From Vitaliy Katsenelson’s Soul in the Game: The Art of a Meaningful Life:
“I was in Israel with a group of friends. One of my friends offered to show us the biggest Yeshiva (orthodox Jewish college) in the center of Jerusalem, where he had studied years before. It’s called Mir Yeshiva. We went there at 10 p.m. on a Thursday night. Our friend guided us into the “library.” If you go to a library on any campus in the US, it will have two things: a lot of books and a lot of quiet. This library had a lot of books (which were packed against the walls), but it had all the quietness of a bar on Saturday night when ladies drink for free (minus the ladies and the music).
“What we saw before us was an enormous room with several hundred students sitting in groups of two and three around modest wooden tables, debating. As my friend explained, the louder they argue, the better they learn. This was the time-honored process of learning through arguing. Students would pick a sentence or a verse in the Torah and argue about its meaning for debating. As my friend explained, the louder they argue, the better they learn. This was the time-honored process of learning through arguing. Students would pick a sentence or a verse in the Torah and argue about its meaning for hours (sometimes days).
“I was mesmerized by what I saw. This was such incredible dedication to learning. Remember, we were there late on a Thursday evening. I cannot think of better gymnastics for the brain than this. It doesn’t really matter what subject you want to learn – the Torah, investing, or physics. This sort of dynamic, confrontational process of getting at the truth will uncover every weak and unpolished angle of your understanding of any subject.” (pp. 211-212)
Related: John Stuart Mill on genuine liberal education, in the Philosophers, Explained series: