First, he deconstructs knowledge into fundamental principles.
Musk’s answer on a Reddit AMA describes how he does that:
It is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree — make sure you understand the fundamental principles, i.e. the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang onto.
Next, he reconstructs the fundamental principles in new fields.
Step two of Musk’s learning transfer process involves reconstructing the foundational principles he’s learned in artificial intelligence, technology, physics, and engineering into separate fields:
- In aerospace in order to create SpaceX.
- In automotive in order to create Tesla with self-driving features.
- In trains in order to envision the Hyperloop.
- In aviation in order to envision electric aircraft that take off and land vertically.
- In technology in order to envision a neural lace that interfaces your brain.
- In technology in order to help build PayPal.
- In technology in order to co-found OpenAI, a non-profit that limits the probability of negative artificial intelligence futures.
Research suggests that turning your knowledge into deeper, abstract principles facilitates learning transfer. Research also suggests that one technique is particularly powerful for helping people intuit underlying principles. This technique is called, “contrasting cases.”
Keith Holyoak, a UCLA professor of psychology and one of the world’s leading thinkers on analogical reasoning, recommends people ask themselves the following two questions in order to hone their skills: “What does this remind me of?” and “Why does it remind me of it?”
By constantly looking at objects in your environment and material you read and asking yourself these two questions, you build the muscles in your brain that help you make connections across traditional boundaries.
Freelance Subversion 