Have you ever tried to read a piece and feel so disconnected? Like you are reading in a language you can barely understand, about a topic you can barely comprehend.
You attempt a second time, and get faced with the reality that it is indeed in a language you understand and the topic is in fact not a strange one.
You begin to wonder if the author is simply above your paygrade or you are too dumb to grasp the piece. And sometimes, neither is true.
No one knows it all
It is human to have some form of admiration for those that have a solid grasp of the knowledge we deeply struggle to acquire.
The author may be ahead of you in this regard. However, there are other areas that you would be ahead of the author.
Everyone has something they can do better than others.
In addition, there was a point in time that the author was just as clueless as you are on this same topic.
Foo and Bar
Let us use the example of two 6-year-old kids, Foo and Bar.
Foo is a genius that can solve the Rubik’s Cube in 5 minutes but cannot identify the English alphabets because he is yet to resume school.
Bar on the other hand was homeschooled early on. He likes drawing and can also write short stories.
Foo met Bar at the playground and while playing, they discovered that they are both fond of cats. On getting back home, Bar drew a short pictorial story about his cat and gave his mum to deliver it to Foo’s mum.
Foo was wowed at the fact that Bar could compose a story. He tried his best to make sense of the content based on the pictures.
He was however unable to read the accompanying texts. Not all the pictures are self explanatory so he ended up getting confused.
Due to that, he felt bad of himself and percieved Bar to be more intelligent than him.
Filling the gaps
Picture yourself as Foo. Even though he has the rare skill of solving Rubik’s Cube, he was fixated only on what Bar can do that he cannot.
And Foo would read Bar’s story a year later, and wondered why he ever felt dumb. He mumbled “this story is too basic and dry”.
The difference this time is that Foo has resumed school and has acquired the necessary knowledge to be able to read Bar’s story.
The reason you feel disconnected is due to the gaps in knowledge. You have skipped some steps along the way that are necessary. And without them, you are without the ability to comprehend what you are trying to read.
Good news
You are not dumb. And just like Foo, you only need to fill the gaps.