How do you know when you understand something? This is trickier than it seems. Explanations are recursive. recursive. Recursion is the algorithmic equivalent of Matryoshka dolls. The same process nested inside itself again and again. This may sound complicated, but we use recursive processes all the time. recursive processes all the time. Consider trying to […]
The Essential Education: If You Had Ten Years to Learn Anything, What Would You Do?
I can remember years ago having a discussion with someone about the purpose of college. I was arguing that university often doesn’t do a good job of preparing young people for the world of work, and my friend was arguing that I was missing the point. College isn’t about economic preparedness, but about educating people […]
New Project: Level Up Korean with Five Hours Per Week
One of the most important variables in any learning project is simply how much time you devote. Devoting fifty hours per week is going to have much faster progress than fifty minutes each week. This should be obvious. However, when evaluating the success of others, this factor of hourly time investment is often ignored. People […]
Should You Listen to Music While Studying, The Pi Model and Learning How to Learn w/ Dr. Barbara Oakley
I recently interviewed Dr. Barbara Oakley, the author of Mindshift, A Mind for Numbers and co-instructor for Learning How to Learn, the most popular online course of all time. We talked about a number of interesting topics on how to learn effectively, pulled from the research for her new book. Here are some interesting bits: […]
I'm a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, podcast host, computer programmer and an avid reader. Since 2006, I've published weekly essays on this website to help people like you learn and think better. My work has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, TEDx, Pocket, Business Insider and more. I don't promise I have all the answers, just a place to start.