How to Think 3x Faster in 7 Days (from a Top 1% Med Student)

Summary

In this informative video, Salim, a med student, shares strategies to enhance thinking and learning efficiency using a modified Bloom's Taxonomy. He introduces six levels of thinking, from basic recall to advanced application, and emphasizes actionable steps to climb each level. Techniques like active recall, spaced repetition, deeper descriptions, and teaching others are discussed. Salim also highlights the importance of applying knowledge in diverse scenarios and having a mentor to guide through the higher levels of critical thinking and creativity, ultimately aiming to help viewers reach their full potential.

Takeaways

• 📚 Salim, a med student, shares his method for mastering thousands of medical topics efficiently.
• 🧠 The script outlines six levels of thinking from beginner to genius, based on a modified Bloom’s Taxonomy.
• 🔑 Level 1 focuses on recalling facts and concepts, with active recall and spaced repetition as key techniques.
• 📝 Level 2 emphasizes understanding by creating deeper descriptions and simplifying explanations for others.
• 🤔 Level 3 is about applying knowledge to new situations, with practical application and a 1:2:1 learning to application ratio.
• 🔍 Levels 4 and 5 involve analyzing and evaluating information, which can enhance general productivity and academic performance.
• 📝 AI tools like ChatGPT can be used to practice higher levels of thinking by generating and marking essay questions.
• 💡 The Create stage, Level 6, encourages original thought and application, often seen in academic research or personal development.
• 👨‍🏫 Having a mentor can significantly speed up the process of reaching higher levels of thinking by providing guidance and experience.
• 🚀 Overcoming the fear of taking action is crucial for actualizing potential and achieving goals, as discussed in another video by Salim.
• 🔄 The script suggests a systematic approach to learning and thinking that can be adapted to various areas of life for personal and academic success.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video script?

The main purpose of the video script is to guide viewers through six levels of thinking, from beginner to genius, using a modified Bloom's Taxonomy, with the aim of increasing the speed of thinking and learning.

Who is the speaker in the video script?

The speaker in the video script is Salim, a medical student who has had to learn thousands of topics across various degrees and prefers not to spend all day studying.

What are the two key techniques mentioned for memorizing information effectively?

The two key techniques mentioned for memorizing information effectively are active recall and spaced repetition.

What is active recall and how is it used in learning?

Active recall is a learning technique where you create questions on a topic and test yourself on those questions, forcing your brain to actively retrieve information instead of passively reading.

What is spaced repetition and how does it enhance memory?

Spaced repetition is a learning technique where you review material at increasing intervals over time, which helps to enhance long-term memory retention.

What tool does Salim recommend for implementing active recall and spaced repetition?

Salim recommends using flashcard software like Anki for implementing active recall and spaced repetition.

What is the second stage of Bloom's Taxonomy according to the script, and how can it be improved?

The second stage of Bloom's Taxonomy is understanding. It can be improved by creating deeper descriptions and explanations, and by teaching the learned material to someone else in simple terms.

Why is it important to apply knowledge to different scenarios?

Applying knowledge to different scenarios is important because it helps to improve the ability to think critically and solve problems, which is necessary for higher levels of education and general productivity.

What is the '1:2:1 ratio' mentioned in the script and how does it work?

The '1:2:1 ratio' is a system where for every hour spent learning, you spend two hours applying what you've learned, and then an additional hour delving deeper into the parts where you struggled, helping to cement understanding and improve thinking speed.

What are the 'Analyze' and 'Evaluate' stages of Bloom's Taxonomy and how can they be practiced?

The 'Analyze' and 'Evaluate' stages of Bloom's Taxonomy involve making connections and critiquing different ideas. They can be practiced by using AI software to generate essay-style questions and marking your answers, as well as reflecting on and comparing different methods or systems for personal productivity.

What is the highest level of Bloom's Taxonomy and how can one reach it?

The highest level of Bloom's Taxonomy is the 'Create' stage, which involves doing something that hasn't been done before. To reach this level, one can have a mentor for guidance, learn from the experiences of others, and apply the insights gained to create new ideas or solutions.

What common problem does the script mention that prevents people from taking action?

The script mentions that a common problem that prevents people from taking action is a fear of taking action itself, which can be overcome by understanding and addressing this fear.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Mastering Learning Techniques for Rapid Progress

In this paragraph, Salim, a medical student, introduces his journey to efficiently navigate through the extensive curriculum of medical school. He emphasizes the importance of not just memorizing facts but also understanding and applying them to new situations. Salim outlines the first three levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, starting with 'remembering' through active recall and spaced repetition techniques, such as using flashcard software like Anki. He then moves on to 'understanding' by creating deeper descriptions and explanations, suggesting the 'teach someone else' method to solidify comprehension. Lastly, he discusses the 'applying' level, advocating for diverse practical application and a 1:2:1 ratio of learning to application to reinforce knowledge and improve thinking speed.

05:03

🤓 Advancing to Higher Levels of Thinking and Productivity

This paragraph delves into the advanced stages of Bloom's Taxonomy, focusing on 'analyzing' and 'evaluating' information to make connections and critique ideas, which is crucial for high academic performance and personal productivity. Salim suggests using AI software like ChatGPT to generate essay questions that require higher-order thinking. He also touches on the benefits of this approach for general productivity, such as improving time management by evaluating different methods and selecting the most effective one. The paragraph concludes with the 'creating' stage, where Salim discusses the importance of mentorship in guiding one's journey through all six levels of thinking, both academically and personally, and overcoming the fear of taking action to reach one's full potential.

Keywords

💡Active Recall

Active recall is a learning technique where individuals create questions about a topic and then test themselves to force the brain to actively retrieve information. In the video, Salim emphasizes its importance for memorizing thousands of facts during his medical studies, suggesting it as a fundamental method for the first level of thinking in Bloom's Taxonomy.

💡Spaced Repetition

Spaced repetition is a learning method involving revisiting and reviewing information at increasing intervals over time, which helps to consolidate memory. Salim mentions it as a complementary technique to active recall, recommending the use of flashcard software like Anki for effective implementation.

💡Bloom's Taxonomy

Bloom's Taxonomy is a framework representing different levels of cognitive complexity and understanding within the learning process. In the script, Salim modifies this taxonomy to describe six levels of thinking, from beginner to genius, and provides actionable steps for each level to enhance learning and thinking speed.

💡Understanding

Understanding, in the context of the video, refers to the second level of Bloom's Taxonomy and involves comprehending learned material to think faster. Salim suggests creating deeper descriptions and explanations to assess and improve understanding, which is crucial for progressing beyond mere memorization.

💡Applying Knowledge

Applying knowledge is the third level of Bloom's Taxonomy mentioned in the script, which is about using learned information in new situations. Salim discusses the importance of not just understanding concepts but also being able to apply them effectively, such as in university exams or improving time management.

💡Diverse Practical Component

A diverse practical component is the idea of incorporating a range of practice questions or tasks that increase in difficulty to apply concepts in various scenarios. Salim advises against staying within a comfort zone and instead recommends challenging oneself to apply knowledge across a spectrum of difficulties.

💡1:2:1 Ratio

The 1:2:1 ratio is a system Salim introduces for effective learning, where one hour of learning is followed by two hours of applying the learned material, and then one hour of revisiting and deepening understanding of difficult parts. This ratio is intended to streamline the application of knowledge and enhance thinking speed.

💡Analyze

Analyze is the fourth level of Bloom's Taxonomy, which involves breaking down information and making connections between concepts. Salim suggests using AI software to generate essay questions that require analysis, which helps in developing a deeper understanding and faster thinking for complex topics.

💡Evaluate

Evaluate, as part of Bloom's Taxonomy, is the fifth level and refers to the ability to judge the value of ideas or methods. In the script, Salim discusses evaluating different time management methods by applying them and reflecting on their effectiveness to improve productivity.

💡Create

Create is the highest level of Bloom's Taxonomy, which involves generating new ideas or products. Salim relates this to the academic context of working on a publication, which requires advanced thinking skills, and also to personal development, where creating a life plan involves high-level thinking.

💡Mentor

A mentor, in the video, is someone who provides guidance and shares experience to help another person learn and grow. Salim mentions having a mentor as a way to climb up the levels of Bloom's Taxonomy faster by learning from someone who has already achieved success.

Highlights

Salim, a med student, introduces a method to learn thousands of topics efficiently across different educational levels.

Six levels of thinking from beginner to genius are outlined using a modified Bloom’s Taxonomy.

The importance of active recall and spaced repetition for memorizing facts, especially useful for med students.

Flashcard software like Anki is recommended for implementing spaced repetition effectively.

Creating deeper descriptions by asking 'why' multiple times to assess understanding of a topic.

The adage 'If you can't explain it to a 6-year old, you don't understand it yourself' is used to emphasize the importance of clear explanations.

Practical application of knowledge through diverse scenarios to improve thinking and learning efficiency.

A 1:2:1 ratio strategy for learning, applying, and revisiting difficult topics to enhance understanding.

The challenge of applying knowledge to different scenarios as a key aspect of the 'Apply' stage of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Using AI software like ChatGPT to generate essay questions for higher-level thinking practice.

The significance of making connections and critiquing ideas in the 'Analyze' and 'Evaluate' stages of thinking.

Mentorship as a crucial factor in reaching the highest level of thinking and achieving academic and personal success.

Overcoming the fear of taking action as a common barrier to reaching one's potential.

The role of a mentor in providing guidance, avoiding common mistakes, and learning efficient methods.

The concept of using the speaker's life advice and strategies as a form of mentorship for personal and academic growth.

The video's offer to help viewers overcome their fear of taking action through additional resources.

Transcripts

Imagine, if you could get through  all of your work in just a few hours,  

instead of being like everyone else spending  all day studying and never making any progress.

I’m Salim, I’m a med student, and I’ve had to  learn thousands of topics across med school,  

my undergrad, and my postgraduate degree - and  I never wanted to spend all day thinking and  

studying as most people did, because I had  other things I wanted to spend time on too.

So I’ll go through the 6 levels  of thinking from beginner to  

genius using a modified Bloom’s  Taxonomy with actionable steps at  

each stage - so that you can massively  increase how fast you think and learn

And most people are stuck at level  3, so stick around until the end to  

see how you can get to level 6,  which is how the top 0.1% think.

So at the bottom of the pyramid is  something we’ve spent a lot of time on,  

so I think it’s safe to keep it short.

And that’s knowing how to recall facts and basic  concepts - so knowing how to remember things.

I’ve had to learn thousands of random facts  at med school so this is something I’ve had  

to master - and the best way to remember is  by using active recall and spaced repetition.

Skip ahead if you already know what they are, but  for those that don’t know - active recall is when  

you take a topic, make questions on that topic,  and test yourself on those questions - so you  

force your brain to actively retrieve information,  instead of just passively reading things.

And spaced repetition is just doing these  questions at increasing intervals over time.

The best way I’ve found to do this is by  using flashcard software like Anki - I  

have a brief guide linked in the description  box below, so check it out after the video.

But the problem is, just being able to memorize  or remember isn’t enough for exams or higher  

levels of education, so to get a deeper  level of thinking, you need to know how  

to understand what you learn - and this is what  the second stage of Bloom’s Taxonomy is about.

And there’s a few ways to improve  how well you can understand something  

you’re learning so that you can think faster.

The first is to create deeper descriptions.

When you’re thinking about something  you’re trying to understand,  

write down exactly what you know about the  topic - for each part of what you wrote down,  

create a deeper description of it to  assess your understanding by asking ‘why’.

Doing this successfully about 2 or 3 times is  usually enough to show that you fully understand  

something, and as you do this, you’ll get faster  at thinking when it comes to learning new things.

The second way to understand better so that you  think faster is by creating explanations - there’s  

the saying that “if you can’t explain it to a  6-year old, you don’t understand it yourself”.

So, if you can teach someone you know about  something you’ve learnt in simple terms,  

then it means you have a good understanding.

But I’m not going to tell you to find a 6 year  old, because instead, you should use a friend.

Have your friend learn one topic, and you  learn another, and teach each other the  

topics and see if you’ve both done a good  job at explaining by repeating it back.

So after you practise understanding, you’ll grasp  new concepts quicker too, but the problem a lot  

of people have is that even though they understand  things, they find it difficult to answer questions  

which have different scenarios - and thinking  to Apply is what the third stage is about.

This is being able to use the information  you’ve gathered and apply it to new situations,  

which is necessary for getting  a high grade at university,  

or even for improving general productivity, such  as thinking of ways to manage your time better.

And there’s a few ways to improve  your ability to apply your knowledge,  

with the second way being the best thing to do.

But the first thing everybody should do  to improve their thinking to effectively  

apply what they learn is to have a diverse  practical component to what you’re learning.

So if you’re learning a subject, that’s  doing practise questions that increase  

in difficulty so that you get used to applying  the concepts you learn into different scenarios.

People fall into the trap of staying comfortable,  and stick with doing the same simple questions  

because it makes them feel good - but  that won’t help you get the higher grade  

or help you think faster; you need to practise  applying knowledge into a range of scenarios.

But an even better thing to do to reach the top of  level 3, is to create a system to streamline how  

you apply knowledge, so that you can think fast,  faster - and this involves using a 1:2:1 ratio.

For every hour you spend learning something,  

spend two times as much time  applying what you’ve learnt.

And after you apply what you learn, go over  the specific parts where you struggled,  

and spend an equivalent amount of time going deper  into the topic - usually this involves working on  

your level 1 and 2 more before going more into  the practical application of the knowledge.

So for example, if I spent an hour on neurology,  I’d then spend 2 hours going through questions,  

and then for anything I found difficult, I’d go  into that topic for another hour - then repeat  

the 2 hours of going through questions  again until I’m fully confident in them.

This system makes you think faster because  you go through gaps in your knowledge  

and cement your understanding  through a systematic approach.

And that cuts out the problem people have  of being unsure of what to do next or how  

to improve - helping you go from level 1 to 3 of  thinking for any topic in a fraction of the time.

So level 3 is where most people end up, but the  next two levels pair up well together and is  

where it begins to get more advanced - and these  are known as the Analyze and Evaluate stages.

These levels are harder because it’s not just  about extracting what you know and applying it to  

a given scenario - it’s about making connections  and critiquing different ideas, which you might  

commonly see in essay-based questions where  you compare and contrast topics or information.

But on a wider scale, these levels of thinking  can improve your general productivity too,  

because you can think about how to  personalize certain methods or systems  

for your own workflow - but first I’ll start  with the academic application of this stage.

A very simple way to practise  developing these levels of thinking  

is to use AI software like ChatGPT  - using it to generate essay-style  

questions for you on topics you want  to have higher levels of thinking for.

For example, if you’re learning about  neurology and specifically strokes,  

you can put this into ChatGPT and ask  it to make an essay question based on  

levels 4 and 5 of Bloom’s Taxonomy,  and have it mark your answer after.

You can also be quite vague with  what you want by copying this prompt,  

and it’ll give you different topics that requires  you to critically think and build connections.

This works well to deepen your knowledge of  a topic, and by repeating this over time,  

you’ll adapt and see yourself thinking  faster even for complex topics - and  

that’s because you become better  at connecting multiple concepts.

And it’s the top learners that master  this to get the highest grades.

And I said these levels of thinking are  good for improving general productivity  

too - for example, if you’re trying  to improve your time management and  

saw my video on time management  but also other people’s videos,  

you can analyze and evaluate which methods  work best for your specific workflow.

And that could be by starting at level 3  and applying those methods, then thinking  

through level 4 and 5 where you reflect on  how each method improved your productivity  

based on how much you got done with each one -  then picking the one that worked best for you.

And now, to have the highest level of  thinking, you need to do something that’s  

not been done before, which is why this  is the Create stage of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

But there’s also a wider stage  for this, which I’ll get to later.

But first as an example, this  could be at university where  

you’re aiming to work on a publication.

This isn’t easy to do and  needs you to think faster,  

because there’s a lot more moving parts  involved, from carrying out primary  

research, doing secondary research,  analyzing the results, and more.

But there are ways to maximize  how fast you get to this stage,  

which also means how fast  you climb up all 6 stages.

And the best way to do this, is  by having a mentor to guide you.

There’s a reason why people who are highly  successful still have coaches - they effectively  

have a second brain that’s a step ahead and has  more experience that they can learn from them,  

because they’ll learn to avoid common mistakes and  know the most efficient methods to reach the top.

So for you, this could be having a teacher  or professor give you guidance on how to  

go about working on research so  you have a good starting point,  

and someone who you can go to  for direction when you feel lost.

And I said that there’s a wider stage for this,  

and to me this is what people  including myself are for.

Using me as a mentor based on what  I advise and show in my videos is  

a way for you to create a life  where you reach your potential,  

not just in your academic life,  but also in your personal life.

And if you can adopt the way of thinking that  I’ve applied in my life to reach my goals,  

then that’s going to help you reach  this higher level of thinking too.

But even if you have what it takes to  get through all six levels of thinking,  

you might find it difficult to take action.

And it’s not because you’re lazy or that you’re  a procrastinator - a more common problem people  

have that they don’t even realise, is  that they have a fear of taking action,  

which stops them from reaching their potential.

So in this video here, I talk about how I overcame  my fear of taking action which helped me get to  

where I am today - and you can overcome this fear,  by watching the video to take the right steps.