I have a lot of open questions about learning. One of those is whether it is better to review back or learn ahead to maintain knowledge. Reviewing back would be going through material you’ve already completed and testing yourself on it again. This is the principle through which spaced repetition systems work. I’m currently reviewing […]
How I’m Maintaining the Ability to Speak Six Languages
It’s now been over a month since Vat and I returned from Korea and ended the year without English. Now is the most sensitive time for determining whether I can maintain the ability to speak Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Korean, so I wanted to share my plan. If you learn something quickly you also forget […]
Why Learn “Useless” Things?
Early on when Vat and I were learning Korean, he complained to me about a vocabulary list he was learning from. The list had intermediate-level words such as “technique” and “to brighten” to which Vat said, “when am I ever going to use these words?” The complaint was a fair one, we were still in […]
Choose: Growth or Consistency
People like to profess the virtue of ideas that are incompatible with each other. “Look before you leap,” yet, “he who hesitates is lost.” Sometimes these contradictions contain a more nuanced explanation. I believe that learning things spaced over time results in greater retention, yet I do short-term learning projects. But I follow those fast […]
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.