This is How I Memorized 98% of Everything in Medical School

Summary

In this educational video, the speaker shares his top three learning techniques that helped him excel in medical school despite not having a naturally strong memory. He emphasizes the importance of understanding first principles, learning the big picture, and connecting outside the box to truly comprehend and master information. The speaker also introduces 'screen tool,' a note-taking application that enhances these learning methods by offering flexibility and organization, making it easier to explore concepts in depth and create comprehensive knowledge structures.

Takeaways

• 😅 The speaker admits to having a poor memory but has mastered techniques to compensate for it.
• 🎓 Despite not having a natural gift for memorization, the speaker excelled in memory-intensive exams and tasks.
• 🔑 The speaker's secret to learning was transforming details into coherent, intuitive concepts rather than relying on memory tricks.
• 📚 Traditional learning techniques were more effective for the speaker than modern fancy techniques like flashcards or memory palaces.
• 🤔 The importance of 'reasoning from first principles' is emphasized, which involves understanding the fundamental truths behind concepts.
• 🧠 The speaker suggests that asking 'why' leads to a deeper understanding and makes learning less dependent on memory.
• 🗺️ Learning the 'big picture' and patterns can aid in remembering specific details, drawing a parallel to the chess study experiment.
• 💡 'Connecting outside the box' is introduced as a technique to find non-intuitive ways to learn and remember information.
• 📱 The speaker recommends using a note-taking application called 'screen tool' to facilitate the learning techniques discussed.
• 🔗 The video is sponsored by 'screen tool', which is presented as a tool to help implement the discussed learning strategies effectively.

Q & A

What is the speaker's secret to memorizing information for medical school?

The speaker's secret is not relying on natural memory but rather using old school learning techniques that transform arbitrary details into coherent, intuitive, and logical concepts, making them less dependent on memory.

What is the significance of 'first principles' in the context of learning as discussed by the speaker?

'First principles' refers to breaking down information to its most fundamental truths and reasoning from there. In learning, it involves asking why things happen the way they do, going beyond surface explanations to understand the underlying logic.

How does the speaker suggest using the 'first principles' technique in learning?

The speaker suggests using the 'first principles' technique by asking questions about seemingly arbitrary details, such as why a certain drug causes a specific side effect, to uncover the logical reasons behind them.

What is the role of the application 'screen tool' in implementing the speaker's learning techniques?

The 'screen tool' application is recommended for its flexibility and speed in switching between ideas and perspectives, allowing for efficient note-taking and annotation of first principles, and for creating organized big picture structures.

Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of understanding the 'big picture' in learning?

Understanding the 'big picture' helps in learning and remembering specific details more effectively by providing context and patterns that make individual facts more intuitive and less arbitrary.

Can you provide an example of how the speaker applied the 'big picture' technique in their medical studies?

When studying chronic granulomatous disease, the speaker spent time learning about the general classification and features of primary immunodeficiencies to better understand and remember the specific syndrome.

What is the chess experiment mentioned by the speaker, and what does it imply for learning?

The chess experiment showed that chess masters have better memory for positions that could occur in a real game due to recognizing patterns from experience. This implies that learning patterns and big pictures can improve memory for specific details.

What is 'connecting outside the box' as a learning technique, and how does it work?

'Connecting outside the box' is a technique where one finds non-intuitive ways to apply learning principles to subjects that don't typically require them, such as using historical context to remember geographical locations.

How can the 'screen tool' application assist in 'connecting outside the box'?

The 'screen tool' application can assist by allowing users to create flexible and versatile structures that can represent complex connections and patterns, making it easier to visualize and remember information across different subjects.

What are the two options the speaker mentions for using the 'screen tool' application?

The two options mentioned are joining the Early Access plan for a monthly fee with locked pricing and an exclusive community, or joining the waitlist for a one-month free trial and potential participation in a referral program.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Unlocking the Secrets of Effective Learning

The speaker candidly admits to not having a naturally good memory, despite excelling in memory-intensive tasks and exams. Contrary to common assumptions, their success isn't due to memory tricks like flashcards or memory palaces. Instead, they relied on old-school learning techniques that helped transform random details into coherent concepts, making them less dependent on memory. The speaker aims to share their top three learning techniques to help viewers not just memorize but truly understand and master their studies. They also introduce a tool called 'a screen tool' to implement these techniques effectively.

05:00

🔍 The Power of First Principles in Learning

The speaker introduces 'reasoning from first principles,' a concept often attributed to Elon Musk. This approach involves breaking down complex ideas to their most fundamental truths and building understanding from there. The speaker uses this concept as a learning technique, encouraging viewers to ask why things are the way they are, rather than just accepting them. They share an example from their medical school days, where understanding the first principles behind metformin's side effects provided a deeper, more intuitive understanding than just memorizing the information.

10:00

🌐 Learning the Big Picture for Contextual Understanding

The speaker emphasizes the importance of learning the broader context to better understand and remember specific details. They recount a personal experience as a medical student, tasked with learning about a complex disease in a short time. Instead of focusing solely on the immediate details, they chose to learn about the general classification and features of related conditions. This approach not only helped them remember the specifics better but also trained their mind to recognize patterns, a technique commonly used by doctors. The speaker suggests using a tool like 'a screen tool' to create flexible and organized structures that help visualize these patterns and connections.

15:01

🚀 Connecting Outside the Box for Memorization

The final learning technique discussed is 'connecting outside the box,' which involves finding non-obvious connections to help remember seemingly arbitrary details. Using geography as an example, the speaker shares a historical story about Germany's invasion routes during the World Wars to remember Belgium's location on a map. This technique turns a memorization task into a more intuitive understanding by linking it to a broader context. The speaker suggests that while this skill is developed through practice, tools like 'a screen tool' can facilitate the process by allowing users to create explicit connections and patterns.

💡 Utilizing 'a screen tool' for Enhanced Learning

The speaker concludes by discussing how 'a screen tool' can be used to enhance the learning process. They mention two options for users: an Early Access plan for a monthly fee that includes all current features and a say in the app's development, and a waitlist option that offers a one-month free trial with premium features. The speaker also mentions a referral program for those who join the waitlist. They encourage viewers to try the tool to see if it can help make their learning process more explicit and efficient.

Keywords

💡Memory

Memory, in the context of the video, refers to the ability to retain and recall information. The speaker clarifies that they do not possess an innately superior memory but have developed techniques to compensate. This concept is central to the video's theme, as the speaker discusses methods to improve memory retention through learning strategies rather than relying solely on natural memory.

💡Flashcards

Flashcards are small cards used for memorization, often with a question or term on one side and the answer or definition on the other. The video mentions flashcards as one of the 'fancy' techniques that were not part of the speaker's initial study protocol, suggesting that while useful, they are not the only tools for effective learning.

💡Memory Palaces

Memory palaces, also known as the method of loci, is a mnemonic device where information is associated with specific locations in a familiar environment to aid recall. The video briefly mentions memory palaces as an advanced memorization technique that was not part of the speaker's early learning strategies.

💡First Principles

First principles refer to the fundamental truths or basic facts from which other truths or conclusions can be derived. In the video, the speaker advocates for a learning approach that involves breaking down information to its most basic components and building understanding from there. This is exemplified when discussing the use of metformin and its association with lactic acidosis, urging to understand the underlying reasons rather than just memorizing facts.

💡Ecchymosis

Ecchymosis, mentioned in the script, refers to a bruise caused by bleeding under the skin. The speaker uses it as an example of a detail that, when understood through first principles, becomes less arbitrary and more intuitive, thereby aiding in memory retention and comprehension.

💡Ultrasound

Ultrasound, in medical terms, is a diagnostic imaging technique that uses high-frequency sound waves to create images of the inside of the body. The video script uses ultrasound as an example of a concept that might seem arbitrary until understood through first principles, thus becoming more intuitive.

💡Immunodeficiencies

Immunodeficiencies are conditions where the immune system's ability to fight infections is compromised. The video uses immunodeficiencies as an example of a subject where understanding the broader patterns and categories can help in learning and remembering specific syndromes within the category.

💡Chronic Granulomatous Disease

Chronic granulomatous disease is a rare genetic disorder that affects the immune system, causing recurrent bacterial and fungal infections. In the video, the speaker recounts an experience with a patient having this disease, which led to a discussion on the importance of understanding the broader context of a subject to aid in learning specific details.

💡Pattern Recognition

Pattern recognition is the ability to identify regularities or patterns in data or situations. The video discusses how doctors and experts use pattern recognition to quickly identify and understand complex situations by associating observed features with known categories or patterns.

💡Connecting Outside the Box

Connecting outside the box refers to the process of making unconventional associations or connections to understand or memorize information. The video gives an example of how the speaker memorized the location of Belgium by connecting it to historical events during World War I and II, showcasing a creative approach to learning.

💡Sqintel

Sqintel, mentioned in the video, is a note-taking application that the speaker finds useful for implementing the learning techniques discussed. It is highlighted for its flexibility and speed in switching between ideas and perspectives, which aids in the application of first principles and big picture learning.

Highlights

The speaker admits to having a poor memory but still excels in memory-intensive tasks.

They explain that their success is not due to natural memory but rather old-school learning techniques.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of transforming random details into coherent concepts.

They introduce the concept of 'reasoning from first principles' as a learning technique.

The speaker illustrates first principles learning with an example from their medical school experience.

They discuss the value of understanding the 'big picture' in learning and memory.

A chess experiment is mentioned to demonstrate the importance of pattern recognition in learning.

The speaker shares a personal anecdote about learning during a medical rotation to highlight the application of big picture learning.

They introduce 'connecting outside the box' as a method to apply learning techniques to seemingly unrelated subjects.

The speaker provides a historical example to explain how to remember geographical details.

The video is sponsored by a note-taking application called 'screen tool'.

The speaker recommends screen tool for its flexibility and speed in note-taking.

Screen tool is praised for its ability to create and organize notes in a non-linear, interconnected manner.

The speaker explains how screen tool can be used to implement first principles learning.

They demonstrate how screen tool can help in creating big picture structures for better understanding.

The speaker suggests using screen tool for connecting outside the box by creating visual associations.

The video concludes with information on how to access screen tool and its pricing plans.

Transcripts

okay so I'm gonna be honest with you

guys I don't have a good memory a lot of

people think it because I often give

classes at the top of my head with just

a marker and a board and because I tend

to do very well in memory dance exams

like the US Military and memory 10

subjects like microbiology and all that

stuff right but truth be told I was

never really one of those guys that

reads a chapter once and memorizes

everything without breaking a sweat no

I'm more like the guy who goes

downstairs opens the fridge and forgets

why he came down in the first place so

because of the situation one of the

questions I often get asked is how were

you able to memorize everything you

memorized in medical school right if it

wasn't a matter of natural memory then

what was the secret flashcards memory

palaces fancy retrieval cues the special

Red Sox of Destiny shout out to everyone

who understood that reference well no

the answer is none of that I mean don't

get me wrong those tactics are awesome

but they were a relatively recent

addition to my study protocol for most

of my life as a student I didn't have

have none of that all I used to learn

were a bunch of old school learning

techniques

and that was that some of those

techniques were good some were not that

good and some were really really useful

in helping me do something that some of

the most modern techniques like

flashcards and memory palaces often

neglect which is that it helped me to

transform seemingly arbitrary and random

details into coherent intuitive and

almost logical Concepts they didn't

improve my memory they made me less

dependent on it and that was kind of my

secret these sort of skill sets I just

said are often neglected with all the

fancy techniques we now use and love and

that's precisely why I wanted to make

this video to teach you guys what were

my top three learning techniques to not

only memorize but to truly comprehend

and master what you study I'm also going

to show you an amazing tool that I've

recently found to implement these

tactics and a few examples to show you

how to apply all this stuff in real life

quick warning though these techniques

are not quick fixes they don't give you

instant improvements overnight no

they're more like a long-term type of

investment they require an upfront

payment in terms of time and effort and

they provide very little instant results

but if you keep doing them if you keep

investing and keep putting your effort

then you will start to see how learning

as a whole starts to get easier and

easier so without further Ado let's get

to it oh and I almost forgot this video

was sponsored by a screen tool more

about them in a minute

okay so there's a concept called

reasoning from first principles you've

probably heard of this Elon Musk talks a

lot about this my first principles is

kind of a physics way of looking at the

world and what that really means is you

kind of boil things down to the most

fundamental truths and and say okay what

are we sure is true or as sure as

possible is true and then reason up from

there so that's first principles our

reasoning approach to solve problems but

you know what first principles can also

be a learning technique if you learn how

to use it correctly if you get in the

habit of asking the right questions in

the right times now I want to clarify

something here because a lot of people

get this from first principles learning

is not just opening a chapter on let's

say high blood pressure and reading away

what the normal birth pressure is why is

it important what are the factors that

influence it no that is just a standard

learning and everyone does that the

meaningful exercise the exercise that

really makes a difference happens in all

those situations when people usually

don't zoom out to ask the questions for

instance since one time I was giving a

class in diabetes and I asked my

students do you know what is a typical

serious adverse effect Associated to the

use of Metformin everyone said lactic

acidosis everyone knew that everyone

knew that particular concept but then I

asked why why does metformin actually

cause lactic acidosis

and nobody answered nobody knew nobody

had taken the time to zoom out and learn

the first principles behind this little

detail if they had done it they would

have realized that this seemingly

arbitrary and random detail wasn't

actually arbitrary and random at all it

was very logical and very intuitive and

it links both the mechanism of action of

the drug and the metabolism of glucose

and it makes total sense but that didn't

happen and that didn't happen because we

as a students tend to study only the

stuff that is portrayed clearly and

obviously in the chapter that's in front

of us and that's what I truly mean with

first principles learning going beyond

the mere explanations on the books and

really asking yourself whenever you

encounter a seemingly arbitrary and

random detail why does this happen the

way it happens so for instance why do

ecchymosis look the way they look why do

ultrasounds look the way they look and

produce the images they produce why do

intergreen mutations lead to

immunodeficiencies these are the sort of

questions you need to start asking

yourself these are the sort of questions

that will start to transform all of

these arbitrary and random things into

very intuitive Concepts now you can

totally do this in your head for sure

but if you're one of those people who

love to annotate everything you learn

you will find that starting like this is

a pain in the ass because you see the

very same mindset of first principles

thinking makes you deviate from a topic

you're trying to learn and so even if

you leave spaces to annotate later or

you switch notebooks or you switch

folders you will find that all the

solutions to truly learn first

principles are either ineffective or

inefficient so if you want my

recommendation on how you can make this

process a lot more expedient I would

suggest you try out the application I

told you about a minute ago this crinkle

this is a newish sort of note-taking

application and I really really like it

because it offers a lot of flexibility

and speed when it comes to switching

between ideas and perspectives so for

instance let's say you're taking notes

about physical injuries and you go to

the part about ecchymosis and hematomas

and then your first principle mindset

kicked in and made you wonder why do

hematomas look the way they look so

instead of having to pull out our

completely different notebook or open a

completely different folder all you need

to do in a screen tool is type the plus

sign and open a new card to annotate the

first principles of the topic in that

new card you can annotate freely

everything you want about four friends

which is the reason why ecchymosis took

the way they look without disrupting the

main focus of the note you were

originally creating you can open the new

card and leave it blank in case you want

to search the first principles but later

or you can totally delve deep into the

rabbit hole and end up learning about

poor friends and him and bilirubin and

why does our urine look yellow and all

that kind of stuff but the point is that

you can do all of this rapidly and while

also staying organized two of the things

that are very hard to do using the

typical usual note-taking systems and

yes in case we're wondering the new

notes are reusable meaning that if one

day you're studying another topic let's

say Guild bird syndrome and you also

want to link that note to the card on

performance you can do do so by again

just tapping a plus sign and selecting

the card you've already created the end

result is that you're not end up looking

like a hyper indexed Library like the

ones you typically find in platforms

like ambos where one thing leads to

another and that to another and to

another and so on and so forth and I

don't know I just think that's quite

awesome

okay so back in 2018 I was still a

medical student right and but at the

time I was going through my pediatric

rotation so one day when I was in the ER

a patient with chronic granular motives

disease arrived and I was a student in

charge of taking that history after

doing this I presented it to my

attending and then I received the

typical comment of read about this

disease and we'll discuss it tomorrow

morning if you're a medical student you

know that this happens a lot and that it

can be really stressful as one afternoon

is often not enough time to properly

learn everything you want out of a

complex topic like chronic granular

limit is disease right so I totally

understand why many medical students go

home and focus a hundred percent on

learning just the details they need on

just the topic they need however I for

myself to use the completely different

approach when I was learning I try to

learn as much as I could from the

general context that surrounded the

topic as I possibly could for instance

in the case of chronic granulomatous

disease what I did was take about an

hour or two of my afternoon to learn

about the general classification and the

Gen General features of the main primary

immunodeficiencies now why did I do that

why did I waste an hour of my precious

time in learning about a bunch of

arguably unrelated topics that I'm

probably not going to get asked tomorrow

morning well because sometimes learning

the big picture and the big patterns is

precisely what one needs to properly

learn and properly remember the little

details and the little facts there's a

famous chess experiment that proves this

and veritasium has an amazing clip

explaining it so I'm gonna play to you

in 1973 William Chase and Herbert Simon

recruited three chess players a master

an a player who's an advanced amateur

and a beginner

a chessboard was set up with around 25

pieces positioned as they might be

during a game and each player was

allowed to look at the board for 5

seconds then they were asked to

replicate the setup from memory on a

second board in front of them the

players could take as many 5 Second

Peaks as they needed to get their board

to match

from just the first look the master

could recall the positions of 16 pieces

the a player could recall 8 and the

beginner only four but then the

researchers arranged the board with

pieces in random positions that would

never arise in a real game and now the

Chess Master performed no better than

the beginner after the first look all

players regardless of rank could

remember the location of only three

pieces the data are clear chess experts

don't have better memory in general but

they have better memory specifically for

chess positions that could occur in a

real game the implication is what makes

Chess Masters special is that they have

seen lots and lots of chess games and

over that time their brains have learned

patterns so rather than seeing

individual pieces at individual

positions they see a smaller number of

recognizable configurations so that is

sort of what I try to do with my study

instead of focusing on the individual

pieces the individual syndromes I

focused on learning the big patterns the

big categories of immunodeficiencies

doing this not only helped me to ground

each individual syndrome and remember it

better but it also helped me in training

my mind how to approach an immune

deficiency case doctors use this sort of

pattern recognition approach a lot you

see a feature you decide which category

it resembles the most and then you start

to think about the individual syndromes

that could be at play here now to apply

this technique all you really need is to

ask the question to ask the question of

what's the context here right how does

the big picture of this subject look

like and you can certainly do this in

your head for sure but again if you want

a tool that can help you be a lot more

explicit in your approach I suggest

using a screen tool you see in a

scrinder you're able to do a couple of

things first you're able to take the

usual notes you usually take and where

you can dump information and images and

videos and links just like in your

typical note but then you're also able

to minimize that note and use it as a

moving piece in a huge white board this

feature coupled with the ability to

connect notes with one another allows

you to create some of the most flexible

and versatile big picture structures app

ever seen so for instance here I have a

board that has some of my notes on the

primary immunodeficiency syndromes and

what I did was basically organize the

canvas into different sections with

different maps and each map represents

like a different pattern of an

immunodeficiency syndrome so for

instance here I have my map on the

diesel disorders and here is my map on

the basal disorders and here's my map on

the mixed disorders and so on and so

forth now if I go ahead and zoom into

the for example the diesel disorder map

I can appreciate that there's a central

note with all of the general features of

this pattern right so I can appreciate

like the general features maybe the all

of the diseases and peripherally to that

note I can appreciate all of the other

individual syndromes that are branching

off I can open any individual note I

want and I can read or I can type

information I can also make it full

screen if I annotate better or I can

also minimize it and just get a glimpse

of the note I can close it I can show a

preview or not show a preview I can do a

lot of stuff right as a matter of fact I

can even do stuff like this I can start

hiding away some of these links and I

can start reorganizing the big picture

as you can see here not as into Maps but

into like tables into multiple tables or

single tables and make my columns I can

also search for nodes that I've

previously created like for example the

one on four friends I can just search

here for poor friends and I can drag and

drop into the canvas if I want to have

it be part of my big picture structure

for some reason or another so yeah the

app has a lot of features that help you

explicitly train that big picture

mindset that we're discussing here also

in case you're wondering squintel offers

you the possibility of creating

different spaces or boards to organize

your notes and organize your information

for instance here is my board on the

primary immunode deficiency syndromes

but if I wanted for instance to create a

board on let's say Immunology as a whole

I could do so as well by selecting all

the notes I'm creating a new board with

those notes in that way the the notes

the cards the maps on the

immunodeficiencies appear both in the

primary immunodeficiencies board and

also in the Immunology board as a whole

all right and the last learning

technique I want to discuss here is

something I like to call connecting

outside the box and in simple terms is

basically figuring out ways to apply the

last couple of techniques to subjects

where people don't usually think is

possible to apply the last couple of

techniques so take something like

geography for example geography is

actually a really good example because

it's one of those subjects that people

usually believe that is entirely up to

memory because I mean how do you

remember that Belgium is located in this

part of the map that this is bullet like

do you ask why Belgium is located here

do you search for the first principles

of why is it located here do you search

for the general classification and do

you try to contextualize the

classification of European countries

that's not very helpful right so in

these cases what I try to do is search

for the first principles or the context

by thinking or by trying to connect

outside of the box this as far as I can

tell is not really a teachable skill

it's not something you learn by watching

a video it's something you learn through

practice through doing but I'm just

going to give you an example of how I

would be able again to just memorize why

Belgium is located here to show you what

I mean so I don't know if you know this

but in World War one and also World War

II Germany invaded France well it

actually emitted a lot more countries

but one of those was France but the way

it invaded France was not the typical

way you and I would imagine if we looked

at a map why because if you look at a

map you will realize that Germany and

France are very very close together but

the interesting thing is that Germany

almost never attacks directly through

their border what they do is that they

first sneak into Belgium and then they

attack through their border with Belgium

that was a favorite move by the Germans

back then and for me it's kind of

interesting right it's for what it's

kind of like one of those things about

strategy and about war that almost seems

like part of a movie so these sort of

story is really easy for me to remember

and what I realized a couple of years

ago was that whenever I listened to a

story like this and I looked at the map

I went ahead and looked them at the map

the the location of the countries

stopped being a random isolated detail

and I started being like a very almost

intuitive concept to remember now when I

look at an European map locating Belgium

is not hard at all because I remember

the story and the story traced me back

to the location now again that was just

one example but it goes to show you that

sometimes there are non-intuitive ways

to learn context or principles that

directly help you to learn seemingly

arbitrary details and facts now again

you can do all of these sort of tactics

and these sort of techniques by just

using your head or just using your basic

note-taking system and that's fine but

as I've tried to demonstrate throughout

the video applications such as screen

tool do help and can help a lot if you

want to be a lot more explicit and

expedient with your learning process now

how can you use a screen tool in case

you're interested well you have a couple

of options first you have what they call

An Early Access plan there you pay five

bucks per month and you receive all of

the current features available in the

platform and that option is really great

if you're truly interested in the app

because those who signed to the Early

Access plan will lock that price point

at five dollar per month price point and

join an exclusive community that has a

saying in how the app is developed and

where it goes so if you want some

special feature to be added or something

to be changed about the platform this is

where you want to be so that's one

option but another option for those who

are not exactly sure if they want to use

the up or not that it seems promising

but they first want to try it you have

an option to join the wait list by

joining the waitlist you you basically

get out one month free trial where you

can use and test all of the premium

features of screen tool to see if they

are what you're looking for or Not by

joining the waitlist you can also become

part of the referral program and if you

become part of this program you can

pretty much earn cash for everyone who

signs up to sprintel using your link so

that's another cool option to have in

mind but anyways I hope the video was

useful thanks for watching and check out

squintel using my link if you're

interested and I'll see you in the next

one

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