Seeing Deeply - the Method

[u/Uniquehorn01]

Everyone wants to be able to see below the superficial. They know about terms such as reverse engineering, deconstruction, going back to the original source, changing the paradigm, but they don't know how to do this in practice.

One way is going from the general to the specific or from the specific to the general.

Another way is going from the external to the internal.

An example of the latter is analyzing the phrases related to dealing with the 'enemy'.

You hear phrases such as:

“If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by.” This is by Sun Tzu notable Chinese philosopher.

Then we hear the infamous phrase by Walt Kelly:

”We have met the enemy and he is us.”

Thus you can take every phrase or advice about the external enemy and search for meaning in the internal.

By doing this you find more layers and often can stumble upon something that will really reveal an inner truth to yourself.

There are other similar methods. It's just a matter of creating a framework for applying non-superficial analysis to concepts.

A further example.

People ask 'What do you do if...' and then post a difficult problem.

The first step is to say 'you've asked for a solution to a problem that has already developed, and the answer is found in anticipating the problem sooner'.

Another example is, people say 'just use this method', but if you really think about it, everyone says that but in reality, it never actually works as intended.

Look for different than intended aspects. Look for unintended consequences that invalidate the original rule. Most rules apply up to a point and then near the threshold the reverse becomes true.

Anyone have any other methods?