Learning
State the book’s structure and purpose in 1-2 sentences. Explain each component of the book and how the components interact with the whole. Clearly define the problems the author is trying to solve.
From How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren
People learn by creating their own understanding. But that does not mean they must or even can do it without assistance. Effective teaching facilitates that creation by getting students engaged in thinking deeply about the subject at an appropriate level and then monitoring that thinking and guiding it to be more expert-like.
Four basic questions when reading a book: 1) what is the book about as a whole? 2) what is being said in detail? 3) is the book wholly or in part true? 4) what is the significance of its meaning and truth?
From How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren
... See moreThe value of a graduate student (not to mention, an assistant professor), I’ve come to realize, is directly proportional to the quantity and complexity of their technical tool kit. If you study algorithms, for example, the more corners of the literature you’ve mastered, and the more mathematical analysis techniques you’re comfortable with, the more
There's a concept known as financial compounding, but most people don't know about intellectual compounding. Buffett and Munger employed this to great effect and to accumulate mental models such that they can make large decisions quickly. Intuition is simply reading a lot.
Sizhao Yang • Tweet
... See moreSkill, on the other hand, must be developed, step-by-step, mostly through failure. The quickness and quality of skill development depends on the quality and immediacy of the corrective feedback a student receives. It also depends on the student’s willingness to re-engage after failing. It is also dependent upon the number and level of students in a
... See moreEven if you can’t experience the thing directly, try going for information-dense sources with high amounts of detail and facts, and then reason up from those facts. On foreign policy, read books published by university presses -- not The Atlantic or The Economist or whatever. You can read those after you’ve developed a model of the thing yourself,
What are the best original sources that everyone else quotes? Find that book and aim to know it.
Develop a habit of working on your own projects. Don't let "work" mean something other people tell you to do. If you do manage to do great work one day, it will probably be on a project of your own. It may be within some bigger project, but you'll be driving your part of it.