How To Learn Anything

Summary

This video explores 'Ultralearning' by Scott Young, a method for intense self-directed skill acquisition. The narrator shares personal success stories using ultralearning for SQL, AI, and even passing a driving test. The video outlines nine ultralearning principles, starting with meta-learning, designing an effective study plan, and progressing to techniques like directness, drilling weaknesses, and seeking feedback. It emphasizes the importance of focus, managing arousal for task complexity, and the value of testing oneself to reinforce learning. The discussion also touches on advanced principles like retention strategies and the pursuit of mastery through intuition and experimentation.

Takeaways

• 📚 The book 'Ultra Learning' by Scott Young teaches a self-directed and intense approach to skill acquisition.
• 🚀 Scott Young's own ultra learning project involved completing MIT's computer science curriculum in one year without attending classes.
• 🤔 The three core aspects of ultra learning are strategy, self-direction, and intensity.
• 🧠 Meta-learning, or designing an effective study plan, is crucial and should involve about 10% of the total learning time.
• 🎯 Focus is key during study sessions, and the book addresses common focus problems like procrastination and maintaining attention.
• 🔍 The principle of directness suggests learning should be as close as possible to the actual application of the skill.
• 💪 The principle of drilling involves attacking your weakest points to improve, similar to how athletes practice difficult parts of their routines.
• 📝 Retrieval practice, or testing yourself, strengthens neural connections and aids in learning and memory retention.
• 🔁 Feedback is essential for learning, with corrective feedback being the most beneficial as it provides guidance on how to improve.
• 🔗 Retention is improved through strategies like spacing out learning, using spaced repetition systems, and proceduralization.
• 🕵️‍♂️ Developing intuition and experimentation are key for those aiming for mastery, involving deep understanding and pushing boundaries.

Q & A

What is the main theme of the book 'Ultralearning' by Scott Young?

The main theme of 'Ultralearning' is a strategy for acquiring skills and knowledge that is both self-directed and intense, focusing on the nine principles of ultra learning to achieve mastery in a short period.

What is an example of an ultra learning project mentioned in the script?

An example of an ultra learning project is Scott Young completing the entire MIT curriculum for a computer science undergraduate degree in only one year without attending any classes.

What does the term 'meta learning' refer to in the context of ultra learning?

Meta learning, or designing a study plan, refers to spending roughly 10% of the total learning time to figure out the best way to learn something and to design a study plan for it.

How does the script suggest using AI to improve the meta learning process?

The script suggests using AI, like ChatGPT, to create a custom study plan by explaining what kind of study plan you're looking for, as AI can be trained on internet knowledge and search the internet to provide a tailored plan.

What is the significance of the 'why what how' principle in designing a study plan?

The 'why what how' principle is significant in designing a study plan as it helps to clarify the motivation (why), the content (what), and the methods (how) of learning, ensuring the study plan is aligned with the learner's goals and effective.

How does the script relate the concept of arousal to focus during learning?

The script explains that there is a relationship between arousal (alertness) and task complexity. Higher arousal narrows focus, suitable for simple tasks, while lower arousal broadens focus, which is beneficial for complex tasks.

What is the principle of directness in ultra learning?

The principle of directness involves learning the task as close as possible to the situation or context where it will be used, ensuring that the learning is practical and relevant to the intended application.

Can you explain the principle of drilling as mentioned in the script?

The principle of drilling is about identifying and attacking the weakest points in one's learning. It involves practicing the most difficult parts of a task repeatedly until they are mastered.

How does the script describe the principle of retrieval in ultra learning?

The principle of retrieval involves testing oneself on the material to be learned, which strengthens the neural connections associated with the task and aids in memory retention.

What are the different types of feedback mentioned in the script, and which type is considered the best?

The script mentions three types of feedback: outcome feedback, informational feedback, and corrective feedback. Corrective feedback is considered the best as it not only tells you if something was good or bad but also how to improve it.

How does the script suggest combating the forgetting curve in ultra learning?

The script suggests combating the forgetting curve by spacing out learning sessions, using a spaced repetition system, and proceduralization, which involves learning something to the point of automation to make it difficult to forget.

What does the principle of intuition entail in the context of ultra learning?

The principle of intuition involves deeply understanding a concept or subject to the point where one can almost intuitively solve problems or understand things, often by questioning and exploring the fundamentals.

How is the principle of experimentation described in the script?

The principle of experimentation is about pushing boundaries and trying new approaches in one's field of learning. It is crucial for becoming a master as it involves creating and exploring beyond existing knowledge.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Embracing Ultralearning for Personal Growth

The speaker shares their transformative journey with 'Ultralearning' by Scott Young, a book that empowered them to acquire new skills and knowledge rapidly. They mastered SQL for job interviews, started a YouTube channel, learned AI, and even passed a driving test with minimal study time. The video aims to dissect the book's nine principles of ultra learning and apply them to one's life. The concept of ultra learning is introduced as a self-directed, intense strategy for skill acquisition, exemplified by Scott Young's completion of an MIT computer science curriculum in a year without attending the institution. The speaker emphasizes the book's impact on their self-learning journey and encourages viewers to adopt these strategies.

05:01

🎯 The Power of Meta-Learning and Focus

The speaker delves into the first principle of ultra learning: meta-learning, which involves designing an effective study plan. They suggest spending about 10% of the total learning time on planning, using the 'why-what-how' framework to clarify objectives, content, and methods. The video introduces an AI tool, 'guide,' which generates step-by-step documentation for complex tasks, streamlining the learning process. The second principle, focus, addresses common issues like procrastination, sustaining attention, and creating the right kind of focus for task complexity. The speaker discusses how arousal and task complexity are linked, advising on modifying one's environment to optimize focus for different types of tasks.

10:03

🔍 Directness and Drilling to Strengthen Learning

The principle of directness is explored, advocating for learning tasks in a context as close as possible to their actual usage. The speaker recounts their experience of quickly learning SQL for data science interviews by practicing interview questions directly related to the task. They also introduce the principle of drilling, which involves identifying and targeting weak points in one's learning through focused practice. Techniques like time slicing are mentioned to improve performance in specific areas. The speaker emphasizes the combination of directness and drilling for mastering skills effectively.

15:04

📝 Retrieval, Feedback, and Retention Strategies

The speaker discusses the principle of retrieval, which posits that testing oneself is a powerful method for learning and strengthening neural connections. They mention various retrieval tactics like flashcards and self-generated challenges. Moving on to feedback, the speaker distinguishes between outcome feedback, informational feedback, and corrective feedback, highlighting the importance of the latter for improvement. They also touch on AI's role in providing personalized feedback. Lastly, the principle of retention is introduced, addressing the brain's tendency to forget through the forgetting curve. Techniques to combat forgetting include spaced repetition and proceduralization, which automate skills for long-term retention.

20:05

🧠 Cultivating Intuition and Experimentation for Mastery

The speaker concludes with the principles of intuition and experimentation, crucial for reaching expertise. They illustrate how deep understanding, as demonstrated by Richard Feynman's questioning approach, builds a strong foundation for intuition. The principle of experimentation is exemplified by artists like Van Gogh, who pushed boundaries through continuous exploration. The speaker suggests that experimentation is particularly important at higher learning levels where resources are scarce. They wrap up by encouraging viewers to apply these principles for mastery in their fields and express openness to creating more book review videos based on viewer feedback.

Keywords

💡Ultra Learning

Ultra Learning refers to a self-directed and intense approach to acquiring skills and knowledge. Defined within the video as a strategy that involves deep focus and commitment to learning, it's exemplified by Scott Young's project to complete MIT's computer science curriculum in one year without attending the institute. The concept is central to the video's theme, promoting an efficient and dedicated method of learning that challenges traditional educational models.

💡Meta-Learning

Meta-Learning, as discussed in the video, involves designing a study plan before diving into the learning process. It's about spending a portion of the total learning time figuring out the most effective way to learn a subject. This concept is crucial for setting up a structured approach to Ultra Learning, ensuring that learners are not only studying hard but also studying smart, as illustrated by the preparation for the MIT challenge.

💡Focus

Focus is highlighted as a key principle in Ultra Learning, emphasizing the need for laser-like concentration during study sessions. The video discusses overcoming common focus problems like procrastination and environmental distractions. It introduces the concept of arousal and task complexity, suggesting that the right kind of focus can be achieved by adjusting one's arousal level according to the task at hand.

💡Directness

Directness in the context of Ultra Learning means learning as close to the actual application of the skill as possible. The video uses the example of preparing for SQL data science interviews by practicing actual interview questions. This principle underscores the importance of practical, hands-on learning that directly relates to the intended use of the acquired knowledge or skill.

💡Drill

Drill is about identifying and attacking one's weakest points in the learning process. The video suggests starting with direct learning and then focusing on areas of difficulty, such as understanding SQL queries for data science interviews. This principle is about targeted practice and repeated effort to overcome specific learning challenges until mastery is achieved.

💡Retrieval

Retrieval as a principle involves testing oneself to reinforce learning, as explained in the video. It's about activating and reactivating neural pathways associated with the learned material. The video contrasts passive learning methods with active testing, suggesting that the latter creates stronger neural connections and deeper understanding, which is essential for Ultra Learning.

💡Feedback

Feedback is presented as a multifaceted concept with three types: outcome, informational, and corrective. The video emphasizes the importance of feedback in the learning process, particularly corrective feedback, which not only indicates performance but also provides guidance on improvement. This principle is integral to the refinement of skills in Ultra Learning, ensuring that learners can adapt and enhance their performance.

💡Retention

Retention is discussed in relation to the 'leaky bucket' analogy, referring to the brain's tendency to forget newly acquired information. The video suggests strategies like spacing out learning and proceduralization to combat forgetting. Retention is a critical aspect of Ultra Learning, as it addresses not only the acquisition of knowledge but also its long-term retention.

💡Intuition

Intuition in the video is associated with gaining a deep, almost instinctive understanding of a subject. It's about pushing beyond surface-level knowledge to develop an expert's intuition, as demonstrated by Richard Feynman's approach to physics. This principle is particularly relevant for those aiming for mastery within their field of study, as it involves a profound engagement with the material.

💡Experimentation

Experimentation is portrayed as a principle essential for reaching the highest levels of expertise. The video contrasts it with reliance on existing resources, suggesting that true mastery often requires creating new methods or approaches. It's about pushing boundaries, as seen in the examples of artists like Van Gogh, and is a principle that encourages learners to innovate and explore beyond conventional wisdom.

Highlights

The book 'Ultra Learning' by Scott Young teaches a self-directed and intense strategy for acquiring skills and knowledge.

Scott Young's personal ultra learning project involved completing MIT's computer science curriculum in one year without attending classes.

Ultra learning is not limited to academic subjects; it can be applied to learning any skill, such as art or game design.

Meta-learning, or designing an effective study plan, is the first principle of ultra learning, recommending spending 10% of total learning time on this phase.

AI can be utilized to expedite the meta-learning phase by generating custom study plans based on user needs.

Guide, an AI tool, can create step-by-step video guides for complex tasks, enhancing learning and documentation processes.

The principle of focus involves addressing procrastination, sustaining attention, and creating the right kind of focus for task complexity.

Modifying arousal levels based on task complexity can optimize focus for learning.

Directness in learning involves practicing a skill in a manner as close as possible to its actual application.

Drilling focuses on identifying and repeatedly practicing weak points until they are mastered.

Time slicing is a drilling technique where one practices only the most difficult parts of a task.

Retrieval practice, or testing oneself, strengthens neural connections associated with the learned material.

Feedback is crucial for learning, with corrective feedback being the most effective in identifying and fixing errors.

Retention strategies like spacing out learning sessions and using space repetition systems can combat the forgetting curve.

Proceduralization turns learned skills into automatic procedures, making them harder to forget.

Intuition in ultra learning involves deeply understanding a subject to the point of gaining an intuitive grasp of it.

Experimentation is key to pushing the boundaries of knowledge and achieving mastery in a field.

Transcripts

this book taught me how to learn it's

how I learn SQL in order to pass my data

science interviews and ultimately get my

first data science job it's how I learn

how to make videos and start this

YouTube channel and this entire business

it's how I learned Ai and most recently

it is how I pass my driving test after

less than 2 hours of study the Knowledge

Test not the road test you should

definitely study for longer than 2 hours

on the road test anyways in this video

I'm going to cover the book Ultra

learning by Scott young go through the

concepts and talk about how to apply

these in your life and how I appli them

to my life this is the book that

kickstarted my self- Learning Journey

and it just changed my life and I hope

it will for you as well okay homer I'm

ready to learn what's the first lesson

this book is structured to cover the

nine principles of ultra learning but

before we actually get into that let's

actually Define Ultra learning Ultra

learning is a strategy for acquiring

skills and knowledge that is both

self-directed and intense the three

keywords here are strategy self-directed

and intense that is what describes an

ultr learning project for example one of

the first Ultra learning projects that

Scott young the author did is to

complete the entire MIT curriculum for a

computer science undergraduate degree in

only one year and without actually

attending MIT were going to any of the

classes by the way this was back in 2011

so there was not yet all of these like

free resources and courses that are

posted on YouTube and all over the

Internet it was a lot harder back then

so his strategy was to list out all the

units and all the courses that he had to

take and focus on passing their final

exams and the projects it's

self-directed because he wasn't actually

attending the school and he was just

like learning everything himself and it

is intense he did everything in one year

for example for his multivariate

Calculus class he literally studied

everything in 5 days and then did the

exam and I finished single variable

calculus I started the course on Monday

and I finished writing the final exam

Friday afternoon just to be clear Ultra

learning is not confined to a certain

topic or just for passing exams it is

for learning anything that you want to

learn Scott also use ultra learning to

improve his art and be able to draw

realistic faces in only 30 days Eric

Baron I think his name is he used these

principles in order to single-handedly

learn game design and create a really

really popular game called stard do

value I've gathered all the necessary

strategy and tactics to finally defeat

you principle number one is meta

learning AKA designing a study plan

according to Scott before you jump into

learning you should spend roughly 10% of

the Total Learning Time on figuring out

what is the best way of learning the

thing you want to learn and designing

the study plan for example for his MIT

challenge it was 12 months in total so

around 10% of that is a little bit over

30 days 36 days which he devoted to

figuring out what's the best way to

learn so actually in a bit I'll show you

how to cut down on that time period a

lot but first let's cover how to design

a study plan based on the why what how

principle why is why do you want to

learn something for example I want to

learn Japanese because I want to be able

to watch anime without

[Music]

subtitles what is what what are you

learning I'm learning the structure of

the Japanese language the pronunciation

of things and the vocabularies and the

how is how do you learn these things

doing research Maybe by like watching

YouTube videos go on Reddit and maybe

looking at different programs and course

curriculums the book recommends spending

a lot of time doing this designing your

study plan because if you're on the

wrong study plan then ultimately you

know you're not going to be learning the

right things he even goes as far as

saying you should conduct expert

interviews to check over your study plan

but I have good news you can potentially

cut down this time by like 80 90% even

like 90 5% by using something like this

prompt for Chachi BT or whatever your

favorite AI model is since AI is trained

on the knowledge of the internet and it

can also search the internet if you're

able to explain properly what kind of

study plan you're looking for it is

really good at making that custom study

plan for you if you want to be extra

sure maybe you can take that study plan

and show it to somebody who for example

already knows Japanese but yeah I find

that for metal learning AI is a tool

that can just save you so much time

here's also a prompt that I use in order

to come up with a study plan to learn

JavaScript you can also switch that out

for like python or any other language

that you want I'm not going to go into

more detail about the prompt itself you

can just check it out Link in the

description okay now that we have our

study plan we can get started studying

and also move on to the next principle

of ultra learning have you ever had to

explain a process to someone like click

this click this enter here and then

enter here and they're like what and

then you have to explain it to them

again well I want to introduce you guys

to a very Nifty little AI tool called

guide guide is a GPD power tool that can

explain the most complex task in seconds

using AI generated documentation let me

actually show you to to get started on

their website just click on install free

extension and then make sure that it's

pinned on Chrome now here is the admin

portal for lonely octopus where we add

courses to people's custom study plans

so say here I want to add a custom study

plan for Tina I would click on guide

over here click capture what are you

capturing is knowledge and documentation

and it's how to add courses to a custom

study plan and then go through the

process of adding a course say chat be

technical self boot camp introduction to

python maybe some pandas and

introduction to AI product development

so I got to rank these into order that

they appear on a study plan and I click

save then I go to guide and they app

will generate this step-by-step video

guide select the course you want to add

to your study plan it has visuals it has

voice over and it has like these call to

action call out buttons as well so we

already do have documentation for things

because we are not Savages but it's like

in this text form and I can like really

long and it takes a really long time to

do but now that we know about guide for

the coming cohort we're actually going

to be using guide to update our

documentation cuz it's just so much like

easier faster and just clearer you can

easily edit the video the visuals the

audio the voiceover and the motions and

captions and once you're ready and

satisfied you can just click on share or

embed your guide anywhere for your team

to see the best part is that this

browser extension this app is 100%

completely free you can check it out

over here also linked in description all

right now back to the

video I want 100% commitment and laser

focus right principle number two is

focus how to be laser focused in your

study sessions the book says that there

are three major problems that people

have when it comes to focus so problem

one and two is covered in a lot of other

books already so I will only briefly

touch on them but problem three this is

the only book that talks about this one

and it's what I think has helped me the

most problem one is failing to start AKA

procrastination some types the combat

does would be like the 5-minute rule in

which you try to get yourself to study

for 5 minutes and you'll find that the

rest of the time would be a lot easier

and pomodora studying for a specific

period of time and then taking a break

for a specific period of Time problem

two is failing to sustain Focus like

after you get over your procrastination

but then you still cannot focus this is

mostly about environment control like

getting rid of distracting things like

your phone food maybe your friends go

away while you're studying and problem

of three is failing to recreate the

right kind of focus there is a

relationship between arousal and task

complexity by arousal I mean not that

kind of arousal it's kind of like

alertness um how alert you are how awake

you feel and tax complexity is how

difficult and complex the task is for

example just having to memorize

something will be considered low task

complexity while say like building an

entire application would be considered

high task complexity the greater the

arousal the more narrow your focus is

and the more suitable that is for more

simple task like memorizing something or

practicing something repetitive like

throwing a start or a layup while for

more complex task like doing math

writing an essay you want your arousal

to be lower so your focus is wider

because complex tasks require to use

different parts of your brain okay so

how does this relate to creating the

right kind of focus well you can modify

your arousal based on the task that you

have to do for example like you know

today that you're going to be memorizing

flashcards you know that's a simple task

so is better to have a higher level of

arousal and you can increase your level

of arousal by essentially increasing

your stimulation both external

stimulation like you can go somewhere

where there's background music there's

background noise like a coffee shop or

internal stimulation um by doing

something like drinking coffee or

working out isn't that really cool like

if you understand that relationship

between arousal and task complexity

you're able to modify your environment

your external and your internal

environment to create like Optimal

amounts of focus depending on what it is

that you want to accomplish ballseye the

principle of directness means learning

the task as close as possible to the

situation where context that you're

going to use it in when I Was preparing

for my data science interviews I

realized that a lot of the interviews

were going to be in SQL the problem was

I didn't know any SQL so I had to learn

everything real quick uh before taking

the interview which was in 11 days this

is when the principle of directness

saved my ass because in order to prepare

for it there are a lot of things I could

do I could try reading through a SQL

textbook I could take like an online

course about SQL I could watch YouTube

videos about SQL but the most direct way

of practicing for a SQL data science

interview was by practicing SQL

interview questions and specifically SQL

interview CS from that company which was

meta so I went on glass door and

filtered meta data science interviews

and I literally picked out every single

interview question that people have done

then I reverse engineered these

questions to figure out exactly what it

is that I need to learn and I did that

for those 11 days practicing those

questions in that interview style and it

paid off because when I went into that

interview two of the questions were

almost exactly the same as questions I

had already done some other examples of

directness say you want to be

conversationally fluent in French the

best way of learning is literally to go

find some French people and try talking

to them the the oppose just be

YouTuber if you want to learn to code

the best way is to find a project and

code the entire project yourself but you

may be thinking at this point like isn't

that a chicken or egg problem like how

are you supposed to converse with

someone in French if you don't know any

french how are you supposed to code a

project if you don't know how to code

well that is where the next principle

comes in you are the weakest link the

principle of drill the principle of

drilling is about attacking your weakest

point so what you want to do is first

apply the principle of directness and go

do the task that you want to accomplish

and while you're doing it especially in

the very beginning you realize that you

don't know like pretty much everything

right for example if you were me and in

the unfortunate situation where you had

an interview in 11 days and you just saw

your first metad data science interview

question in sequ

I don't even know what that means so I

started making notes like okay I got to

like figure out what's the actual

structure of a SQL query what does the

from mean what does select mean like

this conditional part oh you're able to

use something called wear which is

you're able to filter certain parts of

the table so yeah I kept on doing that

writing out what I didn't understand

going and learning that thing and then

coming back and doing more of the

questions and every time I ran into

something that I didn't understand I

would go learn that part specifically

window functions for example I ran into

window functions in one of the questions

and I didn't really understand how it

worked so then I just really focused on

window functions and did a bunch of

questions related to the window

functions until I figured out how to use

it a very common drooling tactic for

musicians or for athletes is something

called time sharing I think my

handwriting is so bad I you can tell I

can't read I will put this on I think

it's time time slicing time slicing oh

my God yes so time slicing this is when

you take a task and you isolate and

practice the most difficult part of it

say as part of a song that you're

rehearsing you will just keep practicing

the part that is the most difficult or

say you're a basketball player and

you're focusing specifically on layups

layouts you get what I mean this

combination of directness and then

Drilling and then just over and over

again until you master a craft this is

such a powerful combination of

techniques I can testify that it is a

game Cher okay next principle Pop Quiz

everybody the principle of retrieval is

about testing yourself to learn Scott

says that the best way to learn

something is to actually test yourself

on it this may sound very

counterintuitive until you understand

the phrase neurons that wire together

fire together you see anything that

you're learning from a neuroscience

perspective is simply encoding something

into the neurons of your brain your

brain cells specifically it's about

certain networks of neurons that depict

the information that you're trying to

learn now the better you get us

something the stronger the network of

connections of your neurons is going to

be for that specific task like the

better you are are coding the stronger

your coding networks of brain cells are

going to be so what does that have to do

with testing well testing yourself

forcing your brain to activate and

reactivate that network of neuronal

connections associated with the task is

the single best way in order to

strengthen that Network when you're

learning to code you could just like

watch some tutorials of like other

people code or just like I don't know

like do some games about coding but that

wouldn't really like activate that

neuronal Network that much so you don't

really like deepen your understanding of

it that much but if you do something

like force yourself to write an entire

application you're testing your own

understanding by forcing that neuronal

network of coding stuff by reactivating

and keep activating so by the time

you're done building that application

that skill of coding is so deeply

encoded into your brain cells like

literally into your brain cells some

other retrieval tactics that the book

talks about includes flash cards which

is really good for vocabulary free

recall which is just saying the thing

that you learn but in your own words and

self-generate ated challenges or the

question book method where you rephrase

the thing that you're trying to learn as

a question for example when I was

studying for the driving test I would

ask myself what does it mean when

there's a flashing green light by the

way if you know the answer to that put

it in the comments for some reason a lot

of people don't know the answer to that

very concerning I thought maybe you can

give me your feedback feedback feedback

feedback feedback feedback I'm sure that

you already know that everybody's told

you you should always get feedback but

did you know that there's actually three

types of feedback the first type of

feedback is called outcome feedback for

example there's this very famous

comedian called Chris Brock he would go

to like these smaller shows like usually

he has like big soldout shows right but

he would go to like these smaller kind

of like standup places and tell some of

his new jokes in order to gauge the

audience's reaction like do they laugh

or do they not laugh that's how he knows

that it's a good joke or it's not a good

joke this is outcome feedback where you

only know if the joke is funny or not

funny when I first released a video I

can tell that it's a good video or a bad

video based upon how many people want to

click on the video and watch it if you

get this type of feedback it's already

very very helpful but you can upgrade

this feedback to informational feedback

this would be like Chris Rock asking his

audience why do you think that was funny

or why do you think it wasn't funny or

me looking at the comments to see what

it is that people liked or didn't like

about a video it tells you what it is

that you're doing wrong or you're doing

right but it doesn't tell you why or how

to fix the things to improve the third

type of feedback and the best type of

feedback it's called corrective feedback

this not only tells you whether your

thing you did was good or bad why it's

good or bad but also how to fix the bad

parts how do you improve to the next

level this type of feedback usually

involves having to hire like a mentor or

coach where they can like exactly look

at whatever it is you're doing and point

out like your golf swing for example

maybe you should I don't know like

adjust your grip exactly like this in

order to improve it or if it's your code

doing a code review and pointing out

like here is exactly what you can do in

order to make your code better this can

be really really expensive but just by

the fact that how many people are

willing to hire like a personal coach

just shows how useful this kind of

feedback could be by the way this is

also an area where AI is amazing as a

learning tool because it's able to give

you that individualized informational

feedback when you feed it something like

your code where you're writing and you

ask it to like give you feedback as to

how it is that you can correct it and

make it better so I recommend playing on

with Chach BT to get this kind of

feedback at a fraction of the cost to

ensure maximum retention principle

number seven is retention imagine a

bucket with some holes in it that is

your brain now imagine that you're

pouring water or knowledge or things

that you're learning into the bucket so

you're learning things but at the same

time it is Flowing out you're also

forgetting things at the same time

unfortunately our brains are leaky

buckets and they can be seen by what is

called the forgetting curve after you

learn something you immediately start

forgetting about it the most amount of

forgetting happens right after you learn

it and over time the rate of forgetting

decreases but you're still like slowly

forgetting stuff in the book Scott

explains that Ultra Learners not only

focus on getting information into the

brain they also address the fact that

they need to prevent information from

leaking out of the brain as much as

possible the book talks about a few

different tactics that you can use in

order to combat the forgetting curve the

first one is spacing out your learning

so this is unfortunate news maybe for

some of us like me who um have trouble

with procrastinating and not cramming

things but apparently if you're spacing

out your study sessions like instead of

cramming 10 hours one day before the

exam but you know study 1 hour 10 days

for the exam that is a lot better in

remembering things there's also

something called a space repetition

system where if you're especially trying

to like remember something and have some

flash cards there's a way of like

spacing the learning so that it's the

most optimal for your brain there is a

free app called anky that does this so

definitely check that out if you need to

memorize a lot of things another one is

called proceduralization you might have

heard the phrase that you never forget

how to bike where like you never forget

how to swim and that's because once you

automate how to do something like biking

or swimming it gets encoded into your

brain differently so it's very difficult

for you to forget in the beginning when

you're trying to learn how to ride a

bike it might be quite difficult CU

you're trying to remember like oh I have

to hold the handle like this I have to

remember to balance I have to remember

to pedal and all these things but after

it becomes automated in your head it

gets like encoded into your brain and

even like 10 years later you get on a

bike you still know how to bike so if

you manage to learn something enough so

that it becomes automatic and a

procedure in your brain then the

likelihood of you forgetting it is much

lower okay at this point we're nearing

Mastery and the last two principles are

for people who really want to become

expert my spidey sense is tingling the

principle of intuition is about really

digging deep into a concept into a

subject until you gain like almost an

uncanny ability of solving problems or

just like understanding things a really

good example of this is Richard Fineman

he's said to have almost like a magical

sense of understanding when it comes to

like numbers and it comes to physics and

that's because he has a very solid grass

of fundamentals if you just tell him f

is equal to ma force is equal to

masstimes acceleration just memorize

that he'll be like no why why is force

equals m * 8 why is there a linear

relationship why is force measured the

way it is why is mass the way it is why

is acceleration the way it is like why

why why why why why and he'll just keep

digging and digging until he like truly

understands all of the components that

is the mindset of someone who becomes an

expert I'll put on screen out the fan

technique U this is what he asks himself

every time that he's learning something

so he's able to dig really really deep

and truly grasp that information hey

look experiment 78 the principle of

experimentation this is a principle that

is crucial to becoming a true master in

your field you see whenever you learn

something there's always the most amount

of resources for beginners like if you

just type introduction to python um onto

Google there's like literally so many

courses that are here and if you go on

YouTube there's like countless videos

covering introduction to python however

once you start getting to the

intermediate and to the Mastery level

the amount of resources become fewer and

fewer and this is normal because there's

just like less people who are at like

the Mastery level right and those who

are at the Mastery level they're

probably focused on like mastering their

craft as opposed to like making courses

teaching other people about the craft so

that is where experimentation comes in

Scott gives the example of enko the

amazing painter that painted star KN and

a lot of other masterpieces he is

someone that embodies experimentation

throughout his career he's experimented

with so many different things different

mediums different usages of color

different styles of paints how thick his

paint is different techniques the

subjects of his painting his internal

states he pushes the boundaries and

tries things that are just outside of

what anybody even imagined and that is

how he became a master of his craft

unlike artists like Leonardo da Vinci

who was just kind of known as a genius

van go a painter like van go became a

master he became a genius because of his

experimentation and pushing the

boundaries maybe in some ways having a

lot of talent and being known as a

genius may actually PR vent you from

pushing the boundaries of what is known

but that is the topic of another video

all right so thank you so much for

watching until the end of this video I

try my best to cover this book

comprehensively and in like a more

action-based way let me know comments if

you like this kind of video cuz I've

never actually done a book review video

before um you like it we might make it

into a series all right thank you all so

much for watching and I will see you

guys in the next video or live stream