The best way to learn is to quiz yourself often.
You learn no skill or knowledge in one go. Mastery is only possible through repetition.
To learn, retrieve, and challenge yourself.
🧵 Prefer tweets? See my atomic essay in the thread.
You learn no skill or knowledge in one go. Mastery is only possible through repetition.
To learn, retrieve, and challenge yourself.
🧵 Prefer tweets? See my atomic essay in the thread.
What you read evaporates.
One moment you picture yourself applying all the useful ideas from a book—next, it's like you've never read it.
What's going on?
One moment you picture yourself applying all the useful ideas from a book—next, it's like you've never read it.
What's going on?
Memory runs on emotions.
When something resonates, it's likely to stay with you. But with so many useful ideas, remembering them is hard.
You need a system.
When something resonates, it's likely to stay with you. But with so many useful ideas, remembering them is hard.
You need a system.
Jog your memory often.
Most people reread, but it doesn't work—it's passive and only creates an illusion of knowing.
The best way to remember is to retrieve knowledge repeatedly and think of ways to apply it in your life.
Most people reread, but it doesn't work—it's passive and only creates an illusion of knowing.
The best way to remember is to retrieve knowledge repeatedly and think of ways to apply it in your life.
Test yourself. Bonus points if you space out your practice.
School made us hate tests, but they're a valuable learning tool. What you retrieve from memory will stick with you longer, and you'll be able to apply the knowledge in more situations.
School made us hate tests, but they're a valuable learning tool. What you retrieve from memory will stick with you longer, and you'll be able to apply the knowledge in more situations.
Output over input. Flashcards over rereading.
This sounds like a lot of work. It is. Luckily, not everything needs to be committed to memory. Whatever you can look up, you can save. In a note-taking app, for example.
This sounds like a lot of work. It is. Luckily, not everything needs to be committed to memory. Whatever you can look up, you can save. In a note-taking app, for example.
How to decide what knowledge to remember?
Whatever knowledge you need spontaneously should become part of you. You can't speak a language by looking up every word in a dictionary—you need to acquire it. But facts you can look up? Leave it to your note-taking system.
Whatever knowledge you need spontaneously should become part of you. You can't speak a language by looking up every word in a dictionary—you need to acquire it. But facts you can look up? Leave it to your note-taking system.
My frictionless system to feed my first and second brain is a tool called @readwiseio.
I turn everything I want to ingrain into a flashcard; everything else goes to my second brain—@RoamResearch.
I turn everything I want to ingrain into a flashcard; everything else goes to my second brain—@RoamResearch.
Regardless of where your knowledge lives, you need to review and apply knowledge to learn. Without action after reading, your effort is wasted.
Be kind to your future self. Quiz yourself to transformation.
Be kind to your future self. Quiz yourself to transformation.
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