Study music is Overrated: Learning Expert Explains WHY

Summary

In this episode of 'Overrated, Underrated', Dr. Justin Sung, a former medical doctor turned learning coach, shares his insights on various topics. He discusses the value of reading nonfiction, the myth of music improving study focus, and the potential of AI tools like Chat GPT. Sung also addresses the overrated nature of cold showers for productivity, the underrated impact of Khan Academy on education equity, and the changing necessity of university degrees. He emphasizes the importance of regular exercise for cognitive performance and criticizes the effectiveness of inquiry-based learning and YouTube for skill development, concluding with his views on the detrimental effects of social media.

Takeaways

• 📚 Reading nonfiction is properly rated as it's useful but only if the knowledge is applied in life, not just consumed.
• 🎵 Listening to music while studying is overrated; white noise is recommended for deep cognitive focus tasks.
• 🤖 Chat GPT is slightly underrated, with potential for more efficient use that most people haven't yet realized.
• 🏠 Coach House is overrated; personal anecdotes suggest it's more of a hype than a necessity for productivity.
• 🏫 Khan Academy is underrated for its significant impact on educational equity and non-profit work in education.
• 🎓 University degrees are overrated unless required for specific careers, as workplace changes outpace curriculum updates.
• 👩‍🏫 School teachers are underrated due to the unseen challenges they face and the effort required to be effective educators.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Regular exercise is very underrated for its multiple benefits including cognitive performance and metabolic health.
• 📺 YouTube for learning is overrated, especially for complex skills that require offline practice and feedback.
• 📱 Social media is overrated and generally detrimental to brain health, with a humorous exception for following the speaker.
• ❓ The speaker encourages viewers to ask for more details on specific topics, emphasizing the need for clear questions.

Q & A

What is Dr. Justin Sung's current profession after being a medical doctor?

Dr. Justin Sung is now a full-time learning coach and consultant.

What is Dr. Sung's opinion on the value of reading nonfiction books?

Dr. Sung believes that reading nonfiction is properly rated because it's useful if applied, but overrated if the knowledge is not integrated into one's life.

According to Dr. Sung, why is listening to music while studying generally considered overrated?

Dr. Sung considers it overrated because studies suggesting benefits from listening to classical music, like Beethoven or Mozart, have been discredited, and there's no strong evidence supporting the use of music for cognitive focus.

What does Dr. Sung recommend for students who require deep cognitive focus while studying?

Dr. Sung recommends using white noise for deep cognitive focus instead of music.

What is Dr. Sung's perspective on the current state of Chat GPT and its utilization?

Dr. Sung believes that Chat GPT is slightly underrated, as most people are not using it to its full potential and lack the base learning techniques to use it effectively.

Why does Dr. Sung consider Coach House to be overrated?

Dr. Sung thinks Coach House is overrated based on anecdotal evidence, as he has observed that people who take cold showers are not necessarily more productive or focused.

What is Dr. Sung's view on Khan Academy's role in education equity?

Dr. Sung views Khan Academy as underrated for its significant contributions to education equity, being one of the pioneers in the edtech and online learning space.

What does Dr. Sung think about the necessity of a university degree for most career pathways?

Dr. Sung believes that a university degree is overrated for most career pathways, as the workplace is changing faster than the curriculum, making degrees less relevant.

How does Dr. Sung evaluate the role of school teachers in the education system?

Dr. Sung considers school teachers to be underrated due to the lack of understanding of the challenges they face and the energy and effort required to be a good teacher.

What is Dr. Sung's stance on inquiry-based learning as it is currently implemented in educational institutions?

Dr. Sung considers inquiry-based learning to be overrated in its current implementation because it lacks the effectiveness of a blended approach with cognitive learning techniques.

Why does Dr. Sung believe regular exercise is underrated?

Dr. Sung believes regular exercise is underrated because it not only improves health and cognitive performance but also addresses the issue of adaptive thermogenesis, which affects weight management and metabolic rate.

What is Dr. Sung's opinion on using YouTube for learning complex skills?

Dr. Sung considers YouTube for learning to be overrated for complex skills because it is difficult to provide pattern identification, mistake correction, and feedback through the platform, which are crucial for skill development.

How does Dr. Sung view the impact of social media on the brain?

Dr. Sung views social media as overrated and detrimental to brain health, with a humorous exception for following his own content.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Introduction and Reading Nonfiction

Dr. Justin Sung introduces himself as a former medical doctor turned learning coach and consultant. He begins the 'Overrated, Underrated' series by discussing reading nonfiction. He believes reading nonfiction is properly rated because it is useful but only if the knowledge is applied. Simply consuming books without integrating the knowledge is not beneficial.

05:01

🎵 Listening to Music While Studying

Dr. Sung explains why he thinks listening to music while studying is overrated. He mentions that early studies linking classical music to high achievement have been discredited. He prefers white noise for tasks requiring deep focus and uses Lo-Fi music for less cognitively demanding tasks.

10:02

🤖 ChatGPT

Dr. Sung discusses the underrated potential of ChatGPT. He is working on an AI email project and notes that while ChatGPT is popular, many people do not utilize its full potential. Effective use requires higher-order learning techniques and systems that most people lack.

🛁 Cold Showers

Dr. Sung shares his view that cold showers are overrated. He believes that while some people find them helpful for productivity, there are other, more effective methods for improving focus and productivity. His opinion is based on personal experience and anecdotal evidence.

📚 Khan Academy

Dr. Sung praises Khan Academy, calling it underrated. He highlights its significant role in promoting equity in education and its impact on the global scale. Khan Academy's contributions to the non-profit education sector and its pioneering efforts in online learning are emphasized.

🎓 University Degrees

Dr. Sung argues that university degrees are extremely overrated unless required for specific careers like medicine or law. He points out that many industries change faster than university curriculums, leading to outdated knowledge. He advises prospective students to evaluate the necessity of a degree in their chosen field.

👩‍🏫 School Teachers

Dr. Sung discusses the general underappreciation of school teachers. While acknowledging that not all teachers are great, he stresses that the system makes it challenging to be a good teacher. Therefore, good teachers are rare, and the profession as a whole is underrated.

🧠 Inquiry-Based Learning

Dr. Sung believes inquiry-based learning is overrated due to its poor implementation and lack of evidence supporting its effectiveness. He advocates for a blend of inquiry-based and cognitive approaches to enhance educational outcomes.

🏋️ Regular Exercise

Dr. Sung emphasizes the underrated benefits of regular exercise. Beyond physical health, exercise improves cognitive performance and helps regulate metabolism. He explains the concept of adaptive thermogenesis, which makes exercise essential for long-term health and fitness.

🎥 YouTube for Learning

Dr. Sung considers YouTube overrated for learning complex skills. While good for declarative knowledge, it lacks the capacity to provide the necessary feedback and practice required for skill mastery. He highlights the limitations of learning intricate skills solely through YouTube.

📱 Social Media

Dr. Sung concludes that social media is overrated due to its negative effects on the brain. He humorously notes that following him is an exception. He ends the episode by inviting viewers to suggest topics for future discussions and to provide specific feedback.

Keywords

💡Nonfiction

Nonfiction refers to literature or other writing that is fact-based and tells about real people and events. In the video, Dr. Justin Sung discusses the value of reading nonfiction, suggesting that it is 'properly rated' because while it can be useful, it is only beneficial if the knowledge is actively applied and integrated into one's life. He contrasts this with merely consuming nonfiction without applying its lessons.

💡Cognitive Focus

Cognitive focus refers to the ability to concentrate and direct one's attention towards a specific task or thought process. Dr. Sung mentions that listening to music while studying is overrated, especially for tasks requiring deep cognitive focus. He recommends white noise instead of music for such tasks, implying that music might distract from the concentration needed for cognitively demanding activities.

💡Chat GPT

Chat GPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot that can generate human-like text based on prompts. Dr. Sung considers it 'slightly underrated,' suggesting that its full potential for utilization is not yet widely recognized or understood. He believes that most people are not using it to its full extent, indicating that with the right learning techniques, Chat GPT could be even more beneficial.

💡Coach House

Coach House is a term used in the video anecdotally to refer to the practice of taking cold showers for the purported benefits of increased focus and productivity. Dr. Sung labels it as 'overrated,' based on his personal observations and experiences, suggesting that the effectiveness of this practice might be overstated and that there could be more effective strategies for enhancing focus and productivity.

💡Khan Academy

Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organization that provides free online courses, lessons, and practice exercises. Dr. Sung views it as 'underrated,' highlighting its significant contributions to educational equity and the pioneering role it played in the edtech space. He believes that Khan Academy does not receive the recognition it deserves for its impact on making education more accessible.

💡University Degrees

University degrees are academic qualifications awarded by colleges or universities upon completion of a course of study. Dr. Sung considers them 'overrated' for most career paths, arguing that the rapid change in the job market often outpaces the curriculum of universities. He suggests that in many industries, degrees are not as necessary as they once were, and practical, on-the-job experience might be more valuable.

💡School Teachers

School teachers are professionals who educate students in schools. Dr. Sung believes they are 'underrated' due to a general lack of understanding of the challenges and efforts involved in being an effective teacher. He emphasizes that becoming a good teacher requires significant energy and effort, and that bad teachers are more the result of systemic issues rather than individual shortcomings.

💡Inquiry-Based Learning

Inquiry-based learning is an educational approach that encourages students to ask questions, investigate, and discover knowledge for themselves. Dr. Sung finds it 'overrated' in its current implementation, as he believes it lacks strong evidence for effectiveness and misses out on valuable aspects of cognitive learning. He advocates for a blend of inquiry-based and cognitive approaches to education for better outcomes.

💡Adaptive Thermogenesis

Adaptive thermogenesis is a physiological process where the body adjusts its metabolic rate in response to changes in calorie intake. Dr. Sung discusses it in the context of weight loss and fitness, arguing that regular exercise is 'underrated' because it helps counteract the effects of adaptive thermogenesis, which can lead to a decreased metabolic rate and the need for fewer calories over time.

💡YouTube for Learning

YouTube for learning refers to the use of YouTube as a platform for educational content. Dr. Sung considers it 'overrated' for teaching complex skills, as it lacks the interactive feedback and guidance necessary for effective skill development. He suggests that while YouTube is good for learning concepts, it is less effective for mastering skills that require hands-on practice and personalized feedback.

💡Social Media

Social media refers to websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or participate in social networking. Dr. Sung labels it as 'super overrated,' implying that it is generally detrimental to cognitive health. He humorously notes an exception for following him on social media, suggesting that in moderation and with discernment, social media can have its merits.

Highlights

Dr. Justin Sung discusses the value of reading nonfiction, suggesting it's properly rated due to its usefulness when knowledge is applied.

Listening to music while studying is considered overrated, with classical music studies being discredited and no strong evidence for cognitive benefits.

Chat GPT is slightly underrated, with potential for more efficient use in education and AI, but most people lack the learning techniques to utilize it effectively.

Cold showers, often associated with productivity, are anecdotally overrated, with Dr. Sung questioning their actual impact on focus and productivity.

Khan Academy is underrated for its significant contributions to educational equity and its pioneering role in online learning.

University degrees are overrated unless required for specific careers, with Dr. Sung highlighting the gap between curriculum and workplace needs.

School teachers are generally underrated due to the lack of understanding of their challenges and the effort required to be effective.

Inquiry-based learning is overrated in its current implementation, lacking evidence and often missing valuable cognitive learning aspects.

Regular exercise is extremely underrated for its impact on health, focus, efficiency, and cognitive performance.

YouTube for learning is overrated, particularly for skill development, due to the difficulty of providing effective feedback and tracking progress.

Social media is super overrated and generally bad for the brain, with a humorous exception made for following Dr. Sung.

The importance of specifying questions when requesting further exploration of topics in the comments section for better clarity.

A call to action for viewers to like, comment, and subscribe for more content on the overrated and underrated series.

The potential of Chat GPT in the AI email space and its current underutilization by most people.

Coach House being overrated based on Dr. Sung's anecdotal experience and questioning its actual impact on productivity.

The need for employers to recognize that degrees are not always necessary for certain jobs, as the workplace evolves faster than education.

Adaptive thermogenesis explaining why diet alone is not sufficient for weight loss or fitness, emphasizing the role of exercise.

Transcripts

hey everyone it's Dr Justin sung here

I'm a former medical doctor and now

full-time learning coach and consultant

and this is another episode of overrated

underrated where we're going to be

taking a lot of different ideas and I'm

going to be giving my take on them as

briefly as possible so let's go

okay reading nonfiction overrated or

underrated reading nonfiction overall

I'm gonna say is properly rated because

it's useful but also it's not useful if

you just like buy a non-fiction book you

read it and then you assume that that

knowledge is now yours you can use it

you have integrated you've applied the

skill like learning and then consuming

knowledge actually not the same thing

some people just buy books and consume

it and then they're like oh yeah that's

part of my life now but actually you

look at the bookshelf it's like well how

much of that are you actually applying

in your life so in that case it could be

overrated but a lot of people do not

read very much so therefore that will be

underrated so therefore we land in the

middle at properly rated

listen to music while studying I think

is overrated for sure so the whole idea

behind listening to music especially

classical music is actually done through

correlative studies like there used to

be these studies that were done on like

high achieving students and what they

listen to and then they listen to more

classical music I think specifically

there's the more Beethoven or Mozart or

something but that there's so much

confounding in those studies that those

Studies have now since essentially been

discredited when you look at this purely

the research around like list like the

sensation of taking in something orally

while you're listening there doesn't

seem to be any benefit of actually

listening to anything or rhythmic or

even like binaural beats and things

there's not really strong evidence for

it for me personally and for what I

recommend to my students I generally

just recommend having White Noise if

there's anything that requires deep

cognitive Focus

I haven't been convinced that listening

to music is beneficial for that for

doing things that don't require so much

cognitive Focus then yes uh definitely

something that's a little bit more

creative something a little bit more

relaxed something where you're just kind

of like going along in your workflow

that's fine I listen to Lo-Fi like crazy

my Spotify my Spotify wrap up for the

years always a slow by Lo-Fi Lo-Fi Lo-Fi

okay so I listen to a lot but I don't

when I need a really focus and

concentrate

chat chatgpt is extremely like The Buzz

and it's still it's probably still

slightly underrated

um most people don't realize but right

now I'm sort of months into working on a

artificial intelligence email project

um with some with some big names and

I've been in this space and I've been

learning about it and then

coincidentally chat GPT got released

like in the middle of me working through

that so when I was looking through it I

was looking through a lens of just an

educator but also someone that had been

kind of immersed in the AI email space

for a little bit by that point and I

think the way that chat GPT will be

utilized and can be utilized are still

being very very like you know most

people are not using it to the extent

that it could be used they're not

getting the efficiency they could get

most people probably don't have the base

learning technique at a higher order to

be able to use chappy T in the right way

because there are certain inquiry

approaches that could be really

effective if used in the right way

however most people don't have a system

that would allow them to use that in the

first place because it's too lower order

based so for that reason it's going to

be underrated

Coach House

[Music]

I want to say Coach House overrated

um and look this is going to be

completely just purely anecdotal like

this is not coming from me having like

years of experience working with

students and things like this is just

like me thinking about it myself I

believe I am able to have good focus and

productivity and you know manage myself

and things like that I do not need to

take cold showers and just purely

anecdotally

some of the people around me that are

into taking cold showers are not

particularly very productive or focused

so it makes me think maybe it's like the

easy thing that you can set your mind to

to do that kind of like you know can

help trigger and springboard things for

you but I feel like there are probably

more high-yield things that you could

work on that are maybe less obvious to

understand as shower in cold water

um so for that reason I'm gonna say it's

a little overrated I think I think it's

hyped a little bit more than it maybe

needs to be

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is probably

underrated Khan Academy does a lot in

the equity for Education space so I

think most people don't know this but

um for you know I've been in the

education industry for 10 years now and

my first seven years were in the

non-profit sector in fact I didn't even

pay myself for the first four or five

years four and a half years so I am very

very like keenly aware of the issues of

like equity in in education and Khan

Academy was one of the first players on

the scene that actually did that at a

global scale like Khan Academy is like

an OG in the in the edtech and education

online learning space no one was doing

it like Khan before Khan Academy well at

least no one was doing it well so I

think for the impact the Khan Academy

made the road that it paved the equity

for Education that it's done and a lot

of the non-profit work that Khan Academy

continues to do I'm going to say it's

it's underrated I don't think it gets a

prop set it deserves

foreign

extremely overrated unless you are doing

a career that literally requires that

degree so for example like medicine law

accounting like uh you know Financial

Services type thing like these these

career Pathways that the entry point to

it is having the degree outside of those

I would say that University is I think

it's very very overrated I know that

there are some degrees that the

workplace is changing faster than the

curriculum is changing so it's like I

mean the Gap is going to be widening and

widening and widening so I remember you

know one of the previous marketing

interns that I hired on they eventually

became my marketing manager they they

did a marketing degree and they said

that none of the stuff they learned in

uni they were able to actually use at

their work and everything they learned

about marketing was just purely on the

job and I looked at the curriculum and I

could agree the stuff was so outdated so

for example it was a marketing degree at

the time this is like six seven years

ago now at the time there was nothing

about social media can you imagine doing

a marketing degree with nothing about

social media anyway overall I think

universities are never going to be able

to catch out fast enough and so for some

some Industries I don't think it's

necessary and I think a lot of employers

are wising up to that to the point where

you do not need to have the degree to

have certain jobs when five ten years

ago you used to so if you're looking at

going into University because you want

to go down a career pathway I'd

recommend go and look at what the

employment space is like see right now

today do you actually need that degree

or can you do a udemy course can you do

a course there like can you do something

else without without having the

university part

[Music]

oh School teachers well School teachers

are you know like an entire group like a

massive group of people as they're not

homogeneous I think I think that they're

they are underrated because of the fact

that most people will never really

interface with education very deeply and

so they don't really know what it's like

behind the scenes and so they you know

they they don't really understand the

plight of a school teacher already and

and what they have to kind of deal with

you know but having said that if you've

had a bad teacher is that bad teacher

like underrated well I mean like no not

not really I suppose but I think the

issue is that it's very easy to become a

bad teacher because the system is set up

where being a good teacher is actually

very hard it takes a lot of energy and a

lot of effort so that's why they are

they're rare

um and so School teachers as a general

category I'll say that it's they're

underrated

inquiry-based learning is

in the present sense the way that is

being used now and the way that it's

being implemented in the real world by

the vast majority of Institutions

inquiry-based learning is heavily

overrated because inquiry-based learning

is first of all does not have great

evidence for it when you when you look

at the implementation there are a lot of

variables that factor into it

inquiry-based learning is actually one

school of thought that this was in

construct constructivist schools of

education and learning whereas the

opposite is called cognitivist and I

think the best blend is the marriage of

the two like inquiry-based learning

misses a lot of the things that are very

valuable in the cognitive of space and

therefore you have these schools and

people that are using inquiry-based

learning and they're not getting any

effect from it and then they're

wondering why and it's because the

missing ingredient might be something in

the cognitive space and that's something

that I'm very passionate about actually

bringing the two together because I

think they complement each other but

that hasn't happened right now yet in

the main space when I consult schools or

organizations no one is really bringing

them together and for that reason I'd

say just inquiry based learning by

itself the way it's implemented now very

overrated

regular exercise is very very underrated

and it's underrated for more reason than

people would think so the obvious

reasons is like it keeps you healthy

some less known reasons might be that it

helps you to focus improves your

efficiency and actually improves the

studies that's shown that aerobic

exercise increases your cognitive

performance as well but the other thing

is that there's something called

adaptive thermogenesis which means that

even for purely thinking about exercise

as a tool to like lose weight or get fit

some people will just say like well diet

is the most important thing and diet is

important but actually adaptive

thermogenesis tells us that it's a

losing game only thinking about diet

because your body gets more efficient

with less calories so it means that your

metabolic rate will start going down and

down and down so if you are on a diet

you will you will get short-term benefit

but then eventually your body will adapt

to having low calories and so it won't

be burning anymore because it's not

spending as many calories to do the same

type of cellular activities and so then

over time you have to then eat less and

less and less and less and less and so

then you end up eating like very like

very very little and then you don't even

have any energy and now your quality of

life is affected even more than it was

before so for that reason as well I

think regular exercise is underrated

people learning

YouTube for learning is this is probably

this is probably an interesting view

because I am like an educator on YouTube

but I actually think YouTube for

learning is actually overrated because

it's actually very hard to teach

something complex through YouTube I'm

not talking about Concepts you can you

can create a playlist of Concepts but

it's very hard to teach skills on

YouTube because a lot of skill

development requires like pattern

identification finding mistakes getting

feedback like doing stuff offline with

what you learned online and from a

education at scale perspective that's

really really hard to facilitate like

it's hard to know whether people have

got the right understanding and to track

it and to encourage them to do various

activities and get feedback on that

through a platform like YouTube I think

for declarative knowledge only where

it's just purely about just learning

some Concepts YouTube is good but I'm

still saying I'm overrated because of

the fact that everyone knows you can

learn everything on YouTube like no

one's out there not knowing that you can

learn things on YouTube so people will

know it but I think people overestimate

how much you can learn there are certain

skills that to learn on YouTube maybe

only two to three percent of the

population would actually really be able

to learn it to to that level and that's

the reason why if you want to learn you

know Muay Thai or Jiu Jitsu or you want

to learn to be a great violinist or a

Pianist or something you're not just

going on YouTube like the people that

are able to do that and become a very

good that thing are very very very few

compared to the number of people that

are doing it and often if you are

someone that is like an instructor of

these things you'll know that there are

a lot of people that start learning on

YouTube and they come to you and the

technique is terrible and actually they

now need to like unlearn a lot of those

mistakes and relearn things so that can

be quite problematic

social media is super overrated I mean

do I need to explain that it's just like

it's really just bad for your brain you

know honestly unless you're following me

in that case that's underrated so that's

it for this episode of overrated

underrated if there's anything that I

mentioned that you want me to dive into

in more detail please leave a comment

down below let me know what it is that

you want me to dive into and also

specify the question about what aspect

of it you want me to dive into in the

very very first overrated underrated

video that we did for this I just said

leave a comment below on what you want

me to expand on people just said like

the word expand on it and I was like

what about it so that that was my fault

this time be a little bit more specific

but anyway thank you for watching if you

like this stuff leave a like leave a

comment make sure to subscribe and I'll

catch you in the next one

[Music]