as possible. But in
order to do that, you have to thoroughly
understand it. If you can't explain what
you're studying in the most basic terms,
free of jargon, we probably don't
understand it that well. And I'm sure
this is something we've all experienced
when you're trying to explain something
to someone and as you're talking you
realize, um, I don't know how to put
this into words. Now, you don't need to
literally find a kid and teach him
macroeconomics. Although, bonus points
if you do. Simply imagining and writing
down what you would teach a student can
be enough to test your understanding and
help you identify weak spots. The Fman
technique is great for conceptual topics
like uh literary theory or abnormal
psychology, but I don't think it quite
addresses more uh practical or
technique-based things you might want to
learn. Things like baking, pottery, or
an instrument. In those cases, regularly
ask yourself this question. What am I
doing and why am I doing it? Say you're
baking a cake and you need flour, sugar,
butter, eggs, baking powder. It's one
thing to know you need to put them
together in specific proportions in
order to get a cake, but it's a whole
different level of understanding to know
why. What does the butter do, the egg
do, the flour? Why bake on 350 instead
of 400? In short, applying your newfound
knowledge or knowing why you're applying
your new knowledge is the key to
self-education that sticks. Finally,
step four, reflect. After you've taught
your topic to someone, literally or
figuratively, the gaps in your knowledge
will be apparent. What did you have
trouble explaining? What technique
didn't you understand? Conversely, what
new insights did you have? And have you
made any connections between different
concepts? Is there anything you're
curious about? Reflection doesn't have
to take much time or energy. I usually
do a weekly audit, which is just a page
in my commonplace book where I jot down
the progress I've made and the questions
I have, plus any insights that come up.
The following week, I prioritize my weak
spots before carrying on to new
material. From here on out, you'll be
cycling between stages of application
and reflection and curating new
resources as you progress. What I love
about this system is that it develops
your analysis and critical thinking
skills alongside whatever it is you're
studying because you're evaluating
yourself. No one is grading you.
Self-eing puts yourself back in the
driver's seat of your own brain. Now,
before you go drive that brain, you
should be aware of these two common
pitfalls. The beginner blues. We've all
been there. You start learning something
new and you're loving it, but oh, you
just want to be an expert already. Maybe
it's a language you want to speak
fluently or an advanced piece of music
you want to play, but the idea of
getting from here to there is so
daunting that you wonder if it's even
possible. It absolutely is possible. So,
I started knitting around 14 or 15, and
I'm entirely self-taught through YouTube
University, and for months on end, I
knit scarf after misshapen scarf when
what I really wanted to knit was my own
clothing. It did take me a good six or
seven years before I felt I finally had
the skill to knit a garment that fit
properly. But now I'm at a point where
probably about a third of my wardrobe is
handk knit or crocheted. And that's
pretty freaking cool and certainly would
not have happened if I rage quit all
those years ago. And now I'm knitting
this top. So if you're battling the
beginner blues, ask yourself this
question. Do I love what I'm learning
enough to endure the growing pains?
Maybe your answer is no, and you only
want to skip to expert level because
you're not truly enjoying the process or
the material. In that case, I give you
permission to quit and try something
new. But if your answer is yes, I beg
you, do not give up when the going gets
rough because eventually that love of
the work will get you to where you want
to be.
Alternately, you might love being a
beginner so much that you keep starting
to learn new things, but don't make much
progress on any one of them. You're so
committed to self-education that every
time a new interest grabs you, you dive
right in. Love the energy. Love the
enthusiasm. But the irony is that
learning becomes the new scrolling.
Starting a new project gives you that
same hit of dopamine that scrolling to a
new Tik Tok would. In my experience,
shiny object syndrome is a particularly
easy trap to fall into when you're new
to self-education because you're still
breaking away from that endless
algorithm mindset. It's totally natural
to want variety. I know I need quite a
bit of it myself to stay engaged. But
instead of getting that variety by
switching between topics, vary the
methods and the materials materials you
use in one topic. I'll use language
learning as an example again. Instead of
studying Greek, then Korean a few weeks
later, then German after that, stick
with Greek, but alter how you study it.
Maybe read a short story on Monday, and
then do grammar drills on Wednesday.
Listen to a podcast Friday and then
speak with a partner on Sunday. That
way, each study session feels new and
different, but you're still going deep
into one area instead of simply dipping
your toes into several.
In the beginning of the video, I asked
myself the question, "How do I get back
to who I used to be?" Self-education is
the answer to that question. Not only
because the process strengthens the
cognitive function that I've been
neglecting, but also because the entire
effort is emblematic of the person I
truly know myself to be. And if you
watched this far, who you are, too.
Someone who is curious about the world
around them. Who wants to explore new
ways of thinking. Who values knowledge
for its own sake. Someone who wants to
experience life directly, not have it
boiled down and served to them on a
pocket-sized platter. Well, that is it
for me today. If you enjoyed this video,
don't forget to give it a like, which is
the easiest and fastest way to support
the channel. And do let me know in the
comments if you could study anything,
what would it be? Or what have you
taught yourself in the past? I'm very
curious to know what subjects strike
your fancy.
>> You can also follow me on Instagram and
Goodreads at ThoughtQcoutur. I knew I
was forgetting to say something.
>> And as always, thank you so much for
spending your time with me. I hope you
have a lovely rest of your day and I
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