I passively consume a lot of information.

I wrote about my information diet before.

I thought if I kept consuming and stored all that information in my head, it would amount to knowledge.

But I had a jarring realization that I had no deep knowledge of anything. I never really got my hands dirty with any of the topics. I couldn't tell stories about the specifics. The nitty gritty. I wasn't learning.

Gian writes about how to learn better in the digital age.

Information is fleeting, you can cling on to it today, and lose hold of it tomorrow.

True knowledge is ever-lasting. It's foundational.

"If knowledge were a person, information would be its picture."

So how do we turn information into knowledge?

With effortful learning.

Effortful learning means doing something with the information you've discovered.

It means creating something, writing about it, use it in a project, apply it, test it, teach it to your friends.

It means making mistakes, and failing (a lot).

It means doing hard things, and stepping out of your comfort zone.

It means making sacrifices, and delaying gratification.