--- content_date: 2020-09-02 feed: "DANIEL_ON_SLOPE" codex_section: "S09" codex_candidate: true source: Scotomaville source_file: 02.02-process.pdf chapter: 02.02-process total_pdf_pages: 12 volume: v2 title: The Messy Process of Learning monomyth_stage: "06 - Tests, Allies, Enemies" category: - awareness - strategy - expedition - relationship - integration tags: - learning-process - four-stages-of-competence - scotoma-discovery - windfoiling - self-mastery - unconscious-incompetence - blind-spots - critical-thinking - ai-integration - personal-growth summary: I use my windfoiling adventures as a mirror for the messy process of learning and self-mastery, walking through the four stages of competence while sleuthing out scotomas like my drone cable forgetfulness and key fob workaround. Patience and extra effort to find real solutions beat mental shortcuts or settling for patches, especially when collaborating with Angelina, Alex, and even AI to dig deeper into emotional knots. This chapter shows how rejecting easy answers and embracing failure forward moves us toward unconscious competence on both the water and the inner expedition. qr_links: - https://youtu.be/5DCsRe0T9xQ --- # 02.02-process ## Spread 001 [p1–p2] **type:** text_only | **img coverage:** L=26% R=28% **heading:** Welcome to a fabulous day in SCOTOMAVILLE. ### Left page Welcome to a fabulous day in SCOTOMAVILLE. Neil Degrasse Tyson excellently put it in a Master Class that I finished; ‘it’s not WHAT you think that matters. It’s HOW you think’. Critical thinking skills help us spot SCATOMAS by taking on our self-talk. So how do we develop that skill? That’s the aim of this episode. It’s essentially the learning PROCESS. I will use some examples of things I’m learning. Patience First First, we have to be patient with ourselves. We have to understand the bigger picture to get through the tricky parts of the journey. The reason why I recommend mimicking - for you to do your own video series - is that you’re going to edit your clips and notice, as I did, my nose hairs turning silver. Really? I have to shave up into my nose? What a distraction. Now, I have to re-shoot this scene! Little things that you weren’t previously aware of start piling up. There’s more and more... laugh with me. 2.02 PROCESS the process of learning is messy. example: we all have scatomas, right? (*wrong) * a scatoma (not a scotoma) is a tu mor-like mass of feces in the colon! EXPEDITION Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 180 ### Right page Facets of Self-Mastery The facets are Awareness, Understanding, and Discipline. I now have a new discipline to master. Now I’m going to shave up into my nose! Three years later I’m plucking hair from my ears. What’s next? Angelina ‘learning how to learn’ by practicing sail trim w/o river water ‘It’s not what you think that matters. It’s how you think’ Neil Degrasse Tyson Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 181 COLLABORATIVE LEARNING Let’s go to the launch site near the Hood River sandbar where we are wind-foiling, kite-surfing, kite-boarding, wing-foiling. It’s a place where we spread our toys out and collaborate on the learning experi ence commiserating with each other’s crashes but ultimately learning by mim icking. There’s lots of learning going on. We’re all willing to fail often and to fail forward. We get up and try again be cause we’re not alone. The learning we do on the water is similar to a journey of Self-mastery. Our outward expedition to master a sport is a mirror of the inner exploration to ‘Know-Thyself’. Cool, right? We start by being unconsciously incompetent - that is - we’re not aware of how bad we are. We don’t see our scotomas. ## Spread 002 [p3–p4] **type:** image_heavy | **img coverage:** L=45% R=31% **heading:** Next, we become consciously ### Visual description The left page is dominated by a large, realistic underwater photograph of a black wind foil sailboard with red accents, its mast and board visible just below the sunlit blue water surface with visible rays and particles. Below the image, the page features the provided excerpt on the four stages of competence, plus a bold "Four Stages" heading listing the progression from unconsciously incompetent to unconsciously competent, accompanied by dialogue quotes from Daniel and Garth about wind foiling attempts. The right page opens with the header "READ HOMO DEUS" above text on Yuval Harari and AI integration, with a small inset photo showing hands holding an open copy of the book overlaid with a green network-style diagram. The bottom right contains a clear product-style photograph of the "Homo Deus" book cover resting on a table. Both images read as documentary rather than ironic or metaphorical, directly illustrating the chapter’s themes of skill acquisition through personal wind-foiling experience and intellectual self-mastery via reading. ### Left page Next, we become consciously incompetent. We become aware of the power of the wind and how bad the con ditions are for our skills. We learn that incremental progress and feedback are required. The third stage is becoming consciously competent - that is - we’re mastering the tools and techniques. Ultimately we become unconsciously competent - being able to rig, launch and go where we want to go. Four Stages Unconsciously incompetent Consciously incompetent Consciously competent Unconsciously competent Daniel: “Garth, you tried wind foiling. I bet you went from unconsciously incompetent to becoming consciously incompetent. I feel for you because that’s awkward.” Garth: “Yeah and my shin is proof! Even though Daniel explained to me to stay away from the foil I managed to kick it good and hard with both of my legs - moving my awareness from unconscious to conscious.” I’ve fallen more than most guys on my beach. I’m committed to learning and will not fail unless I chose to quit. That’s not going to happen! Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 182 ### Right page READ HOMO DEUS Remember? The burden of proof is on the claimant not on the recipient! Two years ago I shot an Episode about Dataism and global challenges like pandemics and that we better be prepared. Reading from Yuval Harari. “For the first time in history, more people die today from eating too much than from eating too little. More people die from old age than from infectious dis eases and more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers terrorists and criminals combined. Up till now increasing human power relied mainly upon upgrading our external tools. In the future, it may rely more on upgrading the human body and mind or on merging directly with our tools. This is why it’s so vital to think about humanity’s new agenda. Precisely because we have some choice regarding the use of new technologies. We had better understand what is happening and make up our minds about it before it makes up our minds for us.” Certainly I’ll assist, Daniel. Based on the exploration of self-mastery and personal development that you advocate, and drawing on the insights of experts in personal develop ment, I’ll rephrase the idea: “We are experiencing an era marked by swift and relent less technological advancement, yet my mental frame work remains grounded in its primitive ‘Savanna v1’ configu ration. To navigate this dynamic landscape, I’ve decided to engage with AI, seeking self-assessment and guidance on formulating more insightful and potent questions.” This reframing aligns with the pursuit of self-understanding and the utilization of AI as a tool to enhance human wis dom, reflecting the values you uphold. It also encapsulates the sentiment that, though technology is evolving, our intrinsic thinking processes may require deliberate effort to adapt. Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 183 We’re living in an age of rapidly accelerating We’re living in an age of rapidly accelerating change, but my brain is still running ‘Savanna change, but my brain is still running ‘Savanna v1.’ .’ I chose to learn to prompt AI for self-diagnos I chose to learn to prompt AI for self-diagnos tics asking how to ask more powerful questions. tics asking how to ask more powerful questions. read Homo Deus! ## Spread 003 [p5–p6] **type:** image_heavy | **img coverage:** L=58% R=0% **heading:** LITTLE THINGS TOGETHER ### Visual description The two-page spread opens with a large documentary photograph dominating the upper left, showing Angelina with long reddish-blonde hair inside a vehicle (likely the Airstream) framed by reflections of water, trees, and mountains on the glass. She wears a black-and-white life vest while holding or positioning a windsurfing sail rig with red-and-white panels and visible control lines, her expression focused as she looks toward the camera. Below this on the lower left is a second outdoor photograph of Angelina standing on a green lawn under a clear blue sky with distant mountains; she wears a black tank top, patterned skirt, and cap while adjusting a large white-and-red windsurf sail on the grass. The left page also includes the bold heading “LITTLE THINGS TOGETHER” followed by Angelina’s first-person narrative about learning windsurfing steps, plus a red “Authors Note” block. The right page is primarily text-heavy with headings such as “DISCOVERING BLIND-SPOTS” and “UNCONSCIOUSLY INCOMPETENT,” a horizontal rule, and a large pull-quote in quotes. Both photographs are straightforward documentary images from the journey rather than cartoons or diagrams, directly illustrating the chapter’s windsurfing-as-process metaphor without ironic detachment. ### Left page LITTLE THINGS TOGETHER Angelina: In my first journey on how to windsurf, there were several elements which played a role in the process. From having the proper equipment, to the order it is assembled. Daniel had me holding the sail and practicing on land, learning how to control it with the wind’s resistance and where my hands and feet positioning needed to be. Once I carried the gear down to the water and got in, I had to learn how to climb onto the board, get to my feet, bal ance, and up-haul, then apply what I had practiced on land beforehand, positioning my hands on the boom so that I could stand up and balance. I was constantly considering how all of these little bitty things work together. I still didn’t know what I didn’t know yet following his lead; as someone who has done this work for a long time, I was grateful for what I achieved. Authors Note: For the third edition, I edited the previous page to include AI, demonstrating life-long learning, and how the youth ful exploration of sport teaches us how to focus within on the journey of self-mastery. leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 184 ### Right page “con·sci·en·tious: wishing to do what is right, especially to do one’s work or duty well and thoroughly ” leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 185 DISCOVERING BLIND-SPOTS Let me slow the pace of this Episode to help you absorb what I’m about to demon strate - my process of discovering blind spots regarding my production pace. Using the emotional word list, I match words to my emotions. I’m feeling frustrated. I have a degree of anger - a subtle contention with the work I’m doing. Okay, here’s a fitting word: conflicted. I’ve been working on this Episode for five weeks. It has 400 video clips. That’s four times my usual number of clips for an Episode. This is because I have had to ‘sleuth’ out the actual message (Sherlock Holmes - to sleuth). This obstacle allowed me to discover a scotoma regarding my performance and self-esteem. My top Clifton ‘strength’ is ‘Achiever.’ It’s a coping mechanism that gives me value and meaning. My expectation of one Episode a week was established in Volume One. I am feeling a sense of shame and a degree of disappoint ment for falling behind an imaginary standard. I am conflicted between dopamine and performance. All of this is an emotional Gordian Knot - a habit I created from a ‘rule’ I unconsciously had set. It’s a future-self neu ro-transmitter addiction. Your Personal Everest will fill with discoveries of scotomas. You shouldn’t settle for an easy answer. Dig into emo tional knots. Sleuth out the core onion layer. Challenge your assumptions and make incremental progress using modern assessment tools. UNCONSCIOUSLY INCOMPETENT I had intended to shoot a drone shot of my foiling footwork, but I forgot to bring the cable to connect my cell phone to the controller. The cable is sitting on my desk. I’m consciously incompetent. At first, I created a rule to remind myself not to leave the cable. That was simply a mental short-cut to a real solution. Solutions are tough to find because you have to dig deep to determine the scotoma. I reviewed a few video tutorials and learned of a handy storage space in the controller. Now I have a solution to ## Spread 004 [p7–p8] **type:** image_heavy | **img coverage:** L=40% R=22% **heading:** avoid frustration when I forget my own rule. I ### Visual description The left page features the chapter's narrative text at top, overlaid on a split layout with a large satellite map of the Columbia River Gorge showing a bright yellow zigzag route line, distance/elevation stats (86.9 mi, 1027 ft), and two documentary photos below: one of a windfoiler standing in shallow water holding a foil board, and another of a person actively windfoiling across open water. The right page is dominated by large bold pull-quotes (“victory begins...”) and (“victory begins where the perseverance of others wanes”), an attributed interview transcript between Daniel and Alex Laudon, and a close-up portrait of Alex wearing a Dynastar cap and plaid shirt, smiling against a blurred outdoor background. The visuals are entirely documentary, drawn from the actual journey and activity described in the text, with the map and action shots directly illustrating the windfoiling practice and route referenced in the narrative. No cartoons or diagrams appear; the design integrates real photos and map data as evidence of the “process” theme rather than ironic commentary. The spread’s layout places the map and water photos on the left to ground the left-page text about sleuthing scotomas through repeated attempts. ### Left page avoid frustration when I forget my own rule. I made extra-effort to watch videos to discover a scotoma, and I can now drop the dumb rule about not forgetting the cord again. We find solutions after sleauthing the scotoma. How about all that fancy footwork I wanted to record by drone? Useless. It turns out I’ve been practicing it wrong. I simply need to take a few small steps to jibe, not a giant leap. I discov ered another scotoma by roping-up with Alex. (P.S. Within a year, I conquered most jibes!) “Solutions are found on the other side of scotomas. You have to make extra efforts to sleuth them out.” Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 186 AUTHORS NOTE: Alex foils for the love of flying. He didn’t seek out a spotlight on his skills or insights or good will. He simply loves to fly. That’s what we appreciate about him. His passion for learning is infectious. ### Right page “victory begins where the perseverance of others wanes” Alex Laudon Commercial Pilot & Windfoiling Ambassador Daniel: “This is Alex Laudon. Alex tell me how long you’ve been riding.” Alex: “It goes back to 1978 that started in France with the Windsurfer One design and teak booms and a 6.3 sail - so that’s 42 years ago I think.” Daniel: “Tell us about this video... you foiled from this launch site to Stevenson, to Mosier and back. What in the world! Alex: “It’s a little sightseeing trip in the Gorge - it’s perfect.” Daniel: “You made 145 jibes! Alex: “You counted?” Daniel: “Yes. How long did it take you to get your jibes down on a foil?” Alex: “I did my first foiling jibe the third time I went out on the hydrofoil.” Daniel: “This is what we call unconsciously competent. Natural at it. What do you say for those of us that are constantly crashing and wanting to give up because we don’t think we have what it takes?” Alex: “What do they say? The victory begins where the perseverance of others wanes... It’s the domain of experts in pretty much any field. A Master Chess player can look at a chessboard and within a few seconds know exactly what move to make. They recognize the scene and know where to go. “victory begins...” Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 187 ## Spread 005 [p9–p10] **type:** image_heavy | **img coverage:** L=35% R=16% **heading:** Most of us will get by with the gear ### Visual description The left page features a large, top-dominant documentary photograph of a red-and-white windsurfing foil/sail (labeled “W790” and “CHINOOK”) lying on bright green grass, with a gray text overlay box in the lower-left corner containing the quote about “the gear we start with.” Below the image are two blocks of dialogue between Alex and Daniel discussing jibing, listening, and equipment upgrades, plus a section headed “LISTENING IS A LEARNED SKILL” with a red hint box. The right page is mostly text, including the “MY FOB STORY” section and a large pull-quote about mental scotomas. At bottom right sits a close-up documentary photo of a hand pressing the numbered buttons on a car’s keyless ignition keypad, directly illustrating the key-fob anecdote. Both photographs are realistic, on-location images rather than cartoons or diagrams. The windsurfing image functions as a visual metaphor for the chapter’s “upgrade your gear” theme, while the keypad shot is a literal illustration of the cognitive-bias story. The overall visual language is documentary with integrated typography, typical of the trilogy’s later volumes. ### Left page Most of us will get by with the gear we start with. The trick is to upgrade when better stuff is available. Many people prefer to stay with familiar rather than change for the better. Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 188 Alex: “Don’t quit. Keep trying. Never give up”. Daniel: “Yesterday I had the privilege of you riding behind me - sort of spotting me a little. What are your comments about my riding after three years of working on my jibes?” Alex: “... you had it down on reaches. You flew a stable flight. You had a few difficulties with the jibes, but I think the equipment is holding you back in your progress. Gear has evolved a lot in the last two years. Wings have become a lot more stable. We know what board shapes work, and when you have good equipment you can progress quickly.” LISTENING IS A LEARNED SKILL You’ll remember a top skill of Self- awareness from v1 is mindful listening. I took Alex’s sug gestion and rode a larger foil as a demo. I discovered that I do have the skill-set for jibing - I just lack proper tools to gain experience with. HINT: The mental tools from Volume One? Pick some of those. Try them out. Practice with them. The change will do you good. Sticking with the familiar rather than restarting the learning process thwarts almost any good expedition or Personal Everest. ### Right page MY FOB STORY Here’s a cognitive bias example: I jumped to a conclusion with a 20-watt brain. I didn’t want to dig for understanding because I’m busy. Yeah, shortcut habits cloak scotomas. I have an electronic key fob and a key-less ignition in my truck. Anyone can open the doors if the fob is in the cab. I can’t take the fob on the water in my wetsuit, and I don’t want to leave it on the beach. I’ve been sticking the fob in the bed of the truck near the tailgate. It lets me lock the doors, but not the tailgate. That’s been my half-wrong patch. I’ve asked other own ers how they solved it. Nope. That’s the way it is, they say. I finally dug around for a real solution. Ford designed the door entry pad so that if you press the last two buttons simultaneously, and the truck fully locks with your key inside. Yeah - I found a solution by making extra effort to sleuth it out. Alex said, “Don’t quit. Keep trying. Never give up. I’m saying that’s the hard work. The easy way is to cre ate a mental rule, or to accept an excuse, or settle for a patch that someone or something recommends. The hard work of self-mastery is seeing with new eyes. Cycling across America was easy compared to self discovery of blind-spots. You may feel like there’s not an answer, or believe no one has solved it before. You and I might want to be lazy and accept the first offer — nay, nay. Climb higher. Ask more powerful questions. “When you catch yourself unwilling to consider something new... you’re getting close to a protected false-belief and a mental scotoma” Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 189 ## Spread 006 [p11–p12] **type:** image_heavy | **img coverage:** L=21% R=45% **heading:** 5DCsRe0T9xQ **urls:** `https://youtu.be/` ### Visual description The two-page spread opens with a full-width header image on the left showing a woman standing beside a white windfoil sail on a grassy field overlooking a lake, with the chapter title “PROCESS” in large white lettering overlaid along with the subtitle “Vol 2 Expedition • Unconsciously Incompetent • Windfoiling.” Below this, the left page contains the chapter prompt text and the full “Parable of the Novice Gardener,” presented as written by Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT), accompanied by a green ChatGPT logo. The dominant visual on the right page is a large, warmly lit, AI-generated photograph of an elderly man with wild white hair and a mustache (clearly styled after Albert Einstein) kneeling in a garden at golden hour, gently holding a small potted plant while looking down at it. The image has a soft bokeh background of blurred foliage and light flares, giving it a contemplative, almost cinematic quality. Large, semi-transparent text spelling “RETURN” spans across the right page as a background design element. A vertical sidebar on the far right contains a “ChatGPT Reflection” section with another green logo and a block of interpretive text. Two QR codes labeled “WATCH” and “DISCUSS” appear near the top, with the YouTube link “https://youtu.be/5DCsRe0T9xQ” printed beneath them. The Einstein garden image functions as a metaphorical illustration for the parable rather than a documentary photograph, visually reinforcing the chapter’s theme of patient, conscious learning versus hasty action. The overall layout mixes documentary photography (the header), illustrative AI imagery, and clean typographic design typical of the trilogy’s Volume 2 style. ### Left page YOURT https://youtu.be/5DCsRe0T9xQ SETTLING for an answer is far easier than seeking out a final solution. Finding solutions is far superior to simply swallowing answers. Describe a transfor mative learning process of your own. WATCH Parable of the Novice Gardener by Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) Once, a wise old gardener embarked on a journey to cultivate a barren land. He was joined by a young novice eager to learn but impatient to see results. The wise gardener told the novice, “Planting a garden is like embarking on a journey of self-mastery. First, you must understand the soil, the climate, and the needs of each plant. You must be patient, for growth takes time.” The novice, eager to prove himself, planted his seeds hastily, without taking the time to un derstand the nuances of the land. The seeds struggled to sprout, and those that did were weak and withered. The wise gardener, however, took his time. He studied the soil, the wind, and the sun’s path. He planted his seeds with care, understanding each one’s unique needs. As weeks turned into months, the novice’s plot remained barren, while the wise gardener’s land flourished with life. Frustrated and defeated, the novice turned to the wise gardener, “Why did my plants not grow? I did everything I could!” The wise gardener replied, “You were in haste and did not take the time to understand. You were unconsciously incompetent, not aware of how much you didn’t know. Had you been pa tient and willing to learn, you would have moved through the stages of competence, eventually reaching a point where growth would have come naturally.” The novice took these words to heart, realizing that the journey to mastery was not a race but a process of continuous learning, understanding, and adaptation. He started again, this time with patience and a willingness to fail and learn. Over time, his gar den too began to blossom. The old gardener smiled, quoting Albert Einstein, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” ### Right page RTURN Share with other readers how you go about solving personal challenges. DISCUSS ChatGPT Reflection This parable resonates with the key messages in the chapter text. The journey from unconscious incompe tence to unconscious competence is mirrored in the novice’s learning pro cess. The wise gardener’s patience and understanding reflect the virtues of self-mastery and critical thinking emphasized in the chapter. The tale also aligns with principles from Marcus Aurelius’s Stoicism, focusing on the importance of understanding oneself and one’s surroundings, and the teachings of Carl Rogers, highlighting the need for patience, self-awareness, and personal growth. The inclusion of this parable in the chapter would enrich the reader’s understanding of the concepts discussed, providing a metaphori cal representation of the journey to self-mastery and learning that is at the heart of “Scotomaville.” It also underscores the importance of em bracing failure, continuous learning, and collaboration, key aspects of your philosophy.