Every year, on my birthday, I write a post reviewing the past year in my life and my plans for the future. You can see all the previous ones, starting with my 18th birthday shortly after I began writing this blog over nine years ago. Unlike most my other articles, where I try to extend […]
The Two Ways to Evaluate Ideas
I recently wrote an article where I changed my mind on speed reading. I had originally read a book on speed reading, practiced it, found it effective and logged my results. Years later, having had some personal doubts on the practice, I went back and did the research I wasn’t able to do the first […]
The Isomorphism of Ideas
An analogy works by realizing that two ideas, or two parts of those ideas, are the same thing. Learning about derivatives in calculus, you may get the sneaking feeling that it reminds you of an odometer and speedometer on a car. That’s not a coincidence, the speedometer actually is the (absolute) first derivative of the […]
Is There Value in Ideas You Can’t Remember?
When I give learning advice, as a rule, I suggest active recall. That’s the process of giving the answer to the question without looking at the solution. The best way to understand active recall is to look at more passive review strategies. Rereading notes, for example, is not active recall because you never need to […]
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.