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How Do We Learn?

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Re: How Do We Learn?

#41
post #30
post #12

I never got Zines. Beyond their cutesy art style, they generally don't seem particularly effective at conveying information in a somewhat concise manner. And if you don't want to be concise, why use such a very visual medium then and not just write an article?

Sir and/or Madam, I feel the need to inform you that you are, more than likely, quite ill-informed. Zines are a spectacular human achievement, worthy of your attention and respect. Or, were it otherwise, how do you explain this godamn amazing piece of work: https://www.alchemistowl.org/pocorgtfo/

This is amazing. Thank you for sharing this!

Re: How Do We Learn?

#42
post #41
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sir and/or Madam, I feel the need to inform you that you are, more than likely, quite ill-informed. Zines are a spectacular human achievement, worthy of your attention and respect. Or, were it otherwise, how do you explain this godamn amazing piece of work: https://www.alchemistowl.org/pocorgtfo/

This is amazing. Thank you for sharing this!

You are welcome, I am most glad to have shared it with a like-minded soul. Don't forget to read the fine print! :)

Re: How Do We Learn?

#43
post #37
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sir and/or Madam, I feel the need to inform you that you are, more than likely, quite ill-informed. Zines are a spectacular human achievement, worthy of your attention and respect. Or, were it otherwise, how do you explain this godamn amazing piece of work: https://www.alchemistowl.org/pocorgtfo/

This looks hilarious and interesting. Reminds me of Diagram http://thediagram.com/ but PoC||GTFO seems a lot more programming specific?

Yes indeed, PoC||GTFO is very programming specific, down to the point where the PDF is an executable that can be used to serve .. the PDF. ;). (This particular zine is famous for such badonkadonk!)

Re: How Do We Learn?

#44
post #33

This seems more like "How Do We Memorize?", as is taught and performed (poorly) in American schools. In contrast we learn by doing , by manipulating things or concepts.

That seems like a very engineering-skewed perspective on knowledge. I'm not sure how that advice could apply to a philosophy or sociology student. If doing means writing research papers, then that is going to be a hugely inefficient way to learn all the things they need to learn. They won't have the resources to write a paper on everything they read. Some of it needs to just go down the subconscious, rapidly and in l…

> I'm not sure how that advice could apply to a philosophy or sociology student.

Do reading assignment, discuss/argue about it in class with a TA or professor to mediate and clarify stuff, maybe write a paper afterwards.

Engaging with the content is kind of a universal way to learn by doing.

Re: How Do We Learn?

#45
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been reading the book Becoming Fluent, and it seems like a great introduction to the field. It's about how cognitive psychology can help adults learn a new language. However, from another angle, it's basically about using the idea of language learning to teach basic cognitive psychology. (My phd was in human memory, and I can't stop thinking about ways this book could be used as part of a cool learning course).

Can this work in learning a new programming language? I'm seeing parallels in that you'll need to recognize/encode patterns/syntax in both.

I build tools for teaching data science at DataCamp, so am really interested in this question! I think so, and suspect the ways in which a good language tutor assesses / recognizes where students can improve will have direct parallels for coding.

Greg Wilson (who founded Software Carpentry) has a great collection of thoughts on learning to program in general: http://third-bit.com/

Re: How Do We Learn?

#46
I don't mean to be rude and I am truly interested in this topic, but I must ask, is there a version of this that is readily legible? Fuzzy (out of focus) light grey text on a white background absolutely results in a headache for me when trying to read this.

Re: How Do We Learn?

#47
post #8

I took a Coursera course titled Learning How to Learn[0] and found it really helpful as an intro class to this "field". It was also very practical. [0] https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn

I've also taken this course, but would recommend those new to it just read the post here, which is a good summary: https://www.reddit.com/r/GetMotivated/comments/5950tm/text_i... .

That is a fantastic summary, thank you!

Re: How Do We Learn?

#48

This seems more like "How Do We Memorize?", as is taught and performed (poorly) in American schools. In contrast we learn by doing , by manipulating things or concepts.

Committing things to long-term memory is an absolutely essential component of any sort of learning. There are many studies talking about how doing doesn't necessarily imply any learning at all and only implies learning insofar as it leads to committing information to long-term memory. Furthermore, there are studies talking about how problem-based/inquiry-based learning (what it sounds like you might be thinking of) generally produces worse outcomes than direct instruction (which places substantial emphasis on committing things to long-term memory).

This all makes sense in light of the "human cognitive architecture". Working memory is severely limited while long-term memory is effectively unlimited. Thus, committing things to long-term memory frees up the scarce resource of working memory. In fact, there are many studies which indicate that the key differentiator between experts and novices is that they have a huge long-term store of schemata which can be applied in the problem domain and allow more efficient representation and manipulation in working memory.

Re: How Do We Learn?

#49
post #12

I never got Zines. Beyond their cutesy art style, they generally don't seem particularly effective at conveying information in a somewhat concise manner. And if you don't want to be concise, why use such a very visual medium then and not just write an article?

Sometimes you just want to write and draw with pen and paper.

Re: How Do We Learn?

#50
post #46

I don't mean to be rude and I am truly interested in this topic, but I must ask, is there a version of this that is readily legible? Fuzzy (out of focus) light grey text on a white background absolutely results in a headache for me when trying to read this.

I didn't have the visual issues so it was enjoyable for me to read.

My spaced repetition system requires that I copy ideas I want to recall. I'm sharing my summary of the main ideas in case they help you.

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# Learning by Building Connection

New ideas have to connect with what’s already there — they cannot be stored, as if in a filing cabinet.

Throwing facts at people doesn’t work. You have to: * connect ideas to other ideas and everyday things

* understand an idea in multiple ways (e.g. words, visuals, etc.)

* once you make connections, you have to maintain them

* you don’t need to unlearn connections to make room for new ones

# Maintaining what you learned

Recalling is better for retention than re-reading. Spacing effect shows that we forget things quickly the first time we see it, but if you exert effort to recall things spaced over increasing intervals of time, you retain a lot more than if you were cramming.

# Learning through deep connections

You have to process ideas on a deep level to make them stick. A great way to learn something at a deeper level is to explain it to someone.

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