https://blog.thomas-bray.com/tags/learning/Recent content in Learning on Rabid CuriosityHugoen-usThomas BrayTue, 17 Mar 2026 10:05:00 -0500https://blog.thomas-bray.com/posts/building-fundamental-technical-knowledge/Tue, 17 Mar 2026 10:05:00 -0500https://blog.thomas-bray.com/posts/building-fundamental-technical-knowledge/<h2 id="introduction">Introduction</h2> <p>There&rsquo;s a pattern in technical work where people become highly skilled at the surface layer of a technology—the tools, the interfaces, the workflows—without developing any understanding of what&rsquo;s underneath. This works fine until it doesn&rsquo;t. When something breaks in an unexpected way, or when the tool changes, or when you need to make a non-obvious decision, the lack of fundamentals shows. This post is about why fundamentals matter and how to actually build them.</p>https://blog.thomas-bray.com/posts/reflecting-on-my-past-as-a-student/Tue, 17 Mar 2026 09:35:00 -0500https://blog.thomas-bray.com/posts/reflecting-on-my-past-as-a-student/<h2 id="introduction">Introduction</h2> <p>Looking back at yourself as a student is a strange exercise. You&rsquo;re trying to understand someone who had less information, fewer skills, and a different set of pressures than you do now—but who was also making decisions that shaped everything that followed. This post is a reflection on what I got right, what I got wrong, and what I wish I had understood earlier about how to actually learn.</p>https://blog.thomas-bray.com/posts/on-reading-widely-and-deeply/Tue, 17 Mar 2026 09:20:00 -0500https://blog.thomas-bray.com/posts/on-reading-widely-and-deeply/<h2 id="introduction">Introduction</h2> <p>The explore/exploit tradeoff is a concept from computer science and decision theory: when do you keep searching for something better versus committing to what you&rsquo;ve found? It maps surprisingly well onto how we read. Wide reading is exploration—building a broad map of ideas. Deep reading is exploitation—extracting full value from a rich vein. Both matter, and the tension between them shapes what kind of thinker you become.</p> <h2 id="key-points">Key Points</h2> <ul> <li>The explore/exploit framework and how it applies to reading and learning</li> <li>What wide reading provides that deep reading can&rsquo;t, and vice versa</li> <li>How to recognize when you&rsquo;re stuck in a rut versus appropriately going deep</li> <li>The role of serendipity in intellectual development</li> <li>Building a personal reading practice that balances both modes</li> </ul> <h2 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h2> <p>The best readers do both. Exploration keeps you from becoming a narrow specialist who misses the bigger picture. Exploitation keeps you from becoming a dilettante who knows a little about everything and a lot about nothing. The skill is knowing when to switch.</p>