Success is in the Struggle

We find ourselves only if we are searching within.

We know that active learning and effort enhances your study sessions, but today let's focus on the value of recall and retrieval. Many studies have shown that the processes of recall and retrieval enhance learning (even if you don't get it right). It's the act of trying to look around your brain and search for an answer that enhances learning. In fact, the gains from this method is rather astounding.

In one experiment, students studied a list of words on their own. They found that the words the students were proficient with earlier on were often neglected in later practice. Since the students thought that they "learned" it the first time, there was less retrieval later on. The result was that these very words (which students had much confidence with) did not yield performance as well as those words which were difficult earlier on.

As it is in life, we shouldn't leave ourselves to be comfortable with what we think we are already good at. We should always strive to push forward while making sure we retain what we have learned in the past.

Always End On A High Note

The Peak-End Rule: The peak and end of an experience is how we judge an experience.
[Image Credit: Michael Johnston]

In numerous studies, it has been shown that we tend to prefer what ends well. Instead of citing a whole bunch of studies (a lot of them by Dr. Khaneman), let's just focus on one.

In this study, a bunch of students were asked to do two parts of a test. In the one part, they had to do 20 very difficult questions. In the other part, they had to do 20 very difficult questions and in addition to that, 15 easier ones subsequent to the 20 difficult ones.

When asked which part they preferred, most students indicated the longer one. The relatively less discomfort of the 15 ending questions made the students prefer the longer section instead of the shorter one, even though total discomfort is objectively higher.

That's why it is important that we do a "wind-down" when we finish a long bout of studying or an arduous task. It's also very beneficial to reward yourself and get that ice cream from McDonald's at four in the morning.

What Learning to Draw Feels Like

Official Website - Amazon Link

Recently, I took it upon myself to start learning to draw. I should first go ahead and mention that I have always been atrocious with my artistic skills and my drawing skills have remained at the elementary school level up through adult-hood. I am currently working through the book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" and it's been absolutely fantastic so far. The whole idea is predicated on neuroplasticity and the lateralization of brain function. You have to believe that your brain can change.

Engineers and lawyers tend often to be very L-mode oriented (previously known as left-brain), while drawing requires an R-mode state of mind. I can say that within a couple hours of the first exercise in the book, I have already begun to realize what it was like to draw. By day three, it begins to feel like I have a foggy vision, just almost able to grasp what it really means to know how to perceive things as an artist does. I will continue with this book because it is truly life-enriching.

Here are some before-after examples of what improvements people have made 5 days:

More Examples Here

Why You Should Skip Class: The Data Stream Argument

Stay home or go to school?

Throughout years of school, I've always sought the most efficient way to study. And I decided that my ability to learn from the textbook was good enough such that I have to weigh the utility of going to class against my self-learning abilities. Eventually, I realized that it was almost always more efficient to study alone with the book rather than to attend lecture (with some exceptions). One justification for this is the data stream argument based on a measure of words per minute.

The Wikipedia page on Words Per Minute (WPM) gives us a few well-sourced metrics. Audio books are typically around 150-160 WPM. We can assume this is representative of optimal comprehension speed while listening because that's what audio books are for; slide presentations are typically slower than this. 

Contrast this with reading where the average adult reads at 250 to 300 WPM, while proofreading at around 180-200 WPM. If we factor in the commuting time it takes to go to school and all the miscellaneous questions and pauses that occur in lecture, the answer is clear. As long as the content in lecture is reflected well enough in a book, you should probably skip class.

Update: Some have mentioned that they often have issues of comprehension when reading. And when this happens, they often have to re-read things. Two subsequent posts attempt to answer this concern: Never Read Anything More Than Once and Active Learning.

A Beginning

I'll also try to hone my drawing skills on MS Paint on this blog

When I was really young, I used to think that I was the only conscious and sentient person in the world and that all of reality around me was a show run essentially by robots. I later found out that this was called solipsism, the idea that only I had the ability to think and feel. And of course, it was before I learned about the theory of mind, the idea that other people could have sophisticated mental states just like my own.

For me, that was the beginning of my need to separate myself from everyone else. I always felt that I needed to be different, to feel like I knew a bit more than everyone else because I didn't want to become just another robot. Of course, this brought along with it a lot of narcissism which I'm still recovering from, but nonetheless it is an essential part of who I am.

As we shall see, this is the drive that has constantly allowed me to experiment, evolve, and try new methods of accomplishing tasks. In the coming days, I will talk about how this was and still is a cornerstone of who I am today.