One of the most common emails I get from students is how to prepare for a hard exam, that’s coming soon, that they haven’t prepared for. Cramming is the act of studying non-stop right before an exam. It usually, although not always, involves review notes rather than doing practice or recall. (A bad idea). It […]
Learning Rule: Quantity, then Quality
A good rule of thumb to have in learning is to always start by increasing quantity of practice, and only after that has been reached, should you focus on increasing quality. This rule is surprisingly general. Trying to find the right way to learn math? Start by reading a lot more math books. Watching more […]
The Two Types of Mistakes
There’s a concept from statistics about the two types of mistakes you can make. These are, unhelpfully, referred to as type I and type II errors. To examine the difference between the two types, imagine you have a blood test for a rare and deadly disease. There are four possible outcomes of the test. The […]
The Power of Being Weak
Stretch a bow to the very full,And you will wish you had stopped in time;Temper a sword-edge to its very sharpest,And you will find it soon grows dull.When bronze and jade fill your hall.It can no longer be guarded.Wealth and place breed insolence.That brings ruin in its train.When your work is done, then withdraw!Such is […]
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.