We always demand a shortcut to do things fast. There are two shortcuts, one is a temporary path to success; the other is the chaos of thinking.
The development of technology has created a huge network that connects fragmented things together. It is not the development of the network that has led to fragmentation, but the development of the network that has made fragmentation popular and a norm.
There is a lot of controversy about fragmented learning. Some people think that fragmented learning makes people dumb, while others think that fragmentation is the most effective way to learn. There is no right or wrong, just like medicine, if it works for you, then you should take it.
What is fragmented learning?
Fragmented learning refers to the acquisition of information and knowledge piece by piece, bit by bit, and the accumulation of learning and thinking to achieve understanding, increase knowledge, and improve skills. It is a way of learning that is available all the time and everywhere.
Fragmented learning can be divided into the fragmentation of time and fragmentation of knowledge.
Today, with the popularity of smartphones and the high penetration of the Internet, there are more opportunities for fragmented time.
For example, when you are waiting for the bus/queue, you can do a lot of things: five minutes to read few news articles, ten minutes to play a mobile game, fifteen minutes to read two or three in-depth review articles …… So here is the concept of fragmented time.
The concept of knowledge fragmentation is clearer than time fragmentation, where a book is read in only one chapter and skill is learned in only one part, you learned and used. Knowledge fragmentation itself does not have advantages, the advantage lies in the value brought to the learner by the effective use of time, a value that comes from the learner’s need for fragmented knowledge and time flexibility.
Fragmented knowledge V.S Systematic knowledge
Fragmented knowledge is opposed to systematic knowledge. Systematic knowledge is learned in school classes, in workshops, in textbooks, in a lecture with a clear topic.
Fragmented knowledge can be understood as what we often call “experiences”, which may be social “experiences” or professional “experiences”, miscellaneous but not deep, some of which are just opinions, some of which can provide ideas for our work, but they are only ideas and cannot provide long-term help for our work.
Fragmented knowledge must be built on the basis of your personal knowledge framework in order to maximize its effect. Just like building a house, if you just have bricks and tiles in your hand, you still can’t build a magnificent castle. You must first lay the foundation, then build the structure, and then add bricks and tiles.
Study the fragmented knowledge of interest thematically, turn it into systematic knowledge, and then integrate it through your own methodology.
For example, if you read an article about product demand, and realize that your grasp of product demand is not accurate enough, you can arrange your time to read several articles on product demand accessing and control; and review your existing notes on product demand to use the knowledge to build your own methodology.
Advantages of fragmented learning
Fragmented learning has its own advantages in the Internet era.
First, it is flexible, not limited by time and place. The learning time of each fragment is dispersed, which improves the ability of learners to master the learning time.
Second, fragmented learning is targeted to a specific section, so learners can focus on the part of the content they want to learn.
Third, fragmented learning is highly efficient, as the learning time for individual fragments is shorter, securing the interest and focus of learning, which will improve the learning efficiency.\
But we need to keep in mind, using the fragmented time to learn fragmented content yields fragmented learning outcomes. It would be harder for us to apply the fragmented knowledge into practice.
In the process of seeking knowledge, we will keep exploring and learning, but only by fitting the fragmented knowledge into the existing framework of knowledge, so can we really use it for ourselves.
So, how can we efficiently use fragmented time and knowledge?
First of all: Set your clear goal
Second: establish your framework of knowledge
Finally: input fragmented knowledge and apply them systematically
