Relearning to Learn

Having a goal, and creating an environment where you can frictionlessly work towards it for a little bit of time most days, is such an unreasonably effective tool. You&#x27;ll never become a true, deep expert in something with 10 or 15 minutes a day, but in my experience that&#x27;s all it takes to become perfectly capable at a lot of things.<p>A few years ago I started having an hour most days that I devote to learning and trying new hobbies &#x2F; habits &#x2F; whatever, and when I find something interesting I start giving it a 20 minutes slot in that hour until I stop liking it or I feel I&#x27;ve gotten what I want to out of it. I&#x27;m nowhere near a professional at any of this stuff but I have a fulfilling level of competence in a ton of interesting things now, and it&#x27;s brought me a lot of pleasure.

Learning and reading is something I&#x27;ve been struggling with. One, getting older, even at a relatively young age is definitely taking its toll. It&#x27;s mainly my memory. I&#x27;ve always had great recall, but it has gotten slower. Secondly, I believe computers and in particular phones and tablets have partially destroyed my attention span and ability to be comfortable inside a book for a long period of time. I read all the time, but not in a deep, concentrated way. Despite knowing these things are problems, even though I typically read or learn on them and do not play any games on mobile devices, it has taken me to admit to myself that I absolutely <i>must</i> distance myself from mobile devices, and even my computer, if I want to get back to long-form, deep learning. Both are going to take some practice and discipline.<p>One thing that has helped is signing up for actual university classes as opposed to online courses. Online courses are of course awesome, but taking a few graduate level mathematics courses at a local university really got me back into deep reading, of at least technical material.<p>Another thing is trying to reduce my anxiety. Instead of worrying about all the books I have that are unread, of which there are hundreds and maybe even over a thousand (yes, I have a problem collecting books), I&#x27;m trying to just concentrate on one or two and actually finish before switching or moving on. This is one of the hardest things when your interests change fast, but I am really trying to bolt myself down on this one. I&#x27;m not quite there yet.

Some notes from an older person:<p>The best approach will vary based on topic, age, and constraints (e.g. professional with kids).<p>When I was a teenager, I learned Calc I, II, III and a first course of differential equations. I retained most of it. When I decided to take more advanced math courses later on (just a few years later), I was always saddened by my inability to retain much after the course was over. I kept wondering if I&#x27;m in my decline (at the old, old age of 25).<p>No - I was not. The nature of the material had changed. Whereas stuff you learn in Calc I and Calc II is material you can easily and often apply in engineering, some random theorem in group theory is not. When you study a theorem in Calc II, the frequency with which that theorem is invoked in the same book is high. When you get to higher math, it does become somewhat broader: Most theorems are invoked only a few times in the book.<p>There&#x27;s also raw talent vs techniques. Younger me got by with raw talent, but at some point the material you&#x27;re learning will supersede your talent. You then need to strategize (and different topics may require different strategies). Don&#x27;t knock raw talent&#x2F;skills - they can be honed and it may be worth honing them. But broadly: The person who has good systematic study skills will eventually overtake the raw talent person.<p>Most of the approaches that will work if you have all the time in the world will fail you when time becomes constrained. I started using spaced repetition a few years ago and it has been a game changer. I can study things for a bit, take a break for a few months, and mostly can pick up where I left off despite not practicing that material in those months.<p>Having said that, most of Becky&#x27;s advice is good. The one thing I&#x27;d disagree with is:<p>&gt; &quot;Five minutes every day is better than an hour once per week&quot;<p>This definitely depends on the material. You&#x27;re not going to get far in math on just 5 minutes a day. Some topics will need a lower bound of minimum time per session.