Not a Quick Learner?

[intpSF]

Is one of the INTP traits that you are not a "quick learner"?

I never get it when I have to learn something new. Meanwhile, my friends or co-workers all say they understand.

I have to go over and over things before I really get them. And I think my friends are not really the quick learners they claim to be - instead, they seem content to skate along with superficial knowledge.

I never feel I understand something until I've studied it for a long time and it's transparent to me.

Is this common with Intp people?

 

[gruesomebrat]

I think the need for full knowledge is something that's relatively common to INTPs. However, there is also a fine line between understanding something, and fully knowing it. Understanding is generally just the basic knowledge you need in order to complete tasks regarding the topic, whereas full knowledge is, well, complete knowledge of it; full transparency, as you put it.

As an example, understanding a car only requires that you know how to drive it, and the basics around how it works (put gas in, gas blows up to power engine, engine propels car forward). Full knowledge of a car means that you can rip it apart and put it back together, and the car will work just as well, if not better, than it did before it was taken apart.

Hopefully, this helps illustrate the difference, as well as how your friends and coworkers can say they understand something very quickly. I know, personally, understanding comes quickly to me, even if full knowledge of the topic is the work of a lifetime.

By the way, welcome to the forum.

 

[Eclipse]

I "get" all kinds of things. Even without any practice whatsoever, I can track the concept in any sort of process/ system and be able to apply it practically on my second try.

Though, as GruesomeBrat mentioned, "knowing" things is a different matter.

If the subject I'm learning about appeals to me, than I can get to "knowing" rapidly. Maybe not knowing it to the extent of experts, but maybe enough that I can do somewhat advanced work with it. However, if the subject is something that doesn't interest me in any way, shape or form, I will barely ever get beyond "getting" it no matter how hard I try.

 

[The Gopher]

It's mainly in the definition, Some things I pick up in an instant but if I don't understand exactly what I need to do I tend to seem slow but once learnt I do it better than people that thought they got it but hadn't. like the groovy gru said up there. Also welcome.

 

[Jesse]

Your not an INTP. I think it's a requirement or something.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

I'm a quick learner in the sense that I love to gain information and also once I get the gist/hang of something everything else just falls into place. However, it usually takes awhile to get the ball rolling and I have more trouble with physical manipulation, preferring intangible matters.

 

[Awaken]

Learning and concepts are easy, memorizing is like climbing Mount Everest. If I already grasp a concept, memorizing the minutiae involved is like pulling teeth. Where is the fun in that? My brain isnt at work anymore.

 

[Acrogamnon]

I find it hard to learn a lot of facts that are not united into some kind of system, at least at the first glance. For example if I were to learn how to troubleshoot some equipment just by memorizing instructions in the manual, I'd need to constantly check the manual and forget things. Learning some completely unfamiliar topic can be frustrating at first, and create a desire to "hide" or to find some reason why it's not worth studying.

On the other hand, once I'm sufficiently familiar with the subject to *understand* how it works, see the patterns, etc. I can easily fit new facts in, and can start seeing some patterns that others won't see.

By the way, it doesn't depend on the actual subject as much as one could expect. Often when studying something new, you can rely on something you've learned on some other topic. And it's also perfectly possible to learn systems that at the first glance would seem to be the domain of F or S functions.

For example, when I first joined a serious raiding guild in WoW, it's whole way of operation was confusing and scary (particularly since I had no experience of working in an organization back then), so I mostly just tried to do my job in a raid and log off after (and I made a lot of mistakes initially). After a year and a half I understood the principles well enough to raid lead when I suddenly found myself with the job. And after some time as an officer I started to understand the principles and psychology behind management in general. Even though if someone told me that in the beginning, I would think that it's absolutely not something for me and found the whole idea of leading too scary.

 

[Taniwha]

I was always considered to be a slow learner. I didn't start speaking until I was four years of age. I also have Dyslexia and Aspergers, which has an impact on how I learn.

It was hell when I was a child attending school. I was classed as handicapped and bullied because of it, eventually my father (INTP) pulled me out of school and I was home schooled during my teens, where I had the freedom to study at my own pace and learn what I wanted to learn. I excelled in my studies and received top marks.

Being a slow learner doesn't mean that you are stupid.

I prefer to observe others and copy what I see. I've always learnt this way.
I learn from visual examples and simple, yet logical explanations. There is no wrong 'style' of learning, just different. Naturally you will learn faster when you are studying a subject that you are interested in, and that you enjoy doing.

Despite being a slow learner, I've found that I tend to remember pretty much everything that I've learnt, more efficiently than my counterparts.
It could be because it takes longer for me to learn it, I have to do more repetitions of the same exercise or similar before understanding it and putting it effectively into practice.

In my opinion the best way to learn is through the hard way. The hard way has no set pace, just the pace that you apply to it. Just remember the three P's;

Practice, Patience, Perseverance.

Sure there is the easy way, but the true learning of the subject lies within its understanding. The easy way isn't necessarily going to offer that.
Once you understand something, then you have the power of knowledge in your hands, ready to be applied in the real world.

 

[The Gopher]

Just remember the three P's;

Practice, Patience, Perseverance.

Ya lost me at Practice.... Patience yup Perseverance ehh but Practice... meh

 

[Jesse]

You are correct,

I learn but forget even quicker. There must be a graph somewhere that explains it.

 

[gruesomebrat]

I prefer to observe others and copy what I see. I've always learnt this way.
I learn from visual examples and simple, yet logical explanations. There is no wrong 'style' of learning, just different. Naturally you will learn faster when you are studying a subject that you are interested in, and that you enjoy doing.

This was how I learned to drive, actually. I always found it funny that my mother was teaching me how to drive without any knowledge of that fact. Turns out that I learned incredibly well from her, though. A few weekends ago, my dad and I drove just over 200 km together (me in his SUV, which I had never driven before, and him in a U-Haul truck behind me), and he commented on my superb driving when we got home. I looked at him like he was a little retarded, of course, because I knew I had made all sorts of mistakes, but he was genuinely amazed at how well I could drive his truck without any prior experience in it.