Ever since I read James Webb Young’s  A Technique for Producing Ideas a few weeks ago, one of its ideas has been in the back of my mind: the importance of learning a principle before a tactic when trying to master something.

Here are a few passages from the book about this:

“In learning any art, the important things to learn are, first Principles; and second, Method.”

“Particular bits of knowledge are nothing, because they are made up, of what Dr. Robert Hutchins has called rapidly aging facts. Principle and method are everything.”

“We may know all these [advertising tactics] and still not be an advertising man, because we have no understanding of the principles and fundamental methods by which advertising works.”

“On the other hand, we may know none of these [advertising tactics] but have insight into advertising principles and method, so that employing technicians to help us we may produce advertising results.”

“Thus we sometimes see a manufacturer or merchant who is a better advertising man than his advertising agent or manager.”

I’m not sure how other people approach this, but I haven’t been intentional about learning principles first when I’m trying to master something. I’m intentional about focusing my reading and knowledge consumption on information specifically related to the topic. But I haven’t thought to prioritize starting with a book or podcast that explains principles. It happens sometimes, but it’s random.

The more I’ve thought about Young’s approach, the more sense it’s made. Principles are the foundation that isn’t likely to change, while tactics and methods evolve with the times. Understanding the principle is key to understanding why a current tactic is valid and to being able to experiment to find its replacement if it becomes ineffective.

I suspect that Young’s approach applies to learning in general, too. To understand concepts (even if you don’t plan on mastering something), it’s best to seek out and understand the principles and then seek out tactics that others have used. Doing so will result in better comprehension and retention, or so I think. I’m going to test this theory as I learn about copywriting this summer (see here).