Ultralearning - Book Summary

Summary of Ultralearning by Scott H. Young.
Accelerate your Career, Master Hard Skills and Outsmart your Competition.

It discusses the 9 principles of Ultralearning :

1. Metalearning - first, draw a map
2. Focus - sharpen your saw
3. Directness - go straight ahead
4. Drill - attack the weakest point
5. Retrieval - test to learn
6. Feedback - don't dodge the punches
7. Retention - don't fill a leaky bucket
8. Intuition - dig deep before building up
9. Experimentation - explore outside your comfort zone

Scott H. Young has a very popular blog. He is well-known among the self-improvement circles. He takes up interesting challenges like completing a 4-year MIT course under a year and living a year without English.

1. UltraLearning Scott H. Young

2. Accelerate your Career Master Hard Skills Outsmart the Competition

3. What is Ultralearning? Ultralearning is an intense, self-directed strategy for learning skills and knowledge. Intense : not just dabbling Self-directed : you are in control of your learning. Strategy : not the only way to learn but a better way.

4. Why bother? Happiness of self-actualising your potential in : Professional Life Career Growth, Change or to be a Linchpin Rising Tuition Fee End of Average or Skill Polarization Personal Life To achieve your goals and dreams Deep happiness comes not from doing easy things, but hard things that expand your capabilities and realise your potential. What a man can be, he must be Abraham Maslow

5. 9 Principles Metalearning Focus Directness Drill Retrieval Feedback Retention Intuition Experimentation

6. METALEARNING First, draw a map Draw your Map : Why Intrinsic Project Instrumental Project Expert Interview method What Concepts Facts Procedures How Benchmarking Emphasize-Exclude method Planning-Execution ratio : 10% Rule Law of Diminishing Returns Principle 1

7. FOCUS Sharpen the saw Focus problems : Procrastination Awareness 5-min Rule 25-min Pomodoro sessions 90-min Deep Work session Distraction Environment Task Mind Quality of Focus Low-arousal state High-arousal state Principle 2

8. DIRECTNESS Go straight ahead Directness = Learn-by-Doing approach Solves the Problem of Transfer Tactics : Project-based learning Immersion Flight Simulator method The Overkill approach Principle 3

9. DRILL Attack the weakest point Direct-Drill-Direct approach Identify the Rate-Determining Step Tactics : Time Slicing Cognitive Component Slicing Prerequisite Chaining Magnifying Glass method CopyCat Principle 4

10. RETRIEVAL Test to Learn Active Recall > Review Tactics : Free Recall Flash Cards Question Book method Open Book method Self-Generated challenges Principle 5

11. FEEDBACK Don’t dodge the punches Types of Feedback : Outcome feedback Informational feedback Corrective feedback Tactics : Flow state Meta-feedback Noise Cancellation High-Intensity, Rapid feedback Principle 6

12. RETENTION Don’t fill a leaky bucket Forgetting Curve Theories of Forgetfulness : Decay Interference Proactive Interference Retrospective Interference Forgotten Cues Tactics : Spaced-Repetition Proceduralization Overlearning Core Practice Advanced Practice Mnemonics Principle 7

13. INTUITION Dig deep before building up Rules for building Intuition : Have a struggle timer for hard problems Always start with an example. Use analogies and visuals. Prove things to test understanding. And then articulate it. Ask lot of questions Principle 8

14. EXPERIMENTATION Explore outside your comfort zone Basics = Proficiency. Experimentation = Originality Experiment with : Resource Technique Style Tactics : Copy, then Create Introduce new constraints Hybrid of unrelated skills Compare methods side-by-side - Split testing Explore the extremes Principle 9

15. Raising Ultralearners Start early Education by 3 Specialisation by 6 Convert Practice into Play Positive Reinforcement Foster > Impose Curiosity > Coercion Teach Self-Education Access to Resources Tutors Books, Courses

16. Your 1st Ultralearning Project Steps : Research Schedule Execute Review Master or Maintain