The Osmosis Fallacy:

If you’re immersed, will you learn by default?

It& #39;s easy to think you can absorb through osmosis. That you& #39;ll hum along and improve simply because you are present.

But immersion & proximity are not sufficient.

Learning is a result of deliberate thinking.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇫🇷" title="Flagge von Frankreich" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Frankreich">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🥖" title="Baguette" aria-label="Emoji: Baguette"> You can live in France for years—and not speak French fluently (or at all).

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🪓" title="Axt" aria-label="Emoji: Axt"> You can hang out with blacksmiths—and not know how to work with metal.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✨" title="Funken" aria-label="Emoji: Funken"> You can talk every day with a colleague in sales—and not be able to command a room like they can.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🥘" title="Flache Pfanne mit Essen" aria-label="Emoji: Flache Pfanne mit Essen"> You can hover in your parent& #39;s kitchen, and not know how to recreate your favorite meals.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🎨" title="Farbpalette" aria-label="Emoji: Farbpalette"> You can work with creatives, and not become more creative.

It& #39;s one thing to watch an artist paint and assume you know how the process works.

It& #39;s another thing to be the one holding a Winsor & Newton hog bristle brush, deciding which color to dip into first.

If learning by osmosis sounds too good to be true...

It& #39;s because it is.

On the bright side:

If you learn a lot just by being exposed, imagine how much further you could go if you actively tried.

https://www.weskao.com/blog/the-osmosis-fallacy">https://www.weskao.com/blog/the-...