There is always a discomfort when learning something new. This might be the sole reason for so many of us starting something and then leaving things when they get a bit uncomfortable. For instance, massive open online course (MOOC) platforms have 5% - 15% completion (ref). In order to understand what happened with the remaining learners who did not finish, let’s understand the psychology of learner.
在学习新知识的过程中，总会有不适应的时候。这可能是我们中许多人开始学习，但稍有不适就离开的唯一原因。例如，大规模开放式在线课程（MOOC）平台的完成率为 5%-15%（参考文献）。为了了解其余未完成课程的学习者的情况，让我们来了解一下学习者的心理。

To Learn is to Survive
学习就是生存

We learn so many things since the time we are born, but forget to give credit to ourselves. For example, take something as simple as walking, scientists took decades to make a machine which can walk on 2 legs while you took just 1-2 years.
我们从出生起就学会了很多东西，但却忘了把功劳归于自己。例如，就拿走路这么简单的事情来说，科学家们花了几十年的时间才制造出可以用两条腿走路的机器，而你只花了 1-2 年的时间。

Back in the cave-dwelling days, learning wasn't a hobby; it was a 'stay alive or become dinner' kind of deal. If you didn't learn how to hunt, you'd find yourself on the menu, and failing to grasp the secrets of fire-making meant you were a potential midnight snack for hungry predators. But hey, we've come a long way since then. Nowadays, we don't face the same 'stay alive or be a snack' dilemmas. Our world has evolved, and our needs have expanded from basic survival to Netflix subscriptions and avocado toast cravings. Thankfully, we're still wired to use our ultimate superpower: learning.
在穴居时代，学习不是一种爱好，而是一种 "要么活下去，要么成为晚餐 "的事情。如果你不学会如何狩猎，你就会发现自己成了别人的盘中餐，而如果不能掌握生火的秘密，你就有可能成为饥饿的掠食者的夜宵。不过，我们已经走过了漫长的道路。如今，我们不再面临 "要么活下去，要么成为点心 "的困境。我们的世界已经进化，我们的需求也从基本的生存扩展到订阅 Netflix 和渴望牛油果吐司。值得庆幸的是，我们仍然有能力使用我们的终极超能力：学习。

Many of you are likely familiar with Malcolm Gladwell's idea that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert in something. While I agree that expertise often requires a significant amount of time, it's important to note that not everything demands expert-level knowledge. Nevertheless, gaining a meaningful understanding of a subject does require an investment of time—it's a journey. This journey begins the moment you decide to learn something new, and the way you approach learning evolves as you gain a deeper understanding. The aim of this article is to provide a high-level overview of how the process of learning changes as you progress.
马尔科姆-格拉德威尔（Malcolm Gladwell）曾说过，要想成为某方面的专家，需要花费 10,000 个小时。虽然我同意专业知识往往需要大量时间，但重要的是要注意，并非所有事情都需要专家级的知识。尽管如此，要获得对某一主题有意义的理解，确实需要投入时间--这是一段旅程。从你决定学习新知识的那一刻起，这个旅程就开始了，而你的学习方法也会随着你对知识的深入理解而不断变化。本文旨在提供一个高层次的概览，说明学习过程是如何随着你的进步而变化的。

Understanding how you Learn, can not only make learning a joyful journey but can make you better at it.
了解自己是如何学习的，不仅能让学习成为一段快乐的旅程，还能让自己学得更好。

Let’s start with a simple model where we divide the learners in 3 parts. Beginners, Proficient and Master. There are no particular definitions available for these bifurcations, but as we progress in this article, it will get clearer. It’s safe to say that the biggest set of learners would fall in Beginners, since that’s where you start. It’s the largest category and rest are going to be a subset of this. So let’s start there.
让我们从一个简单的模型开始，将学习者分为 3 个部分。初学者、精通者和大师。这些分叉并没有特定的定义，但随着我们在本文中的深入讨论，这些定义会越来越清晰。可以说，最大的学习者群体属于初学者，因为这是你的起点。这是最大的一个类别，其余的都是这个类别的子集。因此，让我们从这里开始。

Beginners at the gates 门口的初学者

When learning something new, picture yourself in a brand-new city. You stand at the city limits eager to explore the city, understand the people and culture. However you lack knowledge of the city’s roads and transportations. In case there is no help, you would already be thinking of turning back. But you do. Let’s assume that you have a phone and internet. While this would surely be a lot of help, this experience would still be highly uncomfortable. Finding places to stay, to eat, to roam around, everything would be hard. Simply because the city is unfamiliar to you.
在学习新知识时，请想象自己身处一个全新的城市。你站在城市边界，渴望探索这座城市，了解这里的人们和文化。然而，你对城市的道路和交通缺乏了解。如果没有帮助，你可能已经在考虑回头了。但你还是回去了。假设你有电话和网络。虽然这肯定会帮上大忙，但这种经历仍然会让人非常不舒服。找住处、吃饭、四处游荡，一切都很困难。原因很简单，因为你对这座城市并不熟悉。

The experience is similar for a beginner as well.
初学者也会有类似的体验。

Try this: Pick an unfamiliar topic and search on youtube “<topic> for beginners”, and see the results.
试试这个：选择一个不熟悉的主题，在 youtube 上搜索 " for beginners"，看看结果如何。

If you have tried the above, you will notice how hard it is to pick one and get started. Not knowing where to start keeps so many great folks away from starting. The learners don’t know what they don’t know. This unfamiliarity with the topic creates a persistent state of discomfort, either preventing them from starting at all or making them more susceptible to losing their way. But obstacles are not limited to unfamiliarity.
如果您尝试过上述方法，您就会发现选择一种方法并开始实施是多么困难。不知道从哪里开始，让很多优秀的人无法开始。学习者不知道他们不知道什么。这种对主题的不熟悉造成了持续的不适感，要么让他们根本无法开始，要么让他们更容易迷失方向。但是，障碍并不仅限于不熟悉。

Now, imagine adding one more layer of complexity: language. Inhabitants of the city speak a different language than yours. This creates another barrier between people and you. Crippling you from taking help.
现在，想象一下再增加一层复杂性：语言。城市里的居民说着与你不同的语言。这就在人们和你之间制造了另一个障碍。让你无法接受帮助。

Many topics you wish to learn come with their own unique language. They have specific sets of instructions, terminology, and nomenclature that are often unfamiliar to beginners. Even when you start to become somewhat acquainted with them, they may seem less meaningful initially. For instance, children are taught the names of objects around them, guitar instructors introduce the names of strings, and science teachers begin with units and measurements. Similarly, when a new employee joins a company, they can become overwhelmed by the internal jargon and acronyms unique to that organisation.
您想学习的许多主题都有自己独特的语言。它们有一套特定的说明、术语和名词，而初学者往往不熟悉这些说明、术语和名词。即使你开始对它们有了一定的了解，它们最初也可能显得意义不大。例如，儿童要学习周围物体的名称，吉他教师要介绍琴弦的名称，而科学教师则要从单位和测量开始。同样，当新员工加入一家公司时，他们可能会被该公司特有的内部行话和缩略语弄得不知所措。

When the majority of your questions start with "What," it's a sign that you're in the process of learning the language associated with the topic. Although learning this specialised language can be seen as tedious, it holds the key to unlocking numerous opportunities, even as you become more proficient
当你的大多数问题都以 "什么 "开头时，这表明你正在学习与该主题相关的语言。虽然学习这种专业语言可能会被视为枯燥乏味，但它却是开启无数机遇的钥匙，甚至会让您变得更加精通

This is why there is huge discomfort for beginners, and they skip or lose motivation. Today there is immense knowledge available for free on the internet. While it helps a minority set of highly motivated learners, it’s not best for most of the beginners. It’s also the reason why under supervision of a teacher, the learner pushes through. Schools, Ed-tech companies and Educators help learners by giving them a structured plan. Almost like a detailed itinerary which you would enjoy when entering a new city.
这就是为什么初学者会有巨大的不适感，他们会跳过或失去动力。如今，互联网上有大量的免费知识。虽然这对少数积极性高的学习者有帮助，但对大多数初学者来说并不是最好的选择。这也是为什么在老师的指导下，学习者能取得进步的原因。学校、教育科技公司和教育工作者通过为学习者提供有条理的计划来帮助他们。就像你在进入一个新城市时会享受到的详细行程一样。

While structured learning programs make the first step easier, maintaining consistency is still hard. I will write on this in my next article.
虽然结构化学习计划让第一步变得更容易，但保持一致性仍然很难。我将在下一篇文章中讨论这个问题。

The Intermediates: Building Confidence and Familiarity
中间人建立信心，熟悉环境

In my view, once you've moved past the beginner's stage, the toughest part is usually done. That's why they say, 'The first step is the hardest'.
在我看来，一旦度过了初学者阶段，最艰难的部分通常就已经完成了。这就是为什么人们说 "第一步是最难的"。

After spending some time in the new city, you get comfortable with the most important routes and main train/tram stations. This knowledge gives you the confidence of not getting lost, and makes you explore the city freely. Similar events happen with the learners as well. Important routes and stations of the city are similar to fundamental principles of a Topic. Once there is some proficiency in the learners, confidence is built and discomfort slowly disappears.
在新城市生活一段时间后，您就会熟悉最重要的路线和主要的火车/电车站。有了这些知识，您就有信心不会迷路，并能自由地探索这座城市。类似的情况也发生在学习者身上。城市中的重要路线和车站就类似于一个主题的基本原则。一旦学习者熟练掌握了这些知识，自信心就会建立起来，不适感也会慢慢消失。

You also build some familiarity with the topic’s language. Which eases out discomfort further. Even if you don't fully grasp it, it becomes less daunting when you encounter it again. This familiarity helps absorb the learning behind topics instructions, which felt like gibberish sometime back. Similar comfort is found when the foreign language of the new city doesn’t feel much foreign after staying there for sometime. This also enables you to communicate with inhabitants of the city, who know so much more than you about the city. You have so much help now, simply because you can ask questions in their language and understand what they are saying.
你也会对话题的语言有一些熟悉感。这可以进一步缓解不适。即使你没有完全掌握，当你再次遇到它时，也会变得不那么令人生畏。这种熟悉感有助于吸收主题说明背后的学习内容，而这些内容在某些时候感觉就像胡言乱语。在新城市呆上一段时间后，当外语不再那么陌生时，也会感到类似的舒适。这也使您能够与城市居民交流，因为他们比您更了解这座城市。你现在可以得到很多帮助，因为你可以用他们的语言提问并理解他们在说什么。

Consider StackOverflow, almost no one asks (What is <something>?), instead most of the queries are, “I am trying to do this but failing”, or “How can i do this?”. Their queries are more precise and are written in the language of the topic. This is where internet (inhabitant of the city) has been most useful. For right information to reach your doorstep, queries need to be as precise as possible. Our search engines are great at finding things given the question has enough details.
考虑一下 StackOverflow，几乎没有人会问（ 是什么？），相反，大多数询问都是 "我正在尝试做这个，但失败了"，或者 "我怎样才能做到这一点？"。他们的询问更加精确，而且是用主题语言写成的。这就是互联网（城市居民）最有用的地方。为了让正确的信息送上门，查询需要尽可能精确。只要问题足够详细，我们的搜索引擎就能很好地找到东西。

So for intermediate learners things get better and better. This is the phase which requires a lot of practice and patience. As a learner you are in a state where You know what you don’t know as well as You don’t know what you don’t know. You know the major concepts and now all those major concepts will have their own branches. While the major concepts are getting deeply rooted in your Mental Models, a wide new range of related concepts come at your doorsteps. At this point, in general the right thing to do is to work on a basic project, so that your focus is little narrow and concepts to be explored are not overwhelming.
因此，对于中级学习者来说，情况会越来越好。这个阶段需要大量的练习和耐心。作为一名学习者，你正处于 "知其然也知其所以然 "的状态。你知道主要的概念，现在所有这些主要概念都将有自己的分支。当主要概念在你的心智模型中根深蒂固时，一系列新的相关概念就会出现在你的面前。在这个时候，一般来说，正确的做法是做一个基本的项目，这样你的关注点就不会太窄，要探索的概念也不会太多。

Advanced Learners: On the road least travelled
高级学员：走最少人走的路

Extending the analogy of new comer in a city, once you have spent some time in the city, you are more comfortable wandering around. You know how to get to anywhere, even if you haven’t been there before. Advanced learners understand what they don’t know. But are confident that when needed they can comfortably get there. They also build huge respect for the Topic and understand how little they know.
以初来乍到的人为例，一旦你在城市里待了一段时间，你就会更自如地四处游荡。即使你以前没有去过那里，你也知道如何去任何地方。高级学习者知道他们不知道什么。但他们有信心在需要的时候能够轻松到达目的地。他们也会对顶级语言产生极大的敬意，并明白自己所知甚少。

The problems which Advanced learners face are very specific and chances are that only a few people have encountered them. They will often try to find someone well versed with the topic to learn, discuss and debate. As advanced learners progress, the internet is also not very useful from learning POV. Most productive ways of adding more to your knowledge becomes Application, Experimentation and Collaboration. These are rather slower methods. That’s why a handful of such learners spend years in research or building next generation applications .
高级学习者面临的问题非常具体，而且很可能只有少数人遇到过。他们通常会试图找到精通该主题的人进行学习、讨论和辩论。随着高级学习者的进步，从学习的角度来看，互联网也不是很有用。增加知识的最有效方法是应用、实验和合作。这些方法都比较慢。这就是为什么少数这样的学习者要花费数年时间进行研究或构建下一代应用程序。

Higher is the expertise in a certain field, lesser would be the available knowledge and higher would be the unknown. But by now, learners build a curious and comfortable attitudes towards unknowns. These are the folks who would add to available knowledge of humankind.
某一领域的专业技能越高，现有知识就越少，未知的东西就越多。但现在，学习者们已经对未知事物建立起了好奇和自在的态度。这些人将为人类的现有知识添砖加瓦。

Drawing conclusions  得出结论

It has always given me great comfort knowing which state I am in while learning. Especially when I am a beginner. Recently I started to play with 3D printing. I have had a 3D printer for more than a year now, however I printed the first object, not more than 4 months ago. The discomfort of not knowing what all will be needed to print first thing, had kept me at bay. Sometimes, even a slight discomfort can deter you from pursuing optional tasks. Whatever was the push, after the first print, my printer has worked a lot harder than me.
在学习过程中，知道自己处于哪种状态总是让我感到非常欣慰。尤其是在我还是初学者的时候。最近，我开始接触 3D 打印。我有一台 3D 打印机已经一年多了，但我打印的第一件东西还不到 4 个月。不知道打印第一件东西需要什么，这种不适感一直让我裹足不前。有时候，哪怕是一点点的不舒服，也会让你对可有可无的任务望而却步。不管是什么原因，在第一次打印之后，我的打印机比我还卖力。

For Educators 教育工作者

Since this post is long already, I will write about this separately in my upcoming post. Please subscribe so that you don’t miss it.
由于这篇文章已经很长了，我将在下一篇文章中单独介绍。请订阅，以免错过。

For Learners  学习者

In learning you have to embrace unknowns. Just like travellers, who would enter a city, knowing they know very little and it will be uncomfortable, new and sometimes disappointing. They will start somewhere and make their way through one obstacle at a time. While tourists might get agitated sooner if things were not up to expectations. While in leisure both attitudes have their own charm, in Learning, first one would be more fun.
在学习中，你必须接受未知。就像旅行者进入一个城市，他们知道自己所知甚少，会感到不舒服、新奇，有时还会失望。他们会从某个地方开始，一次次克服困难。如果事情没有达到预期，游客可能很快就会焦躁不安。在休闲中，这两种态度都有各自的魅力，但在学习中，第一种态度会更有趣。

If you too wanted to learn something and haven’t been able to start, below inputs might help
如果你也想学一些东西，但却无从下手，下面的信息可能会对你有所帮助

1. There will always be initial discomfort in learning something new. This may last days to months. But it will pass.
   学习新知识的初期总会有不适应。这种不适感可能会持续几天到几个月。但这种不适感会过去的。

2. Learn the language of the topic. It may be boring, but next comes a lot of Joy.
   学习主题语言。这可能会很枯燥，但接下来会有很多乐趣。

3. When you are a beginner, don’t get lost in the internet. You need a focused direction (course). Don’t spend a lot of time finding the best one to start. This just delays the starting and takes away the momentum. Just start with something, you will know when you’ll need a better one.
   初学者不要迷失在网络中。你需要一个专注的方向（课程）。不要花很多时间去寻找最好的课程。这只会拖延开始的时间，失去动力。先从某个方面开始，你会知道什么时候需要更好的。

4. Be kind to yourself and be self-aware when things get frustrating; it’s all part of the process. The moment you cross the first threshold, you already surpassed 90% of the folks.
   善待自己，遇到挫折时要有自知之明；这都是过程的一部分。当你跨过第一道门槛的那一刻，你已经超越了 90% 的人。

That’s all for now. This article is based on my understanding I have gathered over the last 12 years building learning products, and might have made mistakes or have over simplified. Looking forward to your feedback and suggestions.
就写到这里吧。本文基于我在过去 12 年中对学习产品的理解，可能存在错误或过度简化。期待您的反馈和建议。

Credits: 功劳
1. Image by Rochak Shukla
1.图片由 Rochak Shukla 提供
2. Image by veraholera 2.图片来自 veraholera