The second step in chunking is to understand the basic idea you're trying to chunk, whether its understanding a concepts such as continental drift, seeing the connection between the basic elements of a plot for a story, grasping the economic principle of supply and demand, or comprehending the essence of a particular type of math problem. Understanding is like a super glue that helps hold the underlying memory traces together. It creates broad encompassing traces that can link to other memory traces. Can you create a chunk if you don't understand? Yes, but it's often a useless chunk that won't fit in with or relate to other material you're learning.
