Understanding a New, Undefined Concept

TL;DR

Learning an undefined concept primarily involves breaking it down into smaller, manageable parts and identifying its core characteristics. You'll then explore its context and relationships to other ideas to build a comprehensive understanding. The goal is to move from complete unfamiliarity to a working grasp of what the concept entails.

1. The Mental Model

Imagine you're trying to describe a new color you've never seen before. You can't just name it; you have to explain its brightness, how it compares to existing colors, and what feelings or objects it reminds you of. This is how you'll approach understanding an undefined concept.

2. The Core Material

When facing a concept with no prior definition, your job is to build that definition yourself. You'll do this by asking a series of probing questions and looking for patterns.

What is it like? (Analogy and comparison)

Start by connecting the unknown to the known. Think about other concepts, processes, or objects that share some similarities.
* Is it like a tool? A process? An idea? A component?
* Does it have an input and an output, like a function?
* Is it a collection of things, like a list?
* Does it describe an action, a state, or a property?

For example, if you encounter "dsdfs," you might first think, "Is it like a programming language? Or a type of data structure? Or a company name?" You're just trying to get a rough category.

What are its parts? (Decomposition)

Break the concept down. Even if you don't know what the whole thing is, you might be able to identify individual elements that make it up.
* Does it have multiple components? Can they be separated?
* What seems fundamental to its existence?
* Are there any obvious keywords or terms within the concept's name itself that hint at its structure?

If "dsdfs" was "Distributed Scalable Data Flow System," you'd immediately see "Distributed," "Scalable," "Data Flow," and "System" as key parts, each needing its own brief exploration.

What does it do? (Function and Purpose)

Focus on its actions. How does it behave? What problem does it solve?
* What is its purpose? What goal does it achieve?
* Does it manipulate something? Organize something? Create something?
* How do you interact with it?
* What happens if you don't have it?

Using our "dsdfs" example, if you discovered it processes information, then its function is data processing. You'd then a