How to Never Forget Anything you read – Elon Musk

Summary

The video discusses Elon Musk's unique and effective learning techniques, which have contributed greatly to his success. It explains how Musk focuses on deeply understanding core concepts first before learning details, allowing him to link ideas and creatively solve problems. Musk also reads widely across disciplines, synthesizing different fields of knowledge, enabling innovation. The script highlights how Musk's passion for reading and applying what he learns with creativity, clearly evident in his ability to disrupt industries, serves as an inspirational model for learning.

Takeaways

• 😀 Elon Musk is critical of the education system and chose to learn on his own using textbooks and experts rather than relying solely on his college degrees
• 👨‍🎓 Musk learned rocket science by focusing on understanding the basic physics concepts first before getting into complex details - building a 'semantic tree'
• 📚 Musk's learning strategy involves deeply struggling with problems to gain true understanding that sticks, not just memorizing surface facts
• 🤔 Musk draws connections between different fields like economics, physics and engineering to enable creative problem solving and innovation
• 😎 Musk reads widely across many topics, not just one area - he read the encyclopedia and thousands of books as a child
• 💡 Musk's multi-disciplinary knowledge helps him apply concepts from one domain to disrupt other industries
• 📈 Musk credits his reading and self-directed learning habits as a child and adult for his success
• 🔬 Mixing knowledge from different areas like physics and biology leads to new perspectives and ideas
• 🤯 Struggling hard with a problem helps embed the learning so you never forget it
• 📚 Reading voraciously about many topics facilitates faster and deeper learning

Q & A

What degrees did Elon Musk obtain?

Elon Musk obtained two degrees - one in economics and one in physics.

Why does Elon Musk criticize the education system?

Elon Musk thinks the education system does not help with fast and deep learning or focus enough on critical thinking and problem solving.

How did Elon Musk learn about rocket science when starting SpaceX?

Elon Musk learned about rocket science by reading textbooks, talking to experts like Jim Cantrell, and focusing on understanding the basic physics concepts first before getting into complex details.

What learning strategy does Elon Musk credit for his ability to understand complex topics?

Elon Musk credits the 'semantic tree' learning strategy - understanding the core, basic ideas of a topic first before learning detailed nuances.

How does the 'semantic tree' strategy help with problem solving?

By deeply understanding basic concepts, Elon Musk is able to make connections across domains and come up with creative solutions by combining ideas.

Why is struggling with a problem important according to Elon Musk?

Elon Musk believes that struggling with a problem leads to truly understanding it, which allows someone to explain the details of how they solved it.

How did Elon Musk's wide reading as a child help his learning ability?

Reading widely about many different topics as a child helped Elon Musk learn how to draw connections between ideas from different fields, leading to innovation.

What is significant about Elon Musk's multidisciplinary approach?

Elon Musk's ability to connect concepts from different fields enables him to innovate and apply ideas from one domain to transform other industries.

What advice does Elon Musk have for improving learning ability?

Elon Musk advises reading about many diverse topics to improve understanding of new concepts and enable unique ideas by connecting knowledge across domains.

Why did Elon Musk read the encyclopedia as a child?

Elon Musk read the encyclopedia out of boredom and after running out of other things to read, fueling his curiosity and range of knowledge.

Outlines

00:00

😊 Elon Musk's unique self-taught learning techniques enabled his success

Elon Musk explains how he developed effective self-directed learning techniques like building a 'semantic tree' to deeply understand fundamental concepts before details. This helped him rapidly comprehend complex topics like rocket science without formal higher education. He also read very widely across diverse domains, enabling creative cross-disciplinary innovations.

05:02

📚 Reading widely on many topics as a child set the stage for Elon's interdisciplinary expertise

Elon Musk read over a thousand varied books growing up, including the encyclopedia, out of boredom from limited entertainment. This breadth exposed him to many domains, training integrative skills crucial for multivariate thinking. He recommends reading widely on many topics to enhance learning abilities and spark creative connections.

Keywords

💡learning techniques

The techniques Elon Musk uses to rapidly learn new concepts and skills. The video focuses especially on his 'semantic tree' method of first deeply understanding the core, base concepts before learning complex details. This helps him link ideas and enhance understanding.

💡critical thinking

Evaluating ideas rationally, understanding logical connections between concepts. Musk criticizes the education system for not emphasizing critical thinking enough. His learning techniques promote critical analysis.

💡problem solving

Finding solutions to difficult issues. Musk interviews people by asking them to explain how they have solved problems, to evaluate their skills. His techniques like the semantic tree help enhance problem solving abilities.

💡innovation

Creating new and unique ideas or technologies. Musk is known for innovation across industries. His multi-disciplinary knowledge and learning techniques help him innovate by making new connections.

💡interdisciplinary knowledge

Having expertise across multiple, diverse fields. Musk draws from physics, economics, rocket science etc. to drive innovation. His wide reading enhances interdisciplinary thinking.

💡semantic tree

Musk's core learning technique of deeply understanding the fundamental principles of a topic before learning complex details. Knowing the 'trunk and branches' provides a framework to absorb more knowledge.

💡struggling with problems

Musk says struggling with problems leads to deeper understanding that is not forgotten. His techniques aim to promote intense critical thinking rather than just memorizing.

💡reading widely

Musk advises reading very widely across diverse topics to enhance learning abilities. His wide childhood reading gave him interdisciplinary knowledge to support innovation.

💡applying knowledge

Leveraging expertise from one field to provide insights in another. Musk's physics and economics backgrounds help his business innovations. His techniques help enhance knowledge application.

💡synthesizing ideas

Combining concepts from different domains to make new connections leading to innovation. Musk is known for synthesizing across disciplines, enabled by his learning techniques.

Highlights

Elon Musk thinks the education system doesn't help with fast and deep learning or focus enough on critical thinking and solving problems

Musk chose to learn on his own using textbooks and talking to experts in different areas

Musk almost memorized everything he read, helping him learn rocket science and related topics

Musk credits his skill in understanding tough topics to a learning strategy he calls the semantic tree

The semantic tree focuses on really getting the basic ideas or core truths of a topic first

By focusing on the basic parts, Musk makes sure his understanding is strong and he can link complex ideas back to their simple principles

When learning something new, Musk spends time figuring out the most basic parts of that topic

Building a strong base of knowledge helped Musk learn and create new things more effectively

Connecting new information to basic ideas helps Musk take in and use new knowledge better

The semantic tree helps Musk come up with creative solutions by combining ideas from different areas

Struggling with a problem helps you understand it, which is why Musk asks interviewees to explain how they solved difficult problems

Musk proves wrong the saying that if you try to learn many things you won't become an expert in any

Musk read about many different topics which helped him apply knowledge from one area to help in another

Musk's multi-disciplinary approach enables him to innovate by drawing connections between different fields

Boredom led Musk to read thousands of books on many topics, helping him learn and innovate

Transcripts

Elon Musk came out and explained what

happened to him that changed his life

although Elon Musk obtained not one but

two degrees he is not someone who

credits his college education to his

success in fact he feels just the

opposite Elon has his own way of

learning anything he wants and it is

simply because he's honed certain

techniques for Learning and if you

acquire these techniques you can become

a much better version of yourself that's

for sure and specifically musk explained

how he easily understands anything he

wants and never forgets anything he has

ever read so Elon Musk finished his

studies at the University of

Pennsylvania majoring in economics and

physics he wanted to do a PhD at

Stanford University in California but

soon left to start a web software

company ZIP 2 with his brother Kimble

musk didn't go back to University and

has been critical of the education

system he thinks it doesn't help with

fast and deep learning or focus enough

on critical thinking and solving

problems musk chose to learn on his own

using textbooks and talking to experts

in different areas one of the first

experts musk contacted was Jim Cantrell

a specialist in Satellite Systems

according to his LinkedIn Cantrell said

he believed musk almost memorized

everything he read this intense study

helped musk learn enough to have

detailed talks about rocket science and

related topics after this self-taught

phase musk planned the rocket that

SpaceX would later use and Elon Musk

often credits his skill in understanding

tough topics to a learning strategy he

calls the semantic tree this method is

about really getting the basic ideas or

core truths of a topic first like the

main trunk and big branches of a tree

before getting into the smaller detailed

Parts which are like the leaves musk

thinks it's crucial to know these basic

concepts first because they are the base

for more complicated ideas this way of

learning is different from the usual way

of memorizing facts which often starts

with small details the leaves without

really understanding the main ideas the

trunk and branches by focusing on the

basic parts musk makes sure his

understanding is strong and that he can

link complex ideas back to their simple

principles helping him understand new

things better and more fully when musk

wants to learn something new he spends

time figuring out the most basic parts

of that topic for instance when he

wanted to learn about rocket science for

SpaceX he began with the basic physics

of how things move how objects orbit in

space and the science of materials

instead of jumping straight into the

complex details of Rocket design or how

to fly them this way he built a strong

base of knowledge which helped him learn

and create new things more effectively

by always connecting new information to

these basic ideas musk can take in and

use new knowledge better this learning

method like building a semantic tree

doesn't just help him understand

complicated topics but also helps in

coming up with Creative Solutions as it

lets him combine ideas from different

areas leading to Innovative answers for

example here a musk's words that sum up

perfectly his philosophy Elon said when

you struggle with a problem that's

that's when you understand it and so if

you've once you've done that then you

have a pretty good grasp of it in fact

that's one of the ways when I interview

someone to work in the companies would

be to ask them to tell me about the

problems that they worked on and how

they solved them and if someone was

really the person that solved it they'll

be able to answer multiple levels

they'll be able to go down to the Brass

tax and if they weren't they'll get

stuck and then you can say oh this

person was not really the person who

solved it because anyone who struggled

hard with a problem never forgets it

also there's a saying that if you try to

learn many things you won't become an

expert in any but Elon Musk proves this

wrong he learns a lot about different

topics and is very successful history

shows other smart people like Leonardo

da Vinci and Galileo who were good at

many things too this isn't just because

they were talented but also because they

used what they learned in one area to

help them in others this mixing of

knowledge can change how you think and

lead to new ideas for example someone

who knows both physics and biology will

see things differently and have UniQue

Ideas musk studied both economics and

physics which are very different but

knowing both helps him think of new

business ideas his brother Kimble musk

says Elon used to read two books a day

which is a lot he didn't just read about

one topic he read about many this helped

him learn how to use what he knows in

one area to help in another this is why

he could combine his basic knowledge of

artificial intelligence and Engineering

to create Tesla's technology musk is

known for his multi-disciplinary

approach drawing connections between

different fields of knowledge this

synthesis enables him to innovate and

apply Concepts from one domain to

another a skill that is particularly

evident in his ability to disrupt

multiple Industries simultaneously and

musk famously said I was always sort of

really interested in Reading when I was

a kid and I read everything that I could

get my hands on I read the encyclopedia

probably around age 9 or 10 well not

that I actually wanted to read the

encyclopedia but I ran out of things to

read so in desperation I read the

encyclopedia just sort of I got bored

easily and so unless I was doing

something like reading or playing a

video game or watching TV and we had

like terrible TV in South Africa it was

really bad TV so boredom led to a lot of

reading I read thousands and thousands

of books so if you want to be better at

learning try reading about many

different topics just like Elon Musk

this can help you understand new things

more easily and come up with unique

ideas