Non-Medium Members Can Read the Full Article by Clicking Here.
👆 👆👆👆👆
Welcome to my eighth article in this series!
As a Psychologist, I've been always interested in how people study and learn.
So in this series, I aim to explain in detail all the principles of ultra learning proposed by Scott Young in his book "Ultralearning"!
I shared with you how anyone can learn any topic with the power of ultralearning (learn intensively about any topic).
So far, our list of principles is as follows:
- Principle N1: Meta-Learning
- Principle N2: Focus
- Principle N3: Directness
- Principle N4: Drill
- Principle N5: Retrieval
- Principle N6: Feedback
- Principle N7: Retention
Today we will learn about principle N8: Intuition and how to think, understand, and solve problems easily.
Rule 1: Don't give up on hard problems (easily)
It is easy to give up when we don't understand something.
Yet, surrender only hinders our learning process.
So, when you feel this way, try to study for another extra 10 minutes.
Why?
Because sometimes we can solve the problem when we apply enough thinking.
And even if you fail, you will reach the solution faster in the future.
In short, instead of running away of the problem, push yourself to try extra time to solve it.
If not, take a break, and face it later.
Rule 2: Prove Things, Understand Things
When solving problems, explore different paths to arrive at the solution.
When achieved, take the time to dissect your approach.
Why did one path succeed while others faltered?
Understanding this not only clarifies the problem and solution but also deepens your comprehension of the problem.
Consider math: you can spend hours solving problems, but that may not enhance your understanding, as you're just learning mechanically.
Instead, invest time in proving concepts and which were the successful and unsuccessful approaches.
With a comprehensive understanding, future learning becomes more intuitive and easier.
Rule 3: Don't Fool Yourself
Have you ever heard of the Dunning-Krugger effect?
It occurs when someone with a limited understanding of a subject believes he or she has more knowledge than the people who do.
This happens frequently when learning.
But how can we avoid this?
Well, by simply asking lots of questions.
Trying to explain things clearly and easily (the famous "dumb" questions) can keep you from fooling yourself into thinking you know something you don't.
The Feynman Technique
Perhaps you already noticed that we can apply the Feynman Technique to get better with intuition and understanding.
For those who don't know, the method is quite simple:
- Write down the topic you want to understand.
- Somewhere, explain the idea as you had to teach it to someone else who has no idea about the concept.
- If you struggle, go back to your book or notes to find the answer and try again.
Why is this technique so helpful?
Because it forces you to articulate the idea you want to understand in detail.
And with a better understanding, you can solve several future problems.
Conclusion
That's it for the principle N7.
We learned that intuition refers to getting a comprehensive understanding of a topic, that will enhance our future learning.
However, we should not always stay in the same context, as that will not help us to face completely new problems.
So in the next final principle, we will learn how you can explore outside your comfort zone with the experimentation principle.
🤓R I#39m writing an article summarizing each of the 9 principles, so follow me, subscribe, and stay tuned.
- Principle N1: Meta-Learning
- Principle N2: Focus
- Principle N3: Directness
- Principle N4: Drill
- Principle N5: Retrieval
- Principle N6: Feedback
- Principle N7: Retention
See you in the next article!
🦜 If you liked my post, please clap 👏 50 times for more content about Neuroscience, Psychology, Productivity, Animals, and Python!
And don't forget to follow me for more!
Thanks for reading!