Under no circumstance is learning passive. It is strictly an active engagement. If you do not Do your own thinking and personally work it through—you will only be repeating from others and will not have accumulated your own understanding.
“If you don’t feel awkward, you’re learning at a snail’s pace” - Chris Voss
Awkward can feel like a barrier or that we’re doing it wrong but it is essential for accelerated learning. The awkwardness feeling comes from our brain working hard to form new connections. It is the effort of learning that we feel. The Misinterpreted-effort hypothesis comes from learners who expect to learn best from ease. This is not true. We are bad at judges of how well we know something
What methods can we use to avoid this? The Feynman Technique
Creativity requires active use of information—apply it and transfer the concept into multiple domains. If ideas hold up and you can flexibly use it, you understand it well. If you can’t think of anything, you might have Flimsy understanding.