One of the things that surprised me the most during the year without English, was how quickly it became fairly easy and natural to live your life completely in a new language. In Spain, for instance, after a month of speaking only Spanish, it didn’t feel much more effortful than speaking English. However, after just […]
Should You Try Learning More Than One Thing at a Time?
How many different subjects should you try to learn at once? It’s obviously not impossible to learn more than one thing at a time—in school you often have to learn many different subjects simultaneously. Is there a compelling reason to stick to learning only one thing? Or will you learn more if you try to […]
Learning What Can’t Be Taught
The example most people think of for learning is school. However, I’d like to argue that many of the features of learning in school are the exception, not the rule. One example of this is that learning in school is almost always based on a standardized curriculum that teaches a heavily codified set of facts, […]
Lesson #1: An Unusual Approach to Improve Your Ability to Focus
Note: This is the first lesson in a multi-part series for learning faster. The other lessons will only be sent out to newsletter subscribers, so if you’d like to get the other lessons as they appear, be sure to subscribe here. There are a few core skills that, if you can improve them, can multiply […]
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.