It’s been almost a year since I started my current research project. My initial starting point was the intriguing, if somewhat pessimistic, research on learning transfer. However, crawling through citations has gotten me to some of the more interesting science on how people think the mind works. Having now read over 70 books and 250 […]
Cultural Literacy: Does Knowledge Need to Be Deep to Be Useful?
A review of E.D. Hirsch's controversial bestseller. Is education undermined by focusing on useless trivia? Or is that its greatest strength?
How Does Understanding Work? A Look at the Construction-Integration Model of Comprehension
How do you understand what you read? A deep dive into a provocative theory of how we comprehend the world around us.
How Do We Learn Complex Skills? Understanding ACT-R Theory
A deeper look at one of the most comprehensive and research-backed theories of how we learn complicated skills.
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.