Reactance

“…autodidacticism is pure, unadulterated freedom augmented with a positively reinforcing feedback loop: knowledge is power, and with power, you can enforce freedom.“

–Karnavaara

Preface

You have probably heard of this before, but did you know that each of us has a unique art or discipline that we are best suited to master, and only God knows what it is? We must discover this so called vocation ourselves because no survey, examination, or research can find it for us. How do we discover it? What’s the most effective way? Well, for starters, I think we should self-direct our learning and be autodidacts.

Study because you want to study. Study what you want to study. Study how you want to study. Don’t force yourself to study something you don’t want to–it’s an infringement and a disservice to your autonomy and freedom. Instead, nurture a sense of reactance–resist things that reduce your educational freedom–and it’ll be only a matter of time until you carve your path while developing your passions, leading to self-actualization.

Why

Well, why would you let somebody else control your education? Why would you want to be bound by formal structures or authority figures like teachers? Why would you want to be in courses led by teachers who tell you what to study, imply how to study, and force you to do homework they come up with, which you probably don’t want to do?

Maybe I’m exaggerating and generalizing a bit, but let’s be honest: school cultivates a culture of (in most situations) poor, forced, and other-than-self-directed learning.

1. What if the teacher is subpar? What if you notice that but want to avoid bringing it up just in case you become singled out as a target for negative attention?
2. What if the courses and their materials are outdated and weak?
3. What if politics have corrupted the course?
4. What if the homework (at least in the bigger picture) could be more interesting or varied?
5. What if you deem the way that the school works detrimental? What if this modus operandi forces you to carry out unnecessary boilerplate?
6. Should the classroom atmosphere be hazardous? What then?
7. What about learned helplessness (which is most prevalent in mathematics)? Your ability to help yourself might become dependent on the teacher.
8. Are you a fan of teaching to the test? Yeah, me neither.

Don’t get me wrong, school definitely has its benefits, but to me, the downsides outweigh them. I never really¹ succeeded or thrived in school, and because of that, I felt I was inferior to everybody else. I don’t particularly appreciate being told what, how, and why to study. I study because I want to study, and I study what I want to study. Nobody can tell me otherwise because nobody knows me better than me. This autodidacticism is pure, unadulterated freedom augmented with a positively reinforcing feedback loop: knowledge is power, and with power, you can enforce freedom. And, quite frankly, that’s epic.

I’ve also noticed that anything less leads to an adverse psychological reaction called reactance, which, for me, is a significant cause of procrastination. Systems, organizations, or people who tell me what to do triggers something deep in my brain that makes me actively want to fight back. This resistance is usually weak, but it’s much more powerful when it comes to learning and education. I believe there are two reasons for this:

1. I want to keep the reason for learning intrinsic and not extrinsic.
2. Learning something purely because someone told you to goes against my philosophy of studying corrupting and degrading it.

This psychological reactance resistance is so formidable that not even a monetary or non-monetary reward can’t quell it (of course, ultimately, everything has a price). Learning is fun and meaningful only when done autonomously, freely, and of your own accord.

How: Be An Autodidact

Take control of your education. Be an autodidact who is (or wants to be) self-taught. Be a lifelong learner with a preference for an unstructured education. Thrive in environments where you have the freedom to explore, experiment, and follow your passions rather than adhering to rigid educational or organizational structures. If you don’t want to learn something, don’t. If you want to learn something, learn that something. You will start to lose your way when you start learning something due to any kind of enforcement. What will happen when there is no enforcement? Exactly.

The practical application of this philosophy is quite simple: follow your heart. You don’t have to think about it logically when it comes to learning. People often choose something they want to learn only to start over-analyzing² and questioning their decision. Is this relevant? Will AI replace this? How much is the salary? Is this possible for me? Can I master this in a week? Are there any certifications? And so on.

In most cases³, these questions are irrelevant because the most detrimental thing you can do is postpone learning. On top of that, you start to think about learning extrinsically. For once, choose what to learn through the lens of pathos–your own emotion.

1. To be honest, I did get good grades in university of applied sciences later on in my studies but it was way too easy and unrewarding compared to high school. I also felt like I didn’t learn anything useful… ↩︎
2. This can lead to analysis paralysis, where overthinking leads to a standstill in thought. Pro tip: the small batches principle can be an antidote to analysis paralysis because it reduces the number of variables and permutations. ↩︎
3. I say in most cases because certain situations might require structured learning and the use of logos (i.e., think logically). For example, professional certificates or career-specific skills. However, in the latter, I still recommend skills that you personally find enjoyable. Or you can risk starting to hate your job. ↩︎