When I wrote Learn More, Study Less in 2008, one of the big pieces of advice was to “learn it once”. The main idea being that, while review is still necessary, you shouldn’t procrastinate on what you’re learning—if you don’t understand something, the pre-exam cram session isn’t the time to learn it. I stand by […]
Could Obsessive Research Be the Cure for Procrastination?
There’s a lot of ways to procrastinate. Extra pushes of the snooze button, the final cram session before an exam, waiting until midlife to pick a career. Maybe you’re procrastinating right now. I used to believe most of this was just inertia. With a push, you could start rolling and finish the work with less […]
Is Getting Rich Worth It?
The titular question was posed on Quora, and one rich person, who claims to have made $15M after selling a tech startup offers a surprisingly nuanced and insightful answer: “Being rich is better than not being rich, but it’s not nearly as good as you imagine it is.” Other rich responders were less enthusiastic. Another […]
What I Would Change About the MIT Challenge
After a year spent learning MIT’s computer science program independently, I’ve gotten a number of emails from people who want to do the same thing. People who want a computer science education but don’t want to wait four years and pay thousands of dollars to get it. I’m very happy with how I conducted the […]
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.