Earlier this month, we introduced the Practitioner's Path 2.0, our new framework for structured self improvement. The heart of the Path is the Skilltree, which is divided into three archetypes: the Pragmatist, the Meditative, and the Empiricist.

The Practitioner's Path 2.0 launches on March 4th. Today, we'll go over the Empiricist archetype and her associated Skills.

The Empiricists see life as a puzzle, a complex system that can be manipulated into producing a desired outcome. Empiricists love to learn new facts and skills, even if they're not immediately useful. Theorizing about the world is fun too, but what the Empiricist really wants is to be right — and that means checking those clever hypotheses against the only judge that really matters: reality.

In the Empiricist tree, you'll find Skills focused on:

• Synthesizing and distilling information
• Learning and teaching
• Thinking clearly

Some people might call Empiricists excessively logical, but the Empiricist knows that's a mischaracterization. Intuition is just as important as reason, and the Empiricist's ultimate goal is to practice thinking clearly so much that it becomes automatic.

Introductory Skill Examples

The Archetypal Empiricist

Eva Davis started her career as a nameless chemical technician with a slowly fading passion for science. Today, ten years later, she's a max-level Empiricist advancing the field of anti-aging medicine.

At work, Eva is a brilliant lab scientist for a biotech startup, Everlife. She devises experiments, runs them, and uses the results to, someday, allow the elderly to spend more time with their children and grandchildren. The reaper's scythe-hand weakens one day at a time.

Eva spends most of her time at work, but when she allows herself a rare moment of relaxation, Eva applies her razor-sharp mind to the world around her. Knowledge is everywhere — from the science papers she reads, to the natural history museum she frequents, to the endless stream of books she devours. She stays up late into most nights reading, telling herself that the exhaustion the next day is the price of knowledge.

The Practitioner's Path 2.0 launches March 4th. In the meantime, what do you think of the Empiricist archetype? Does it resonate with you? Let us know in the comments below!