#HOW_TO_BECOME_A_FAST_LEARNER ? 1. Connect New Info to Old Info with Metaphors Use metaphors to understand new systems and models quickly. Ask an expert to explain what they are talking about using a metaphor. Suggest metaphors and ask if they are correct or not. Start noticing the metaphors people use in every day language and notice how much easier they make it to understand things. Thoreau said that “all learning is through metaphor.” You can only build a house of knowledge on a foundation of what you already know. 2. Become a Slow Forgetter Most people don’t realize how great they are at forgetting. You naturally forget half of what you read in 2 weeks and 90% of it in 2 months. There are 3 main ways to forget less: Spaced Repetition (review what you have learned at regular intervals), Teaching, and Building something with what you have learned. There is a fourth method that involves advanced visual mnemonics that you can read about in my book but it is the equivalent of learning a new language specifically for memorizing things. learning_graph 3. Learn How to Find The HighestQuality Information Fast The best way to save time is to find the best books. Use the special Google search tools to search blogs and forums for top lists of the books in your subject. Make a short list of the common books you see popping up and compare their reviews on Amazon. Choose 1-3 and dive in. 4. Understand the Power of Learning From People Send out cold emails to experts in the field you are interested in. Youcan count on 10-30% response rate depending on how well you write your emails. Ask short important questions and build a relationship by being an excellentstudent and doing exactly what they say with a quick turnaround. 5. Ask Better Questions Often the smartest person in an area is not the best at explaining how they do what they do. This is because they have gotten to the highest stage of skill acquisition: Unconscious Competence.” The problem is that they are no longerconscious of how they do what they do. This kind of knowledge iscalled tacit knowledge; it is equivalent to being able to speak english fluently and being able to teach an english class. You may know how to do it without being able to explain how you do it. To get around this issue you have to get better at asking the right questions. A sampler of good questions: 1. who are your mentors? 2. what are your top 3 books on this subject? 3. what are the top 3 mistakes/wastes of time when learning this subject? 4. what are the 3 most important things to focus on? 5. what are the most important habits you have for building your skill in this subject?
Posted on: Fri, 30 Aug 2013 03:00:31 +0000
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