Instructional Content is Not Teaching

Instructional content dominates YouTube, self-help books, and podcasts. Most of it is autobiography dressed up as method. It is compelling, often entertaining, occasionally inspiring — but it is not teaching, and it should not be mistaken for it. The distinction matters: teaching requires a learner. Instructional content only requires an audience. Yet people take it at face value and use it to make real changes to their lives. The most-seen advice is systematically the least representative:...