Scientists receive fewer citations as they get older. Matt Clancy explains: Pick any author at random, and on average the papers they publish earlier in their career, whether as first author or last author, will be more highly cited and cited by a more diverse group of fields, than a paper they publish later in […]
An MIT Challenge for Math and Physics? Interview with Diego Vera
In a recent essay, I shared my thoughts ten years after completing the MIT Challenge. This project was an attempt to learn MIT’s entire undergraduate computer science curriculum using their copious, free online materials. In that essay, I admitted my surprise that more people hadn’t taken up similar efforts. Today, however, I’m happy to share […]
A Little Announcement…
My wife and I are happy to welcome our second child, Julia, into the world. Fortunately, I managed to get some writing done ahead of time, so there shouldn’t be much change in the weekly essays posted to the blog. However, I might be a bit slower with email as I plan to take this […]
Learning, Fast and Slow: Do Intensive Learning Projects Work Better Than Slow Ones?
Combining the two approaches: Why intensive projects should be followed by more leisurely maintenance.
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.