Like my article on speed reading, it seems that my article on holistic learning has brought a fair bit of confusion and controversy even for a large amount of coverage. Given the immense amount of feedback I received about this post I think it is only fair that I go into a little more depth to answer some of the comments based on the ideas I present in the article and to respond to some of the criticisms.
For those of you who missed my article How to Ace Your Finals Without Studying, the basic point is that you should learn holistically by continually interlinking ideas and information so that pieces of knowledge are individual units but part of a greater whole. Instead of just learning each formula or historical figure as another data point, you consciously relate this point to anything that strikes similarities. I related this idea of holistic learning to the notion of a web, in which each idea is linked to hundreds of others.
What Exactly is Holistic Learning?
This concept of holistic learning came to me by trying to note the differences that people like myself who study little and learn fast have between people who are otherwise really hardworking and study a lot but can’t seem to learn rapidly. I’m certainly not unique by any standard. I mentioned that I was the second highest graded graduating student from my high-school class.
One of my best friends was in first. Talking with him also reveals that he doesn’t study a whole lot and learns rapidly. I’m sure many of my readers learn a lot faster than myself, and there are people who blow me away with how fast they can learn. Holistic learning is my attempt to point out the major difference in strategy that until now has been a gift at birth that others can’t replicate.
The point of my article wasn’t to boast. Anyone who is good at school can tell you from an early age they start to downplay their abilities when talking with others to fit in, in a way that those who excel in social skills or athletics almost never do. I gave examples of my success so that I could demonstrate a new model for learning that might help others replicate my results. I firmly believe that most talents simply don’t apply if you can really figure out the other persons strategy for success.
If you talk to anyone that really understands a subject, they have a very densely interlinked web in that area. People who really understand a particular field don’t just see equations, dates and concepts, they see how they work together into an intricate whole. The point of my article was to explain what is happening differently in people who really “get” a subject and those that struggle hard just to remember all the formulas.
Almost everyone here is a genius, at least at basic arithmetic. Most of us simply “get” how to add and subtract numbers from one to ten. If I asked you what seven minus four is, you wouldn’t have to go back to your hands and start counting down fingers, the answer three would be immediate. The reason basic arithmetic is so easy for you is simply because it is so densely interwoven into your web of knowledge.
People who learn really easily seem to have a gift, but what they are really doing whether they consciously realize it, is fitting each piece of info into frameworks for things they already understand. They have practiced using visualizations, metaphors and kinesthetic learning aids so deeply that they find it easy to relate new information to a different subject. This explanation of intelligence as a talent is a little hard to utilize, but the concept of linking up information is usable.
Is learning holistically something that can help you on your exams next week? No. It is a skill that takes a lot of time to practice. A few of you criticized me because holistic learning isn’t a quick solution which perhaps the somewhat exaggerated title of my post led you to believe. Unfortunately I don’t offer any quick solutions. I’ve written frequently that I don’t believe in revolutionary change. If you expected quick answers you aren’t going to find them here.
The Purpose of Studying
What about studying? My article suggests that you should do away with studying entirely. I believe the real situation is that you should do away with how most people study. Most people study by cramming information into their brain and hoping it will stick. Reviewing material so you can more effectively interlink it into your web is a smart idea.
If your spending hours reviewing a subject then you simply don’t “get” it. This isn’t a crime, and without a better strategy, studying hard is the best tool you have available to pass your exams. What I suggest is that you focus your energy on using the various tools I suggested in the article to link up each idea to your web. I do this pretty much automatically so extensive studying has become unnecessary, but for people who want to learn this skill, it is more important to change the way you study than to eliminate it immediately.
I still believe studying is valuable as a pretest. I usually do a quick review of all my notes before a test, not to cram or learn the information but to ensure that every idea I come across seems intuitive and obvious — heavily interlinked in my web. If it isn’t, then I hastily try to insert it. But a lot of people come across tons of ideas that aren’t interlinked well, but by this time they are screwed. Studying is like a warm-up jog not the extensive training session before a marathon.
I built this website on the fundamental idea that we can improve ourselves. I also believe that you can accomplish a lot more than you believe if you are given the right strategy or concept. Holistic learning is my attempt to explain what the difference is between those who immediately understand and those who struggle. I also tried to add some suggestions for how you might be able to incorporate this strategy for learning into your own life. Holistic learning isn’t about passing exams, but being able to learn anything. A skill that is also needed by people outside the classroom.
I'm a recent university graduate, writer, programmer, traveler and avid reader of interesting things. For the last six years I've been experimenting to find out how to get more from life.
I totally get it. I sometimes think of it as a spiral of learning. You pursue one subject or skill for a period, then move on to another. What you learned in the first instance contributes to your learning the new thing. Then you’re onto a third, and again, you bring forward what you learned from the previous subject and make conscious connections. After a while you travel in a circle back to the original subject, but now your overall amount of knowledge has risen, so it’s a spiral rather than a circle. Not sure I’m explaining this well! Anyway, what you’re waying is also supported by research in cognitive psychology which shows that information is understood faster and retained for longer when it can be integrated into an existing base of knowledge.
“Anyone who is good at school can tell you from an early age they start to downplay their abilities when talking with others to fit in, in a way that those who excel in social skills or athletics almost never do”. Very very perceptive, Scott – it clicked the moment I read it.
Unfortunately, when young men and women “downplay” their mental ability, they lose it with time and may never be able to achieve their full potential.
Any further thoughts on this? How to market and make mental ability acceptable, even glamorous in the younger circles? Something similar to the Chess craze of the late 80′s?? I would be very interested in what you think about this.
And keep your posts coming in, I am hooked
!!
Cheers,
Krishna
Krishna,
There are tons of problems with our educational system that cause smart children to downplay their abilities, too many for an easy solution. When intellectual capital translates into success later in life then the situation is usually reversed (although academic skills only mildly correlate with success).
Scott,
Wow, you’ve really nailed thing together for me with these two posts. I’ve had a lot of different ideas about studying, information, learning, “mind maps,” etc. But ironically, you posts drew them altogether in a meaningful way.
While I understand what you’re saying about this being a long-term adjustment, I would like to say that it can have immediate effects. On a test I was particularly unprepared for last week I didn’t try to cram for it the usual way but I intentionally tried to start building connections between the information instead of filing away dates and names. The result? I think it’s the best test I’ve taken this semester, and while I don’t have a grade back, I’m much more confident that this is a better way to study. I’ll definitely be transitioning to a more holistic approach to learning as quickly as possible.
I do have a request though, I would love to know more about how you take notes and specifically what you find the best approaches to note taking are with holistic learning in mind. I’d actually love to see a full article on it if it would fit into your plan for the blog.
Anyway, great articles, I enjoy your writing style and I’m learning a lot from you.
[...] Scott H Young blogged about some pretty interesting things. In his post How to Ace Your Finals Without Studying he explains holistic learning (and expands upon it in this post). Holistic learning is something I think many of us have done in some subjects in school and definitely something I have done as I have started to study the different fields of personal development. [...]
Chris,
I’m glad to hear that holistic learning is bringing results. As for notes, I am a minimalist with note-taking. I pretty much only write down things that are either fairly arbitrary (and are less likely to fit into my web) or thing that are extremely important and easily summarized. If I’m having trouble understanding a subject I spend more time thinking about it and trying to form a mental representation.
Scott,
That’s really interesting, I wouldn’t have expected that. I rarely actually return to my notes (outside of technical classes) but it helps me focus better during classes, I would assume that building mental networks would probably serve the same purpose.
Thanks for the reply!
Hey Scott,
Congrats on this blog. I understand about the “downplay” thing because I am a victim of this. I believe you do sort-of lose your intel, so just find people where you can easily express what you feel. By doing that, you can tap into your web and bring up many other things and refresh some old stuff. I kinda look through my notes before an exam, but I just remember the concepts and use “the Web” to derive other information. I believe Holistic Learning is just building your confidence up to a certain point where you are wise but not arrogant and cocky; you will be able to make better judgements and the web would be more efficient in a way.
Congrats again on this and the other blog on Holisitcs. You have summed up something I could never explain.
Great article! I just happened to come to this page by chance.
Now I can finally stop cramming!!
Cheers
( I hope)
Wow, your blog is the first I’ve read more than one article on. And all I can say is great stuff. I understand what you mean when you say that some people just do it subconsciously. I have never been a big crammer, I’ve always been a study-the-night before kind of person, reading through notes once. I just seem to get it after that. Thanks again for the cool article.
Wow! I feel thoroughly enlightened. I jus realised that for the past few years I’ve been mainly cramming and I can finally stop! Considering that i get bored of things quickly too and writing my IGCSE’s this year after spending two years studying the course, studying has become a nuisance but your articles have definately inspired me! Wish i found them earlier! Thanks.
[...] Yesterday I downloaded and read Scott H Young’s eBook on holistic learning”. He makes some very interesting points in it and along with his post on the subject is well worth a read. [...]
What is the basis for your theory? Where did you get your research? I would like to see some cited articles, so I can use this as some of my research for a report.
ALevi,
This isn’t an academic website. All my articles are based off personal experimentation and observation. This means you can’t cite me in an academic paper unless you just want to quote my opinion. Occasionally I sometimes provide links to other research, but mostly I provide my thoughts.
-Scott
Scott,
You said that Holistic Learning is a method of studying. From what you wrote (I read both articles), I gather that it is a way to remember some information more quickly.
Later on, you said that this method is your ‘attempt to explain what the difference is between those who immediately understand and those who struggle.’ My question is about understanding.
With Holistic Learning, you have a great way of remembering concretes. However, with this you do not get understanding. You only get something that you’ve memorized. For example, I’m a student of engineering, and one of my subjects is electronics. Electronics has some pretty massive formulas in it, and I’ve noticed that some students memorize them. Now, I understand that with holistic learning, you can memorize a formula too, and this may not need to be a problem. However, I prefer understanding a formula to memorizing it, so I go about looking at the principles – I try to figure out how an electronic circuit works, I employ my knowledge of mathematics, circuitry, etc. and I produce the formula which others have neatly memorized. When I do that, I can say that I understand a formula, because I know exactly what each of its variables stands for, where it comes from, etc. With practice, I too memorize the formula (but since I retain the ability to understand why it is the way it is, I can differentiate myself from those who have simply memorized the formula without its prior understanding). So, my question is this: how can you claim to posess understanding of a memorized fact? Namely with holistic learning, how can you claim to understand something if, instead of having based your knowledge on principles, conclusions made on those principles and the subject you’re studying, you’ve simply memorized some facts?
I submit there is no understanding of a subject possible by simply employing this or any other method of memorizing facts. In fact, if the subject permits it, I prefer to understand something first, then memorize it (as described above; some subjects, like history, will require a lot of information to be memorized without possibility of understanding it beyond simply knowing that “that’s the way it was”). Finally, if mere memorization was sufficient for understanding, then databases would understand the data they contain, whereas the fact is they don’t – not even those that relate data to some other data.
Nikola
Nikola,
Not exactly sure what you’re getting at, but hopefully I can clarify.
Holistic learning can basically be summarized by two things:
1) Understanding a subject more deeply instead of surface memorizations (which you covered).
2) Linking information together so each piece of information can be viewed from different perspectives and relationships.
I’m not exactly sure where the contradiction is with this approach.
Holistic learning is not a system of memorization per se. If you read the e-book (see Get More at the top navigation) I point out it is precisely the opposite of rote memorization and is similar to your approach.
Scott,
I’ve read the book right after I finished writing my comment I didn’t figure it all then, but later, when I came back to thinking about holistic learning.
The contradiction I was referring to was between memorizing and understanding. Memorizing does not mean understanding. From the posts/articles you wrote, I got the impression that holistic learning was the method of memorizing facts. So, when you said what I quoted earlier – that you also understand the subject you’re learning with this method – the way I understood it, that was a non sequitur.
Now, I am left with only one question, and that is this holistic web (can I call it like this?). What is it? I understand that you have constructs – but how do you integrate a construct into this web? A web itself does seem to have a potential for improving memorization, especially the way you talk about it (using it, you remembered the video you saw on soap, and your trip to the pioneer settlement). But once you have a construct, and let’s take your example – a construct you use for calculating the 2×2 determinant – how do you integrate it into the web? I think that, even though I am able to build my constructs, I often forget what I’ve built exactly because I have no concept of how to integrate a construct such as this, into this web. (And if I have a web, it’s rather small.) Perhaps you can show by example the steps of such an integration? You give a few tips in “How to ace your finals without studying”, but they tend to lean towards creating constructs, rather than integrating them into this web. I’d be most greatful.
Nikola
Hello Scott,
I found your blog by chance and have read almost 5 articles to this point. I also read your E-Book, and I must say that your form of studying is an impressive one. I would like to think that I have used it most of my life, but I think I am still missing some basics; such as connecting subjects to outside subjects and real life memories.
With some of your recommended advice I’ll be sure to try it out, especially since I am starting university this year.
I would just like to ask exactly how you would advice someone to listen during lectures, and how to take notes for someone who is still practicing your method?
P.S.
I did a test about 4 years ago that told me I was an auditory and visual learner, so usually in high school I didn’t take notes as much but rather tried to just listen and understand or ask questions.
Could I somehow expand on this to increase my holistic learner in me, or if you have an article on lecture listening!
[...] Scott’s Posts on Holistic Learning [...]
Hi Scott
Great blog and thanks for the poke in the brain. Noting your focus here I wondered if you were aware of the health and social care model you will please find introduced below? It can be used universally…
The blog -
http://hodges-model.blogspot.com/
and website publicises a tool to encourage conceptual integration…
Hodges’ Health Career – Care Domains – Model [h2cm]
http://www.p-jones.demon.co.uk/
- can help map health, social care and OTHER issues, problems and solutions. The model takes a situated and multi-contextual view across four knowledge domains:
* Interpersonal;
* Sociological;
* Empirical;
* Political.
Our links pages cover each care (knowledge) domain e.g. POLITICAL:
http://www.p-jones.demon.co.uk/linksIV.htm
SCIENCES:
http://www.p-jones.demon.co.uk/linksTwo.htm
The blog includes a link to a 30 minute audio podcast.
Thank you for your time.
Best
Peter
—–
http://www.p-jones.demon.co.uk/
Hodges’ Health Career – Care Domains – Model
http://hodges-model.blogspot.com/
h2cm: help 2C more – help 2 listen – help 2 care
Hi Scott,
Beg my ignorance, but do you think that it would be possible if you gave us a brief ‘how-to’ post involving various subjects? Like, how you’re able to apply holistic learning to a chemistry/mathematics/medicine/arts way of thinking?
As always, keep up the fantastic work. There needs to be more brains like yours that challenge traditional thinking with new revolutionary strategies such as this one.
Take care,
Jonathan
Jonathan,
I’m actually writing a book about holistic learning right now. I’ll be including a large portion of the book directed towards how to apply the specific techniques towards different subjects. It’s difficult to fit into a small “how-to” post because the variety of techniques and subjects can be large.
The book will be out sometime in the spring.
-Scott
I wish you would be more detailed. Like have an example of how you do this. Does this happen while in class? Does this happen when you “study”? I don’t understand what you’re saying. Do you want me to make a connection to every single piece of information or just the topic in general?
I’m taking physics this summer in a week. What kind of holistic things should I be doing?
Dottywine,
If you want more examples, check out the free e-book I wrote in the “Get More” section, or the full e-book “Learn More, Study Less”.
No, you don’t need to make connections to every piece of information, that would take forever. You should be making as many connections as you need to understand the subject. How many connections that is will be up to you.
Most of the specific techniques I use are in my larger book and in scattered blog posts.
-Scott
[...] …really, I mean it! [...]
Hi Scott,
I have a few questions about holistic learning. I’m a norwegian student (University of Bergen) and I’m studying psychology, first year. For a long time I’ve been struggling with my studies, because none of my studytechniques seems to work efficiently enough. And then I found this site, and I just have to get some answers:
Do you write any summaries? Or do you simply read the book, point out the important aspects and make your network?
When you say “study”, is that repetition? I assume you’ve read the book before? Do you ever repeat, and if so, how often?
Is it useable for psychologystudies?
When I try to use this method, I define and make sure I understand the concept (e.g. “aggression”) and try to link it with other concepts, such as the different circumstances that may enhance aggression. Am I doing it right? I’m not quite sure if I understand, this is all new to me.
Thank you!
Marit:)
Yes, you’re doing it right.
For me, I do review before going into an exam. Ideally though, this review is minimal and avoids repetition because my first attempt was sufficient.
-Scott
Scott,
I’ve read most of u’re articles and enjoy every piece of your writings. Your “holistic Learnings”sounds productive and fruitful but I don’t understand how to make a model.
Thanks Chris for this great article and the one precedes this,
I was just studying for a chemistry test for next Tuesday when I came upon this page. As you may have guessed, i was studying non-holistically; just memorizing and cramming as much chemical equations as I can. I going to try the strategies you have suggested to get away from this habit of plain memorizing and actually start learning.
Again, Thanks
[...] more about this way of learning, I suggest you check out what Scott H. Young has written about holistic learning on his website (it’s basically the same [...]
I must be a holistic learner because I’ve never studied much, but gotten A’s my whole life. I just glance over my notes before a test. I never cram.
Hey Scott,
This is really powerful stuff and I hope more people get exactly what you mean by holistic learning. Perhaps the most telling statement you make is this one:
“People who learn really easily seem to have a gift, but what they are really doing whether they consciously realize it, is fitting each piece of info into frameworks for things they already understand.”
I think the biggest barrier to effective studying is the socially accepted view that you have to work “hard” at your learning and revision. Much research has shown that being stressed is not good for effective thinking performance and that being relaxed and alert is what it is really all about.
The trouble is being relaxed and alert does not quench the conditioned thirst for feedback to give us comfort that things must be working – it is all about trust.
Coming back to your point about creating frameworks you said that it is a waste of time constantly reviewing your notes. That is true and perhaps the best framework you can create is for you to recall and show what you know from memory. Where the recall is hazy it just points out where a little more understanding is necessary.
I find that using Mind Maps helps me in this area although for those that shun them (why I can never understand LOL) then some other form of graphical capture is recommended.
Once again thanks for stimulating a really great debate here
Regards
Michael
We have done extensive testing with Using Mind Maps in the classroom and tutoring private individuals with great results.
Not everybody responds to Mind Maps, but we found that those with a positive approach to it respond positively.
Our website on Using Mind Maps to learn faster and easier provides a lot of free material based on our experience.
I hope you find them of some value.
[...] Check it out here: Studying and Holistic Learning [...]
Wow thanks!
I’m currently entering sophomore year in 2 months,
and I really needed a better way to study and learn..
I struggled in freshman year and I hope to not repeat that again..
Hi Scott,
Thanks for the guide. I have been trying to follow your guide during the lecture past 2 days. However, I am facing following challenges:
1) during the process of visceralizing and trying to create the web or connection in my head during the lecture…after 10-15 mins later I start to forget or imagination start to fade away..
2) During the modeling process I tented to repeat the no.1 and face same problem again
3) Finally, at the end during the metaphor: When I try to relate to things I already I know, I tend to disagree with myself because it doesn’t make sense
I understand my difficulties is hard to understand so its optional for you whether to answer my question or not.
Any way thanks for everything. I will continue to practice.
Cheers!
Clark
thanks , it helped a lot . but my exam is next week
. hopefully i can get through it ..
Scott,
For a while now, people have been telling me I have a natural talent at studying and I believed it. I’d like to thank you for finally showing me how I really studied. However, although my studying methods closely replicate your idea of holistic learning, they are not as impressive. People tell me I am a science wizard and a mathematical genius, I can interrelate physics with biology, chemistry and maths. I suppose you can say I already have an extremely tight web of information regarding the said subjects. That being said, I still rely on the “boxing” method for subjects like History, I am having a really hard time finding a connection between what I know in Science and Maths with what I am trying to learn in History. Are there any tips you might have or experiences you might have that can help me?
You don’t *need* to create connections from history to science, simply that you can. It’s often easier and more advantageous to start creating connections within a subject, since those are more useful.
Thanks, I understand holistic learning much more clearly now and thanks for the useful newsletters too.
hey Scott, Im tryin to do this learnin method, i’ve read the ebook, but im kinda confused where to start, any ideas, like what should i start doing? Also will reading things take long while practicing this.
Also keep up the articles, ur helpin people out, even me =).
Hi Scott,
I had to laugh a little bit when I read your book, because it is basically what I’ve been doing my whole life although I did not realise it until i read what you wrote. I practically never went to school and just did what I “had to do” to get a passing grade. Teachers always asked me Why only 2/3 of the exercises in the tests and exams were answered. I said ” I need to get 50% of the test correct to pass it, but I’m not a genius so I make mistakes, which is why I answered about 70% of the exercises”. Learning was childs play to me and it bugged me that I still had to do homework and such.
But now I have a problem. After I graduated and started college I thought it would also be a piece of cake, but somehow I failed ALL my tests. I still can’t explain how it happened, because I literally do not remember it anymore. To make things even worse I developed panick attacks before tests and exams to the point where I was not able to physically sit them anymore.
Now, after half a year of therapy I am able to take them, but although I learn a lot more then I used to (considering I really didn’t do anything before) I get blockages which feels like forgetting what 1+1-1 is. Simple things, “connections and chunks of the web” as you might call it are simply gone. It feels like i can’t trust my own brain anymore which in my humble opinion is the worst kind of insecurity and is quite frustrating I have to admit.
I don’t know if you can help me in any way, but I would be more than thrilled to just read your opinion on the matter as you are the only one of whom I know learns the same way I used to.
Please, I’m at my wits end.
Anna
Scott,
Thanks so much for this post and your post on ZenHabits about hollistic learning. I have two finals in four days and will (hopefully) get a good grade on one of them through hollisitic learning. My mind maps are coming along nicely!
-Shannon
Thanks! I was extremely encouraged by this article because I finally found out why I learn so differently. In the Studying and Finals article, what you did with your chemistry test I did with my Spanish placement test. I actually had Spanish class since pre-K, but it was a horrible language program at my school. When I went to a different school, I had to take a Spanish placement test. I knew only about 10% of the stuff on the test and I used critical thinking, generalizations, and sometimes just guessing to put down whatever I could. Well, I got placed in Spanish 2 honors (for freshman year) and apparently the teacher thought I “demonstrated sufficient ability to be placed in Spanish 2 honors.” I didn’t really agree with her and I thought Spanish was going to be really hard this year, but I managed to get hundreds on almost every quiz and test we had. I totally relate to the part where successful students downplay their abilities to fit in — the story of my life. I work pretty hard for my grades (mostly I OCD over homeworks, reports, projects, etc.), and a lot of people refuse to talk to me because I get good grades (it’s been happening since 1st grade). I’m pretty sure I learn holistically for almost everything. I don’t study for much except history. When I study for history, unlike everything else, I compartmentalize. I’m in global history 1 honors and hoping to move on to AP European history next year. I really need to develop better studying skills for history so that I don’t take two hours to study one section, but I cannot seem to relate anything in the culture of hundreds of different peoples to anything that I already know. I’m pretty successful when I take my tests after I literally memorize everything, but it takes so much longer to memorize some history than it does to memorize 100 Latin words or a biology unit. And I find that I forget all of it a week after the test and have to re-memorize for midterm and finals. US history seems to be much easier for me, probably because I can relate everything in US history to something that I already know. Any suggestions to form a web for global history? Thanks so much. And I disagree, you do have an innate ability!
I admire yiour spirit of sharing your learning ways on the web, I am a Chinese college student, and I have read your article about how to learn linear algebra in a few days, It is very good. I found your blog on the web,and then read your article “holistic learning”.my English is not good,so I have to use a dictionary program to help me read it. but I have
a little confused. hope you can answer my questions:
I have just read your article: holistic learning. I think it can summary into the point: first point, everything you learned should have a tag, so it can be linked to the other things and can separate into many things. It likes Mindmanager very much; second point:zip the the complex concept,so you can recall it so easily.but how to zip it, you just say a little about it whitout any step. the idea of ” holistic learning ” can be what you have learned and the how mang links between each other of structure of your web. but I think the structure can be develop sooner,and the model you said is so hard to get it . You have used the method so many times and practice it in many subjects, could you write more examples for “holistic learning”? Thanks!
best wishes!
Fei
Hi Scott,
I am really motivated by your write-ups.I really want to follow your method to study which will allow me to delve into depths of a concept.Can you illustrate your method in a physics concept?I mean Newton’s laws of motion.How will you study Newton’s Laws?
with regards-Krishnadas K P
[...] Teaching to the test is more about statistics than actual learning. Whats the point of drilling students on information for a test, only to have then forget it within a few months afterward? The whole idea of education is [or should be] about giving people the information they need to be successful in a field, on a task, or in life. Integrating the information being taught into a larger framework allows for more creative utilization of said information, and is the foundation of holistic learning. [...]