Learn to Learn
Learning is something we do everyday, but have you ever tried learning how to learn?
That seems like a strange question to ask, until you start pondering over it. Think of it in terms of an optimization problem, we try to optimize our lifts in the gym, we try to optimize the way we spend our money, we try to optimize our time. Logically; Why can’t we optimize our learning.
It is well known that everyone has their own way of learning, but there are a few tricks/tactics that everyone can greatly benefit from, here is a collection of few such tips. That I have gathered from courses[1], books, article[2] and personal experiences.
Open Mind; If you think you can’t do it, you can’t do it
“In 1939, a misunderstanding brought about surprising results. Near the beginning of a class, Professor Neyman wrote two problems on the blackboard. Dantzig arrived late and assumed that they were a homework assignment. According to Dantzig, they “seemed to be a little harder than usual”, but a few days later he handed in completed solutions for both problems, still believing that they were an assignment that was overdue. Six weeks later, an excited Neyman eagerly told him that the “homework” problems he had solved were two of the most famous unsolved problems in statistics.”[3]
Mark Rober talked about an idea of “naive optimism” in his MIT Commencement Speech[4], The idea being when we start out with an idea about which we have no clue, we keep doing things because we have no clue how hard it’s supposed to be. Paul Graham talks about a similar idea in his blogs[5] how a lot of young startup founders have no idea about how ambitious and hard their ideas are, But this very naivety never stops them.
Such challenges in fact make people find creative solutions to these hard problems. So next time you find yourself in a difficult task, maybe think what a newbie would do.
Gather & Experiment; Find and try everything you possibly can on the topic you wish to learn
“Throw everything at the wall, see what sticks”
This is a great saying in my opinion, As we keep learning (real learning, not just memorizing and giving tests) we find many ways in the world to do so, Audiobooks, video tutorials, Blogs, Hands-on learning and so many more(flashcards much!!). And with these comes all the “hacks” and “secret tips” to improve learning like the Pomodoro technique[6], Quizzing, Teaching etc.
So which one is the best for you? Well you will never know till you have tried them all. Pick one topic, gather all the resources you possibly can because even though you are learning the same thing, everyone teaches it differently.
Use a bit of each resource, then stick to the one that sticks to you!!
Progressive overload; if it’s not hard, you are not learning
“…Learning is not supposed to be fun. It doesn’t have to be actively not fun either, but the primary feeling should be that of effort. It should look a lot less like that “10 minute full body” workout from your local digital media creator and a lot more like a serious session at the gym. You want the mental equivalent of sweating. It’s not that the quickie doesn’t do anything, it’s just that it is wildly suboptimal if you actually care to learn…” - Andrej Karpathy[7]
I largely have the same belief, That whatever you are learning, it follows a curve, initially it is tough and as you get better at it, it starts seeming simple and easier.
This is when you have grokked[8] the idea completely, now if you keep doing this. You will only stagnate AKA “Tutorial Hell”, So over the course of learning something. Gradually pick the harder and more complex ideas, make it a bit more difficult.
Not a lot at once (If you suddenly try to lift 300 KGs you will break your back!!), lest you stop learning at all.
Load but do not overload.
SMART; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound
“Lose weight”
That is something all of us have set as a new resolution at some point of time in our lives. Let’s see how we can make it better using SMART.
Specific -> how much weight do you want to lose? Well you do not want to lose weight, you want to lose fat. So let’s say you want to lose 5 KGs of fat this year.
Measurable -> Can you measure it daily? Yes we can, All we need is a scale to measure how much we are losing, over the course of time. (For more abstract ideas like learning DSA, you can measure it using time, how fast you can solve a problem, or code efficiency etc. There is always a way to measure your growth. You just need to find it)
Achievable -> Can you lose 5 KGs in a year? Yes. Can you lose 50 KGs, no. (On average)
Relevant -> Is this even Relevant to your life? Yes. Scenarios where this would be like “I wish to be the best beer pong player in the world” It is irrelevant to most individuals.
Time-Bound -> Specify the time block in which you wish to achieve what you wish to achieve. Something vague like this year wont help you. Pick a specific time period. In this case we can say 3 months.
Be smart, use SMART.
Enjoy; What’s the point if you are not having fun
One of my favorite things to do is imagine what it would be like after I am able to do what I am trying to learn at the moment.
The joy of that vision is greater than any difficulty faced during the learning process.
Keep an open mind, gather your tools, Gradually fight harder daemons, be smart about your method, enjoy your victory!!!
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