One of the topics I like to explore on this blog is meta-advice. That is, advice about advice. I don’t think this is as silly and abstract as it might at first seem. After all, we’re constantly being bombarded with suggestions for how to work, live, study, exercise, eat, sleep, date, etc. I think there’s […]
What Should Your Goals Be?
Often I get emails asking me how to learn better or be more productive. I can’t always give a good response. Presumably, if my articles failed to satisfy that curiosity, I don’t know how much better advice I can give to a stranger via email. But, I at least understand that desire—I write a lot […]
Fluency vs Mastery: Can You Be Fluent Without Being Good?
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 […]
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.