Science prides itself on being able to validate hypothesis with controlled experiments. Take two subjects, vary only a single variable between them, whatever difference you generate must owe to that distinction. If only life were that easy. Instead, life is full of confounding variables. We build theories for our lives the best way we can, […]
The Paradox of Growth: Do Habits Hurt or Help You Learn?
I’ve written before about the importance of habits. By setting up consistent rituals of action, behavior becomes automatic. Automatic behavior means you don’t need nearly the same amount of self-discipline to finish projects as someone who works on them in a haphazard way. Habits are built on sameness. By making your triggers, schedule and internal […]
How to Focus
I spoke at an event recently about learning and my MIT Challenge. The talk was about which memory and insight-building methods I found useful during my experiment. After the talk, one of the audience members came and asked me whether I felt the success of the project was mostly due to efficient learning methods or […]
Which Learning Methods Actually Work?
Here’s an interesting article on the effectiveness of various study techniques—and in particular—which ones have evidence supporting them. Some of my thoughts on the key findings: Self-Explanation and Reading Elaborative learning and self-explanation were found to be moderately effective. This is similar to the Feynman technique, but I’d argue the use of the method was […]
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.