A standard skill gives you one return. A meta-skill gives you a return on every other skill you learn after it.
Learn to read and you can learn from books. Learn to write and you can build a note-taking system that helps you think.
The catch is that compounding works both ways. Leaving a meta-skill undeveloped is a bit like keeping your money under the bed rather than in a savings account.
I'd used the term meta-skill in two recent blog posts, then realised I'd never defined it. There wasn't even a permanent note on it in my Zettelkasten.
My definition: a meta-skill is a skill that helps you learn another skill.
In my new post I explore three I rely on, reading, writing and metacognition, and why they compound over time.
Lesprit critique, a sapprend 4/4, avec Christophe Adourian SHOCKING #32
What is metacognition?AI can improve a draftbut did the writer actually learn
Our new open-access paper proposes CalibrationBypassingUptake Theory to explain when AI-mediated writing supports durable learning and when it mainly improves visible performance.
It also introduces cognitive bypassing and 8 testable hypotheses.
Ah, the latest magnum opus: a glitzy parade of where 10 academics reveal that AI should "think" (spoiler: it doesn't). Fast and slow More like "TLDR" and "please stop."
Thinking Fast and Slow in AI: The Role of Metacognition
Comments:
Lesprit critique, a sapprend 3/4, avec Christophe Adourian SHOCKING #32
The more we try to understand what LLMs can and cant do effectively, the more were forced to examine the cognitive processes weve traditionally taken for granted in ourselves.
Among many who embrace it, that's leading to greater metacognitive awareness... people becoming more conscious of how they reason, not just what conclusions they reach.
Does routing to whichever model says it can answer lead to more success 20 frontier models were asked on six benchmarks whether they could answer w/o help. They mostly agree about which questions are hard, but models saying yes don't necessarily answer more correctly. Counting hedge words in a model's own one-line explanation predicts whether it got the answer right better than its own yes or no does, on half the benchmarks.
Lesprit critique, a sapprend 2/4, avec Christophe Adourian SHOCKING #32
Lesprit critique, a sapprend 1/4, avec Christophe Adourian SHOCKING #32
Rostral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann area 10): metacognition in the brain. January 2013.
In book: Principles of Frontal Lobe Function, 2nd edition (pp.524-534) Edition: 2. Chapter: 31.
Authors:
Paul W Burgess
University College London
Hsuan-Chen Wu
Discover Hidden Aspects of Your Personality: The Wonders of Metacognition Book
To address the many questions people have about self-knowledge, a highly controversial topic, Mary Ann Zuckerberg wrote a book titled "The Wonders of Metacognition: A Way to Identify How You Learn," available from IEMV Publishing. It's a descriptive book that guides the reader on a journey of self-discovery as a learner.Through Ausubel's theories of meaningful learning and Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, combined with self-reflection activities, it allows readers to identify their learning styles and learn to use and design metacognitive strategies to enhance their learning.The article reports that higher intelligence is associated with faster development of metacognitive knowledge in mathematics among early adolescents, based on longitudinal data from 1,050 German students. It also notes that factors like math knowledge, motivation, and class type did not predict the pace of metacognitive growth.
This topic is of interest to psychology enthusiasts because it highlights how cognitive factors interact with learning awareness and self-regulated study, shedding light on how intelligence may influence the development of strategies for learning and problem solving.
Article Title: Higher intelligence might accelerate the development of metacognitive knowledge in mathematics
Link to PsyPost Article:
Title: P3: Consciousness definition as metacognition in psychology on Wikipedia. 2026-02-04 Wed
4) Volition - changes in 1-3 levels above
5) Sensory consciousness - input from five senses or happens to arise in the mind.
Title: P2: Consciousness definition as metacognition in psychology on Wikipedia. 2026-02-04 Wed
1) self-regulation of attention
2) adopting of mind wanders when it drifts from the
selected focus of attention
The five-aggregate model (based on buddhist description of the Skandhas):
1) Material physical body and external matter around
2) Feelings - inner self-states
3) Perceptions - aware about attributes of an object (color, shape)
Title: P1: Consciousness definition as metacognition in psychology on Wikipedia. 2026-02-04 Wed
an understanding of the patterns behind them.
Models:
Metacognition model:
- *Knowledge*, about: content or capabilities, of task
difficutly, known strategies or heuristics
- *Experience or regulation* - with the current, on-going cognitive
endeavor. Planning, Monitoring, Evaluating.
Clinical two-component model:
Title: P0: Consciousness definition as metacognition in psychology on Wikipedia. 2026-02-04 Wed
Mindfulness - skill of awareness towards the contents of
one's own mind and bodily sensations in the present
moment. Used for focusing cognitive resources on
relevant information. Awarness means "remembering" or
retention of information.
*Metacognition* - awareness of one's thought processes and
Podcast News, le mdia de lindustrie francophone du podcast, sest fait lcho de mon appel du week-end dernier pour sauver Mta de Choc, suite la chute dramatique des dons que subit le podcast depuis le dbut de cette anne 2026 (voir liens en fin de thread). 1/5
Mta de Choc survivra-t-il 2026
La question simpose malheureusement.
Il y a 7 ans, jai dcid de lancer ce podcast indpendant, gratuit et sans pub, exclusivement financ par ses auditeurices. Simple, nest-ce pas Et pour me rendre la tche encore plus facile, jai choisi un sujet ultra-mainstream : la mtacognition. 1/9
Socrates worried that writing would damage our memories. We only know about his concern because somebody wrote it down.
Every generation runs this argument. But "people have always worried" is not the same as "there is nothing to worry about". Generative AI can now produce the work itself, not just store it.
The question worth asking is which cognitive work you want to keep doing:
Technical debt is a shortcut taken now and paid for later, usually with interest. Cognitive debt works the same way, except the thing you are borrowing against is your own ability to think.
Socrates worried about writing. Maths teachers worried about calculators. Now we are having the argument again about AI, and this time the machine can generate the work for us.
New post:
Emprise psychologique : mode demploi STREAM #24
MLM ou arnaque pyramidale 4/4, avec Manon Lasne SHOCKING #31
Practice what you teach. Because teachings don't function as symbols or metaphorsthey are incarnations of what they advocate.
MLM ou arnaque pyramidale 3/4, avec Manon Lasne SHOCKING #31
A line from my latest post that I keep coming back to: AI's neural network is fixed once trained - ours isn't. We evolved to adapt and learn throughout life, it's still one of the few edges we have left.
Full post:
Jeudi 8 octobre 2026 de 18h 20h, la formidable quipe des experts du modle Rflecto de Pierre-Paul Gagn vous propose un wbinaire sur les bases du modle.
Vous dcouvrirez les fondements thoriques, les diffrents agents cognitifs, comment prendre en main le modle et lappliquer pour amliorer les apprentissages.
Nous vous recommandons cette visioconfrence dune grande qualit thorique et clinique.
Le wbinaire est propos au tarif de 60 . Pour vous inscrire, veuillez envoyer un courriel ladresse : reflecto.metacogmail.com
A tip from my latest post: metacognition (thinking about your own thinking) is a meta-skill worth building deliberately.
Three ways in: self-testing, self-explanation, and concept mapping. None of them are complicated, they just need doing consistently.
More here:
The final post in my "Why Technology Is Outpacing Society" series is live.
After four posts on why the gap between tech and us keeps widening, I didn't want to end on doom. So this one's about what's actually within our control: protecting our own cognitive abilities.
Read it here:
MLM ou arnaque pyramidale 2/4, avec Manon Lasne SHOCKING #31
En libert conditionnelle 3/3 Story #1
#24 L'OMBRE D'UN DOUTE
Un carrousel suivre en droulant le fil
Que l'on soit un champion de la mtacognition ou de ceux qui se vante de ne pas tre un mouton, on est toujours persuad d'tre le seul douter pendant que les autres se bercent d'illusions.
N'y aurait-il pas comme un problme de dfinition
Un point "Vocabullshit" s'impose.
The AI Ecosystem
A Field GuideReader's MapPart I: The Common MapA run is the unit1. The model2. Context3. Prompt and context engineering4. Product shell5. Structured output6. Tools7. Three classes8. Divergent and convergent9. Agents, workflows, harnessAgentWorkflowSwarmHarness10. Retrieval, memory, citations11. GuardrailsObservabilityThe verification problemThe unverified verificationAccountabilityEvals13. Escalation ladderSummary: layers, what they add, whatMLM ou arnaque pyramidale 1/4, avec Manon Lasne SHOCKING #31
Des nouvelles du futur - SCOOP #2
Les croyances dans le sport 6/6, avec Willy Mangin SHOCKING #30
LLM : (Kanji)
LLM '' , 5 .
The article examines how immersive and maladaptive daydreaming have appeared in classic and modern fiction long before psychology formally identified them as clinical phenomena. It shows that intense fantasy can be found across centuries and explores how literature reflects both adaptive and maladaptive uses of daydreaming. The study argues for a historical continuity between imaginative inner lives and modern psychological concepts.
This piece is of interest to psychology readers because it links literary depictions to clinical patterns, illustrating how inner experiences described in fiction resonate with contemporary research on immersion, regulation, and the impact on functioning. It highlights the value of interdisciplinary approaches in understanding complex mental phenomena and the historical roots of these experiences.
Article Title: Classic literature shows maladaptive daydreaming is not a new psychological trend
Link to PsyPost Article:
Healing Trauma!
Unlock the secrets to healing trauma! Explore how emotional coherence and metacognition can help you process difficult experiences and transform your identity. Learn how long to feel emotions and when to move forward.