Integrated Complexity

This research reveals eight indicators of knowledge acquisition. Four of these are inverse indicators that decrease as knowledge acquisition occurs: being overwhelmed, questioning self, seeking help, and microthinking. The other four are direct indicators that increase as knowledge acquisition occurs: being confident, remembering, multitasking, and speed. One important conclusion is a conceptualization of personal knowing, Integrated Complexity, and a conceptualization of a process of personal knowing, From Overwhelmed to Confident. When combined Integrated Complexity: From Overwhelmed to Confident (ICOC) tells the story of personal knowing revealed in the data collected in the current research. The inverse indicators, organized under being overwhelmed, represent the beginning of this story. The direct indicators, organized under being confident, represent the end of this story.