Ultralearning by Scott H. Young
This book teaches a number of techniques I use myself and that I employed in the past to empower most of my (at-risk) learners to master what many (bleeding-heart woke lefties) thought they were too victimized to handle.
In that I will want to formalize these strategies as part of any educational program I develop in the future, I need to clarify what they are in my own mind, and then synthesize them in a manner that will be easy to grasp by others, starting with refining one's focus, and incorporating metalearning...
Before embarking on a quest to educate yourself using this strategic, aggressive, self-directed learning style to quickly and efficiently master difficult tasks in a short period of time, make a point of laying the groundwork by
applying metalearning strategies and
refining your focus.
For instance, before committing to a time-consuming project like teaching yourself the basics of a coding language, you’d want to make sure it’s actually going to align with your objectives. After all, you wouldn’t want to make the mistake of learning C++ to break into a field where everyone is coding in Python.
One way to do this is to find an authority on the topic and conduct an expert interview. Ask them what concepts are fundamental to the field, what skills are in demand, and which resources they recommend working with.
And whatever it is you’re learning, you should always begin
metalearning—the process of learning how to learn. This is a crucial, yet overlooked, step for reaching a big-picture understanding of your field. The idea here is that you shouldn't start by absorbing information at random.
You should first
establish how information is structured in your chosen field
For example, the writing system of Mandarin Chinese isn't just a bunch of random characters. Instead, the characters are organized by radicals, which are visual markers that express the relationships between those characters. So if you were learning Mandarin, you'd want to start with organizing principles like radicals, rather than just memorizing each character individually.
Metalearning is all about looking for the big picture, then using it to devise your optimal learning strategy. That's easier said than done, though. Many learners take years to arrive at a big-picture understanding of their subject. Fortunately, there are some simple strategies you can use to create a metalearning shortcut.
First, create a metalearning map by breaking your topic down into three categories:
- Concepts, or what basic ideas need to be understood;
- Facts, or what pieces of information need to be memorized; and
- Procedures, or what skills need to be performed/mastered.
Some projects, like learning a new programming language, will involve a mixture of the three. Working on that tennis serve, however, will mostly involve perfecting the procedure. Focus your energies on the most heavily-weighted categories.
Next, use this map to identify which aspects of learning might be the most challenging, and then brainstorm techniques for overcoming them. If your breakdown reveals you'll need to commit a lot of facts to memory, for example, you might consider acquiring spaced-repetition software, which produces randomized memory tests, to optimize the memorization process.
Finally, establish how you're going to learn. To do this, try benchmarking:
- Research people who've acquired a similar skill or institutions that offer accreditation in your field of study. Use these as your benchmarks. Replicate their methods and equipment.
- Use online course lists or syllabi to find the resources, tools and texts that are considered essential in the field.
Time invested in metalearning sets your project up for success. As a general rule, allocate 10% of the total time you expect to spend on your project to metalearning.
Through metalearning, you can draw a roadmap for your ultralearning project. Once your map is ready, you should strengthen your powers of focus to make sure you don't go off-road, which is the next topic...
