Snippets about: Learning
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David Boies Succeeds as a Lawyer Because of His Dyslexia
David Boies, one of the most successful trial lawyers in the world, is severely dyslexic. He can't read well and struggles through dense documents. But Boies has an extraordinary memory and listening ability. In depositions and cross-examinations, Boies can pick up on the tiniest cues in tone and wording that others miss. His "disability" has forced him to hone skills of observation and recall that give him a unique advantage in the courtroom.
So while dyslexia is a real hardship, it also imposes a "desirable difficulty" - a constraint that forced Boies to develop rare and valuable abilities that he might not have otherwise. His success is not in spite of his dyslexia, but because of it.
Section: 2, Chapter: 4
Book: David and Goliath
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
The Illusions of Knowing
Many common study habits turn out to be counterproductive. Highlighting, underlining, and rereading textbooks feels productive, but these methods create an illusion of mastery. In reality, they lead to shallow learning that fades quickly. Similarly, cramming for exams often produces better short-term recall but poorer long-term retention compared to spaced practice. We are poor judges of when we are learning well, so becoming adept at self-quizzing is key to calibrating our understanding and breaking these illusions of knowing.
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Make It Stick
Author: Peter Brown, Henry Roediger, Mark McDaniel
Grit Grows With Age And Life Experience
Grit tends to increase with age, especially from the 20s to the 40s. Data from the author's Grit Scale shows a positive correlation between age and grit.
Longitudinal studies show that people tend to become more conscientious, confident, caring, and emotionally stable with age and life experience - a pattern known as the "maturity principle" in psychology.
The same may be true for grit. Experience teaches us life lessons and builds the psychological resources needed for long-term perseverance.
Anecdotally, many grit paragons describe developing determination, resilience, and a sense of purpose over time, not being born with those traits.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: Grit
Author: Angela Duckworth
The Sensitive Period for Cultural Learning
Ages 9-15, especially the first years of puberty, may be a sensitive period when cultural learning has an outsized, long-term impact on identity and worldview. Studies show:
- Immigrating during this window leads kids to "feel" like the new culture. Moving before or after doesn't.
- Social media use during this period predicts lower wellbeing, while use at other ages has less effect.
- The transition to social media in the early 2010s directly impacted this sensitive period for Gen Z, which may explain their worse mental health outcomes compared to Millennials.
Section: 2, Chapter: 2
Book: The Anxious Generation
Author: Jonathan Haidt
MIT Challenge: Learning 4 Years of Computer Science in 12 Months
Scott Young undertook the MIT Challenge, attempting to learn MIT's 4-year computer science curriculum in just 12 months using their freely available course materials. He aimed to pass the final exams and complete the programming projects. This self-directed learning project demonstrated the potential of intensive, focused learning outside of formal education.
Similarly, To prepare for Jeopardy!, Roger Craig downloaded tens of thousands of questions and answers from past shows. He analyzed the data to uncover common topics, patterns in where Daily Doubles appeared, and studied using spaced-repetition software. This data-driven, systematic approach led him to break records on the show.
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Ultralearning
Author: Scott Young
Memorizing Helps Internalize Concepts
Memorizing gets a bad rap in learning. But the key is to memorize material you already understand. Doing this helps internalize the core concepts more deeply and frees up mental energy to connect ideas in new ways. Memory techniques like mnemonics, visualization, and memory palaces make memorizing more fun and effective. The more you memorize foundational concepts, the easier it is to assimilate new ones. The key is to memorize after understanding, not just blind rote learning. Memorizing is a powerful tool for internalizing core concepts.
Section: 1, Chapter: 7
Book: A Mind for Numbers
Author: Barbara Oakley
The Problem With Classroom Learning
Achieving transfer - the ability to apply abstract classroom learning to messy real-world problems - has been called the "Holy Grail" of education. Yet research shows that even top students frequently fail to transfer their knowledge to new situations.
The issue stems from how formal education is structured. Classroom learning is often abstract and de-contextualized from real-world applications. It prioritizes memorizing facts and procedures over practicing skills in context. This trains students to execute set problem types but leaves them ill-equipped to transfer that knowledge to novel situations.
Enter the directness principle. Directness is ultralearning's answer to the transfer problem - learning a skill by doing it in the context you want to use it. The closer your practice matches your target environment, the more readily your skills will transfer.
Section: 1, Chapter: 6
Book: Ultralearning
Author: Scott Young
The Apprenticeship Dilemma
Even as formal education adapts to an AI-driven world, the author argues that a less visible but equally vital learning process is under threat: the apprenticeship model that has long been the backbone of on-the-job skill development.
This model breaks down when AI can perform many entry-level tasks more efficiently than a novice human. Just as robotic surgical tools have reduced opportunities for medical residents to practice hands-on procedures, the author warns that "shadow AI" deployed by individual knowledge workers threatens to automate away the tasks that have long served as stepping stones for skill-building.
The result is a looming "apprenticeship dilemma", where the AI tools that make experienced professionals more productive inadvertently undercut the pipeline of new talent needed to sustain their fields.
Section: 2, Chapter: 8
Book: Co-Intelligence
Author: Ethan Mollick
The Diversity of Nobel Laureates
"Compared to other scientists, Nobel laureates are at least twenty-two times more likely to partake as an amateur actor, dancer, magician, or other type of performer."
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Range
Author: David Epstein
From Sage On The Stage To Guide On The Side
For educators looking to adapt to an AI-driven future, the author recommends a fundamental shift in pedagogy - from the traditional "sage on the stage" model of content delivery to a "guide on the side" approach emphasizing active learning and problem-solving.
In this new model, instructors would spend less time lecturing and more time curating AI-generated explanations, examples, and assessments. Class time would be dedicated to Socratic discussion, group collaboration, and hands-on projects - activities that build on foundational knowledge while honing uniquely human skills like empathy, creativity, and critical thinking.
Section: 2, Chapter: 7
Book: Co-Intelligence
Author: Ethan Mollick
Hesitaters Miss The Chance To Learn
Hesitaters delay dating until they feel completely ready and have addressed all their perceived inadequacies. They think "I'll date when":
- I lose 10 lbs
- I get a promotion
- I buy a house
- I finish my novel
However, you'll never feel 100% ready. And by waiting, you miss the opportunity to learn about relationships, gain skills, and figure out what you really want in a partner. Dating makes you better at dating. No amount of solo self-improvement can replace hands-on experience.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: How to Not Die Alone
Author: Logan Ury
Make Deliberate Practice A Habit
To maximize skill development, establish a routine of deliberate practice. Set a regular time, place, and duration for practicing with full concentration and effort. Make practice into a ritual so it becomes automatic.
Habits reduce the need to use finite willpower. When practice becomes a default, progress accumulates more rapidly. Grit paragons have daily disciplines and routines (writing, training, rehearsing) that fuel their improvement.
Maintain a growth mindset about practice - see challenges and feedback as information to guide your learning, not threats to your ego. Cultivate a "rage to master" and find ways to re-frame practice as intrinsically rewarding.
Section: 2, Chapter: 7
Book: Grit
Author: Angela Duckworth
Mastery Requires Struggle
"When you space out practice at a task and get a little rusty between sessions, or you interleave the practice of two or more subjects, retrieval is harder and feels less productive, but the effort produces longer lasting learning and enables more versatile application of it in later settings."
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: Make It Stick
Author: Peter Brown, Henry Roediger, Mark McDaniel
Learn Like You'll Use It: 4 Ways to Maximize Skill Transfer Through Directness
- Project-based learning: The quickest route to applicable skills is to learn by doing a real project. Identify a project that uses the skills you want to develop, then learn what you need to complete it. For example, building an app that uses programming concepts you want to learn.
- Immersive learning: If you want to learn a language for travel, book a trip and force yourself to navigate using only that language. If you want to master public speaking, join Toastmasters and speak regularly. Frequent, high-stakes practice embeds skills rapidly.
- Simulation: Sometimes, practicing directly isn't feasible. In these cases, create practice situations that simulate key elements of the real environment as closely as possible. Focus on matching the cognitive conditions, even if the physical environment differs.
- Overkill: To stress-test your skills' transferability, up the stakes beyond your target context. If you want to learn a language for travel, practice by debating complex topics with native speakers.
Section: 1, Chapter: 6
Book: Ultralearning
Author: Scott Young
Emulate Your Role Models Through Deliberate Practice
Choosing the right role models is just the first step - you then have to put their example into practice until it becomes habit. The author recommends a two-part process:
- Choose exemplars that inspire you to raise your standards. They can be people you know personally, public figures, or even fictional characters. What matters is that they exemplify traits you want to cultivate.
- Practice emulating their approach, not just once or twice, but repeatedly until it becomes your own default behavior. Constantly ask yourself how your exemplar would handle a given situation.
Section: 2, Chapter: 7
Book: Clear Thinking
Author: Shane Parrish
Reflection as Practice
After a challenging surgery, the neurosurgeon Mike Ebersold reflects on what could have gone better:
"A lot of times something would come up in surgery that I had difficulty with, and then I'd go home that night thinking about what happened and what could I do, for example, to improve the way a suturing went. How can I take a bigger bite with my needle, or a smaller bite, or should the stitches be closer together? What if I modified it this way or that way? Then the next day back, I'd try that and see if it worked better."
This mental rehearsal is a potent form of retrieval practice. By imagining alternatives and connecting them to his previous knowledge, Dr. Ebersold is expanding his mental models. Reflection works memory traces from different angles, strengthening mastery and preparing him to handle future variations.
Section: 1, Chapter: 2
Book: Make It Stick
Author: Peter Brown, Henry Roediger, Mark McDaniel
The 9 Universal Principles of Ultralearning
Ultralearning projects follow 9 universal principles:
- Metalearning - draw a map by learning how to learn the skill effectively
- Focus - cultivate deep concentration and make learning your primary focus
- Directness - learn by directly doing the thing you want to become good at
- Drill - attack your weakest points through targeted exercises
- Retrieval - test yourself to learn, don't just passively review
- Feedback - don't avoid negative feedback, use it as valuable data to improve
- Retention - understand what you forget and why, learn to remember
- Intuition - play with concepts to develop intuitive understanding
- Experimentation - explore outside your comfort zone, don't stick to preset methods
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: Ultralearning
Author: Scott Young
Mindset And Social Emotional Learning
Haim Ginott, a child psychologist, shares a story illustrating how adult reactions shape children's self-concept and emotional resilience:
- 5-year-old Jessica was drawing a picture but became frustrated and tore it up. Her mother's response was "Oh honey, you were doing so well! I'm so sorry you messed it up."
- This taught Jessica that success is fragile and can be ruined by mistakes. Her mother unwittingly instilled a fixed mindset and catastrophic thinking.
- If instead her mother had said "It's so frustrating when drawings don't turn out the way we want. I usually take a break and try again later. Can I help you tape it back together?", she would have conveyed that mistakes are fixable and effort yields improvement.
Well-intentioned parents often inadvertently promote fixed mindset thinking in their attempts to be supportive.
Section: 1, Chapter: 7
Book: Mindset
Author: Carol Dweck
Kind vs Wicked Learning Environments
Learning environments can be categorized as either "kind" or "wicked." Kind environments, like chess or golf, have clear rules, consistent patterns, and immediate feedback. In such environments, early specialization and deliberate practice are highly effective. Wicked environments, like the world of business or politics, are characterized by ambiguity, changing rules, and delayed or inaccurate feedback. Here, broad experience and adaptability are more valuable than narrow specialization.
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Range
Author: David Epstein
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
Thomas Edison, one of the most prolific inventors in history, had this perspective about failure and persistence. When his attempts didn't work, he didn't see them as failures but as successful discoveries of ineffective approaches. This allowed him to keep inventing and making progress where others may have quit. In math and science, mistakes are inevitable and provide valuable learning opportunities. Embrace them as part of the learning process, and keep a positive attitude even when the going gets tough.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: A Mind for Numbers
Author: Barbara Oakley