The Case For Drugs

Is there an objective right or wrong?

As kids, we've long been told that drugs are bad, and there have always been the distinction of good drugs (from doctors) and bad drugs (from dealers). As a child, I followed society's classification because I felt that these adults probably knew better than I did. However, having read countless scientific papers, I now realize that I possess the same tools to evaluate the evidence as the adults who passed the laws did.

One key aspect of the nature of substances is that there is no such thing as good or bad; it is rather a simple subjective declaration. Thus, what is considered good or bad in society is simply the subjective declaration of those who wield the power of law. What we must do in our lives, is not to simply say yes or no because our government has told us so. As individuals lucky enough to partake in a university education, I believe that we should take the time to evaluate the academic literature and make up our own decisions along with our subjective knowledge of our physical selves before saying yes or no to any drug (be it coffee from Starbucks or antibiotics from the pharmacist).

I'd like to mention that not everyone may not be fully adept at reading scientific journals and conducting literature review. If that is the case, then yes, we should consult the experts of our society. But don't stop there. If you don't have the ability to read scientific journals, learn. Learning is the real theme of this blog, and  my alma mater has a brief guide on how to learn this particular skill. Later on, I'll be providing a blog post dedicated to teaching this skill.

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.

Why You Should Skip Class: Group Conformity

“I took the other road, all right, but only because it was the easy road for me, the way I wanted to go. If I've encountered some unnecessary resistance that's because most of the traffic is going the other way.” ― Edward Abbey

When I was young, I'd always listen to what adults told me to do because I had a strong belief that they knew best. But as I grew up, I learned about the people who changed the world and more often than not, they were those who would take risks and challenge the status quo. The way we do a lot of things in society is usually built upon the prior experience of those before us, and no doubt, there is an obvious merit to this. But is the status quo really the best way? Should we blindly settle with what worked fine in the past?

In thinking about learning, we need to put these questions into perspective. Sure, we can do what our institutions tell us and go to class, do the readings, and be a "good" student. But who's to say that we've reached the best methodology? Education has always been evolving, and one thing that hold us back is group conformity. The Asch Experiment is an illustration of how easy it is for us to settle down with what people tell us is the "right" way of doing things even if we might know otherwise.

Taking Charge of Learning (cont'd)

"The standard pace is for chumps" - Kimo

Entrepreneur Derek Sivers wrote about his own story when talking about taking charge of learning. At an early age, he figured out that institutionalized education was catered to the average person. There is no reason why you have to learn at the exact pace that people tell you to. As Derek says, "the system is designed so anyone can keep up." So why waste all that time surfing Facebook in class when you know that you can do so much more?

I'm keeping today's post short because I really hope you will click the above link and read Derek's story. Even to this day, it is still one of the few lessons that I keep reminding myself of each day. It allows me to push myself and not waste time on things that I will regret on later in life.

Taking Charge of Learning

Learners have more incentive to learn when they have control
over not only how they learn but also what they learn. [1]

When I try to decide whether I should skip or attend a class, I always ask, "how much learning will I get out of this?" In university, because most of the professors are not instructed on proper pedagogical (teaching) techniques, the lectures vary drastically in quality. In some classes, the concepts were so complicated that all we could do was take notes and try to figure out what it all meant on our own time. In other classes, the professor would slow down the class in order to make sure the slowest person would not get left behind. I found this to be pretty frustrating as it takes away my control of my learning.

This made me think. Who made these rules about how we should learn? Who says that they are the best? Even if they work for most people, who's to say that it works the best for me? In answering these questions, I think it's important to note that all throughout history, most people have done things the way they were taught simply because they were afraid of authority. I think it's important that we take a step back and take charge of our learning.

[1] J. Scott Armstrong (2012). "Natural Learning in Higher Education". Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning.