I have become very interested in learning and didactics the last couple of years and I came across this link today.
Digging into the tips themselves and the accompanying links has been quite enlightening.
in general, brute has been pretty disappointed with the "learning to learn" books and other media. it seems they mostly spout nice one-liners that have very little relevance to other learners' situations.
in this spirit, here's brute's experience regarding learning things:
- it's hard for humans to learn things they don't actually want to learn, but merely think they want to learn
- volume of meaningful reference experiences is necessary and the foundation
- reference experiences only "stick" if there's something to "stick to": this is where guidance and personal teaching comes in
- lessons and principles need to be abstracted from reference experience by the individual learner, not taught
- what can be taught is basically what to look for in the reference experiences
- there are very strict biological (neurological?) limits to speed of learning, just like with muscular training
- basic performance can often be learned within only a handful of repetitions/reference experiences, while true mastery will take years
- there are no real "hacks" or "tricks"
Yes, the so-called "Ten Thousand Hour Rule" is really just a popular myth.
You don't really learn anything if you just keep repeating what you can already do. "Deliberate practice" actually means focusing on weaknesses and trying to improve in a specific way.
The biggest mistake I make is confusing the accumulation of information with real learning. Knowledge of a skill is not the same thing as having a skill.
I used to be a voracious reader. This recognition broke me of the habit. Now I read only enough to recognize people who understand and are applying the current body of knowledge on a topic. Then I go learn from them, ideally by doing whatever it is with them.
The surest way of cementing knowledge that I have found is to try teaching it.
Teaching forces me to realign the way I thought, and usually, a pupil will ask a question forcing me to think from a different perspective. This exposes the unknown unknowns, and really locks down the knowns.
Unfortunately, this takes effort and pupils, both of which demand time...
FBeyer wrote:I have become very interested in learning and didactics the last couple of years and I came across this link today.
Digging into the tips themselves and the accompanying links has been quite enlightening.
Simulations cause people to exercise their strengths; deliberate practise needs to address weaknesses
This one in particular blew my mind. It is such a fundamental insight that I am very embarrassed that I didn't think of this myself
I also think it's important not only to address weaknesses, but to give them the best of your time. Tackling a problem once you've completed everything else is the wrong approach. Dive right in when you're fresh.
Once I learned that lesson, I started learning everything much faster. I also stopped procrastinating on the easy stuff to put off the hard stuff.