# @dr.san__ on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DH3esidNVzx
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/63506376-drsan-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/5a2b5ff296.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-03-31T14:23:26.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** San Choudhury (@dr.san__) — https://gondola.cc/dr.san__

## Caption

A Critique of How To Culture:

We find ourselves in a time where it’s possible to know how to do something without having gathered this knowledge by “doing” the thing ourselves. 

Scroll through any feed, and you’ll find a stream of hacks, tips, frameworks, and processes, all promising to teach you how to do just about anything. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this. After all, humans have always learned from each other. 

Teachers and instructors are valuable but I can’t shake the feeling that somewhere along the way we’ve become over-reliant on them: some things can only be learnt by experience. 

Perhaps the popularity of how-to guidance is because of the pressure to do things as fast as possible. When everything must happen at great speed then hacks, tips, shortcuts from someone else who has already done the thing seems like just what we need.

We’re relying only on others to tell us what to do. And we’re forgetting something basic: real knowledge - the kind that sticks - comes from doing.

Some things can’t be outsourced. They need to be felt. Repeated. Understood through the body and not just the brain. What works for one person might not work for another, and that’s something a how-to guide can’t always tell you.

There’s no denying that this account itself contributed to the how-to culture. And it’s hard to recognise one’s embedment in something when they’re slowly sinking into it. I’ve shared my own versions of 3 point frameworks, 5 step processes, and instant hacks to save you time you already don’t have. But after finishing my PhD, I’ve had the time—and distance—to see how deeply I’d internalised this culture myself. So this isn’t just a critique of the how-to knowledge economy. It’s also a critique of my own role in sustaining it.

Next time you’re about to Google a “how to,” ask yourself: Have I tried everything I can think of first? Have I given myself permission to explore, to fail, to figure it out on my own? Sometimes, the slowest way is the only way to truly know.
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#scholar #howto #academia #research #thinker

## Stats

- **Views:** 13,151
- **Likes:** 1,599
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 21

## Tags

scholar, research, thinker, howto, academia

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