What does meta mean?
Definition and explanation
Something is meta if it is self-referential: if it follows the scheme ‘a thing about a thing’. Metadata is data about data (like who collected the data, when the data was collected, how large the data is); meta jokes are jokes about jokes (“Knock knock”...“Who’s there?”...”Someone who has never laughed at a knock knock joke”).
Notice how we’ve gone up one level of abstraction here. Arriving at this higher level often means taking a step back from the issue itself, and taking a more strategic or self-reflective perspective. Going meta often has this out-of-the-box flavour to it. In the meta joke example, we used the very structure of the knock knock joke to make a jab at how bad the structure of the knock knock joke is...pretty meta!
Etymology
‘Meta’ actually comes from the ancient Greek preposition and prefix μετα- which means ‘transcending’.
Examples of meta
Meta-analysis
The gold standard form of evidence in medical science is the meta-analysis. A meta-analysis is a systematic, quantitative review of just about all the existing scientific studies on a particular research question.
Imagine we’re trying to work out whether a new drug can cure a disease. Multiple clinical trials of the drug will be run, each one of them producing slightly different results.
A meta-analysis would combine all these results, weighing in all the available evidence to come to a conclusion about the drug’s efficacy that is more robust than any one study’s conclusion. That way, if it turns out one study failed to replicate or was inaccurate, we aren’t over-relying on that study’s results when trying to answer our research question.
Metacognition
Metacognition is thinking about thinking. It’s classically defined as a trio of processes unique to humans: metacognitive knowledge, or what you know about your cognitive processes; metacognitive regulation, or how you regulate your learning and cognition; and metacognitive experiences, or experiences that relate to your cognitive processes.
Imagine you’re trying to get good grades at school or university and you’ve got some practice exams coming up. You’re wondering what to spend your revision time on: you could brush up on Chemistry or Literature - or you could try going meta and learn better study skills. Going meta might be a good option here: if you’re able to improve your study skills (the meta option) you’ll be better in future at learning your courses (the object level things).
That's because improving your skill at certain higher level tasks generalises really well across domains. Take learning - being good at learning things in general would allow you to learn to speak Mandarin, play chess, pass your exams or pick up a new instrument faster and with less effort than someone else who hadn't learned how to learn. Using metacognition, you would decide on strategies to accelerate your learning, understand what you already know and what you need to learn better, and you would constantly monitor your progress on and motivation for achieving your learning goal.
Meta - other examples
Learning isn't the only area where going meta can help. Life inevitably involves doing tasks: writing that report, taking out the trash, going on a run, scheduling your dental appointment. Everyone at some point has forgotten to do a task they were supposed to do, but it's a lot harder if you've written it down or made a commitment to do it. The meta level consideration here is 'how do I get good at completing tasks' and from there you can work out which strategies work for you to achieve this goal.
Or maybe you’d like to raise money for a charity you really care about. You could work an extra shift at your job to get some money to donate to them; or you could go meta and do outreach to inspire a bunch of your friends to all donate to the charity. Now that’s some clever thinking!
Also check out:
Increase your productivity by going meta, 80000 Hours
Meta-charities, Raising for Effective Giving