Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by vector_rotcev 2209 days ago
I have completed both of the following:

1) https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn

2) https://www.coursera.org/learn/machine-learning

I highly recommend both of them, if they cover a subject you're interested in, though if you only have time for one, they are listed in descending priority order.

Given how low it's time+energy requirements are, and how large the pay-off has been, I recommend Learning How to Learn by Dr. Barbara Oakley to everyone regardless.

1 comments

I did Learning How To Learn twice and I still not sure how helpful it is. The only thing I found useful/applicable is spaced repetition.

What part of the course do you feel it's valuable? I don't mind going back to do it again.

A meaningful part of what I found useful was that I knew ~<10% of the content. It was 8 hours effort (Tuesday+Thursday 1 hour lunchtimes for four weeks, including all videos, quiz's, note taking (on the phone I was watching it on), and tests), and I'm now sure I know how to study effectively.

I think one working day is worth it to make sure you're up to date.

I also found the working memory, and memory information in general very informative and helpful.

The focused vs diffuse thinking part was very useful for me.
How do you apply this? Let's say we want to learn a new programming language. I should spend time focus on a topic, then how do I apply diffused thinking here?
I learned to value physical activity for diffuse thinking, and related to it when I unconsciously feel the urge get up and walked around the room when thinking about some subjects I've learned.