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“Learning How to Learn,” the most popular course on Coursera

nytimes.com

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Re: “Learning How to Learn,” the most popular course on Coursera

#91

Post by cpsempek »

myth_drannon wrote: post #89
cpsempek wrote: post #78

I find this interesting for two reasons. I think I recall that not too long ago, the most popular course on coursera was Ng's ML course. It is ironic that people are now more interested in teaching oneself how to learn versus a machine. This change could be attributed to other reasons like change in user demographics, or, market saturation, so that naturally popular courses will change once a large majority moves fro…

Ng's ML course was one of the first ML MOOC courses. Right now you have hundreds if not thousands of excellent ML courses to choose from.

This is a sound analysis, I agree with you. I noted that this is a probable cause to the change in "Most Popular Course" over time in the parent comment.

Re: “Learning How to Learn,” the most popular course on Coursera

#92

Post by thegayngler »

HumbleGamer wrote: post #83

This course revolutionized my views on learning. After taking it and applying the suggested techniques I've seen an amazing increase not just in my competence but my confidence. It left me feeling empowered. I was almost a bit sad when I reached the end.

This sounds awesome. Definitely going to check it out. Thanks for this post.

Re: “Learning How to Learn,” the most popular course on Coursera

#93

Post by jonnybgood »

kelukelugames wrote: post #81
sp527 wrote: post #9

Took the course. A lot of it is cruft and motivation for the underlying core ideas. The techniques suggested are things many people are already familiar with: recall, deliberate practice, interleaving, spaced repetition, Einstellung, Pomodoro, Feynman Method, Cornell notes or similar (to force recall), exercise regularly, sleep well, focus on concepts not facts (chunking), etc. A composite of these dramatically enhan…

What is considered brute force and inefficient? I'm relearning to play basketball and found repetitive drills on basic skills to be the most helpful. I shoot dozens and dozens of mikan layups and it's really helped my pick up game.

Cramming

Re: “Learning How to Learn,” the most popular course on Coursera

#94

Post by pavanred »

glitcher wrote: post #80
pavanred wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honest question. If it really smelt, would you still be offended? I am genuinely curious. I watched Bill Burr stand up comedy routine recently and he touches upon a similar topic. Though its comedy, I thought he made a good point - shame is a valid human emotion, why are we as a society so against feeling it, even when it is justified.

Define "valid" human emotion. And after feeling shame or embarrassment, if someone then transitions to feeling offended, is that somehow not a valid emotion? I can see Bill Burr's angle - just own up to what's yours, be honest about your own shortcomings and move on with life. But everyone handles negative emotions differently, often in spectacularly unproductive and defensive ways. Which might help explain the abund…

I guess I was trying to paraphrase the comedian there, I guess I can just remove the "valid" qualifier and use embarrassed instead of offended, but the point I was trying to make pretty much remains the same.

My point, shame has always been useful, at least for me. Feeling ashamed is a sign of knowing I can be doing better, and it generally motivates to do better. Its not easy. But, why do we draw lines that shouldn't be crossed on anything that might make us feel this.

You shouldn't call a smelly apartment smelly, because someone might feel embarrassed, even if you are not trying to be a dick. For instance, the author researches and publishes an article about a popular course and the people offering it and gets called an asshole for one sentence without any judgemental qualifiers, ignoring everything else in the article.

Re: “Learning How to Learn,” the most popular course on Coursera

#95

Post by simcop2387 »

cortesoft wrote: post #69
BinaryIdiot wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a cat owner and cat urine smells horrible. Our home does not have the smell of cat pee because we clean up after our cat quite regularly. I don't get it. I would be embarrassed if someone said my home smelled like cat pee.

I am a cat owner, and if you have a good sense of smell, you can't really avoid the smell, no matter how often you clean. All homes that have animals have a smell.

You can't avoid some smells but the strong ammonia odor of urine is usually easy to avoid if the cats are well trained and the litter is changed/cleaned regularly. I think the most common reason that it smells are cats that are spraying/marking which isn't always something up to the owner.

Re: “Learning How to Learn,” the most popular course on Coursera

#96

Post by neves »

sp527 wrote: post #9

Took the course. A lot of it is cruft and motivation for the underlying core ideas. The techniques suggested are things many people are already familiar with: recall, deliberate practice, interleaving, spaced repetition, Einstellung, Pomodoro, Feynman Method, Cornell notes or similar (to force recall), exercise regularly, sleep well, focus on concepts not facts (chunking), etc. A composite of these dramatically enhan…

Sorry, you are just familiar if you already are curious about the subject (like I am). I assure you that the normal human beings don't know about it at all.

Re: “Learning How to Learn,” the most popular course on Coursera

#97

Post by leggomylibro »

Cyph0n wrote: post #75
leggomylibro wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's about how I feel about most of Coursera's offerings. Check out some other MOOC providers, there are other players like EdX, Udacity, Udemy. I've had good results with EdX, but my one positive experience with them ('Introduction to Biology - The Secret of Life') is much more anecdotal than my multiple very poor experiences with Coursera. It's gotten me excited about the potential of online classes again, though…

Thanks for the recommendation! I've been interested in getting reviewing some basic biology and never really thought about looking for a MOOC..

Sure thing - go for it! It's a great class, and it actually covers a solid grounding in genetics, including some pretty modern concepts. That's an exciting field right now.

Re: “Learning How to Learn,” the most popular course on Coursera

#98

Post by fgandiya »

baron816 wrote: post #7

CrashCourse has a study skills course: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8dPuuaLjXtNcAJRf3bE1... It's geared more toward a younger crowd, but it's still pretty good, at least so far.

The guy hosting that course (Tom Frank) runs a really good blog, collegeinfogeek.com which despite being college focused has great motivational/discipline tips.

Re: “Learning How to Learn,” the most popular course on Coursera

#99

Post by neves »

maxwellfoley wrote: post #5

Is this any good? I've had it in my list of things to check out for a while but I suspect it might just be TED-talk pop-psych voodoo stuff.

It is excellent. Technics I've taken years to collect are grouped and organized in just one place. Go for it.

I'd put more emphasis in topics like SRS, but maybe it is a matter of taste.

Re: “Learning How to Learn,” the most popular course on Coursera

#100

Post by fgandiya »

maxwellfoley wrote: post #5

Is this any good? I've had it in my list of things to check out for a while but I suspect it might just be TED-talk pop-psych voodoo stuff.

sp527 covered it pretty well, but it's a really good class. While you could just read the instructor's book, A Mind for Numbers, this does a good job with the motivational aspect.

It even comes with interviews from some successful scientists on the tips they use.

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