Einstein came up with his blockbuster insights by pondering the question of what it would be like to travel at the speed of light. I listened to an online recording of David Cooperrider today. He posits that questions are vital. Maybe they're the most important things around.

This evening I asked myself what it was like to learn something. If learning = fit with environment, it's meaningless without it. So imagine it's me and a trio from the community. I ask if I can do something; a member of the trio says "no." I may learn not to ask in the future or that what I'd asked goes against the social code of the trio. The nay-sayer may have learned that I'm polite enough to ask. Or he may have learned that I'm a wimp. Or he may have simply interpreted the code of conduct that he knows and I do not.

Learning is in the eye of the beholder. All learning is relative.

Also, when learning is defined as improving fit with the environment, unlearning and reinterpretation can be as important as acquiring new information.