My second year at university. Having switched from law to sociology and economics (even though I ultimately came back to law as a postgraduate) I was in a Sociology of Organisations class.
My lecturer, Prof. Philip Davies, had set us an assignment. The topic was in relation to how power is exercised within organisations and more particularly how a ‘panopticon’ enhances such dynamics. Prof. Davies had asked us to consider and provide modern examples of organisations that resemble (the structure/effects of) a panopticon. (NB: A panopticon is a design of institutional building with an inbuilt system of control, originated by the English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century. The concept is to allow all prisoners of an institution to be observed by a single security guard, without the inmates knowing whether they are being watched)
On receiving my assignment back, I noticed I got an A and special comment of encouragement from my lecturer; something that was generally unheard of as: 1) he was not known for being liberal with marks; and 2) the subject matter he taught was generally quite abstract, theoretical and most timed difficult to grasp.
So why the high mark and special comment from him? It was because in my paper I had accurately explained the theoretical concepts in question and, most crucially, I had given a modern example of the application of the theoretical concepts. And what was my modern example of a panopticon? His lecture class. Seemed he appreciated the irony.
But what is my point with this recollection? It was that for the first time in my educational life that rather than trying to memorise and regurgitate as a method of learning, I had instead read and understood a topic, to the point where I could find appropriate analogies to further deepen my understanding. This was a monumental sea change for me.
By understanding a topic (rather than just cramming in my head facts related to it), I had found a method of study that enabled me to unlock a key skill; the ability to understand/learn anything. I have since found this to be my singular most important skill set during my working/professional career as a lawyer.
Being a lawyer, you have to be able to learn new things to a competent level quickly; not just the laws and regulations themselves, but about a variety of topics. Any client you advise needs you to fully understand their circumstances in order for you to be able to properly advise them on how to achieve their required goals. Whatever line of business that client is in, you have to understand that rudiments of that business, internalise its common trade practices, understand the contractual relationship dynamics and a whole of other information in order to then advise on how best to proceed. It could be a baker today, a tradesman tomorrow, a banker the day after etc.
Without doubt the ability to speedily grasp the relevant sets of facts and circumstances at any given time is an invaluable skill, and has proven to be a key differentiator for me. Of course, honing this skill is generally borne out of a desire to always learn and improve, which for me is something that stems from my general outlook that I am an average person and as such if I don’t constantly improve I will fall behind. You can read more about that here.
So how does one learn this skill. In summary, the key is to understand the “why” of a subject before/alongside the ‘what’ of it. By this I mean that one should seek to understand the background and context of a subject, and in particular why its leading thinkers had the views they did about it, before trying to unpack the concepts themselves.
But with each additional piece of knowledge and experience one acquires from the desire to always learn more, we add more weapons to our arsenal, and increasingly know when/where to use what tool out of this arsenal. It reminds me of the question, what is the ultimate superpower, the answer to which (in my opinion) is the power to assimilate other superpowers. Reminds me of the series “Heroes”. Think I’ll go back and watch the first two seasons again - the rest were tripe.
In short, if you can learn how to learn, then there is nothing you cannot fathom, and your ability to self improve becomes limitless. In a world that requires increasing amount of re-skilling at a constant pace, developing such an ability is a must.