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Mastering Linear Algebra in 10 Days: Astounding Experiments in Ultra-Learning

calnewport.com

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Re: Mastering Linear Algebra in 10 Days: Astounding Experiments in Ultra-Learning

#31

Post by standel »

gus_massa wrote: post #25
confluence wrote: post #2

I'm inclined to actually believing a lot of this. When I got into university I found every course very easy, didn't attend any lectures, got all my workshops to run on the same day to reduce my face time and maxed out my free time to do whatever I wanted (work/friends/extra/etc). I'm a STEM major at a top 30 world ranked engineering school with good grades. I've often asked if I could max out my classes and finish a…

(I'm a professor in a University, mostly for first year students.) The problem with allowing the students to take all the courses they want is that some of them can't correctly measure how much work they can handle. So you will get horror stories like: "A student get enrolled in 3 times the expected courses, has too many homework, too many midterms the same week, and finally don't approve any of them." Now we have a…

I think it's actually one of the point he made ... nobody teaches students "how to learn".

It might be good adding this to their courses. (And before reaching University would be even better. :))

Re: Mastering Linear Algebra in 10 Days: Astounding Experiments in Ultra-Learning

#32

Post by pnathan »

nnq wrote: post #17
accountoftheday wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

University in continental Europe is very much like what you describe, though a shift in public attitude towards higher education as a means of job qualification is (sadly) changing this.

unfortunately so... I just loved the "f k education, f k your diploma" I experienced when travelling and working in the USA... unfortunately EU is heading in the opposite direction

what do you mean by that?

Re: Mastering Linear Algebra in 10 Days: Astounding Experiments in Ultra-Learning

#33

Post by gbeeson »

Not seeing this as link bait at all - more method for than what was being learned. Great read that gives a lot of interesting insights and methods - definitely not for everyone. A lot of the same information and ideas have been discussed on Study Hacks though it is great to see the provided examples.

Re: Mastering Linear Algebra in 10 Days: Astounding Experiments in Ultra-Learning

#34

Post by tokenadult »

Cal Newport has the funniest definition of "mastering" and strangest definition of "world’s most efficient studiers" (another blog post of his from a couple years ago)

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2658927

I have ever seen. The shtick is getting old. Gee-whiz posts about a dilettante ramping up to a beginner's knowledge of a subject with little time and effort have nothing to do with the really challenging learning tasks in this world.

I'll be impressed when I see a headline like "Middle East diplomatic issues resolved by undergraduate who completed one course in international relations" or something like that. Show me someone who has solved a genuinely hard problem before proclaiming a new breakthrough in learning. For a refreshing change of pace from the usual blog post on quick-and-dirty learning, see Peter Norvig's "Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years"

http://norvig.com/21-days.html

or Terence Tao's "Does one have to be a genius to do maths?"

http://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/does-one-have-to...

for descriptions of the process of real learning of genuinely challenging subjects.

Re: Mastering Linear Algebra in 10 Days: Astounding Experiments in Ultra-Learning

#35

Post by drharris »

confluence wrote: post #27
gus_massa wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(I'm a professor in a University, mostly for first year students.) The problem with allowing the students to take all the courses they want is that some of them can't correctly measure how much work they can handle. So you will get horror stories like: "A student get enrolled in 3 times the expected courses, has too many homework, too many midterms the same week, and finally don't approve any of them." Now we have a…

Agreed. I'd like to note I literally have zero problems with either system really. I'm rather enjoying university right now and the lifestyle I have and am perfectly fine taking the scenic route. I learn plenty on my own and basically consider it a semi retirement stage :-)

I'm glad you feel that way. Those of us with jobs and families snicker at college students who claim to be "so busy". Life is good at this time; do your studies and use those massive amounts of free time to socialize and create new things.

Re: Mastering Linear Algebra in 10 Days: Astounding Experiments in Ultra-Learning

#36

Post by wbhart »

I would imagine that the vast majority of students at Universities around the world who take Linear Algebra "master" it in 10 days. That is, the ten days before the exam, having spent most of the term drinking, socialising, falling asleep in lectures (or just staying in bed and skipping the lecture bit). I certainly know I "mastered" elementary linear algebra in about 10 days.

Re: Mastering Linear Algebra in 10 Days: Astounding Experiments in Ultra-Learning

#37

Post by jaredlwong »

stephencanon wrote: post #19
dalke wrote: post #3

There was effectively nothing about linear algebra on that page. After some link followings, it appears that http://www.scotthyoung.com/mit/1806-exam.pdf is the exam which the student was happy with (having done worse on the first version). The final score appears to be 66 out of 100. Based on that test, I think the title is link-bait as it isn't "mastering linear algebra" but "passing an introductory algebra course.…

I am quite confused looking at that final; it seems incredibly basic for even an introductory course at MIT (that might have been a midterm when I was the graduate instructor for linear algebra at Berkeley).

18.06 is the very basic, more applied version of linear algebra at MIT. About half of the students that take it aren't in the math department. The more theoretical option is 18.700. And then there's 18.701, Algebra 1, taught by Artin using his book. The latter two are almost completely theoretical/proof based.

Re: Mastering Linear Algebra in 10 Days: Astounding Experiments in Ultra-Learning

#38

Post by Evbn »

xyzzyz wrote: post #5
confluence wrote: post #2

I'm inclined to actually believing a lot of this. When I got into university I found every course very easy, didn't attend any lectures, got all my workshops to run on the same day to reduce my face time and maxed out my free time to do whatever I wanted (work/friends/extra/etc). I'm a STEM major at a top 30 world ranked engineering school with good grades. I've often asked if I could max out my classes and finish a…

University shouldn't be time capped or subject load restricted - people should be allowed to do as many as they wish I'm particularly happy that Math and CS department in my university (University of Warsaw) was precisely like this. It let me take 2-3 times the usual course load, which kept me motivated, prevented from getting bored, and let me learn a lot more things than I would have learned if I followed the stand…

Why not just skip some lower level courses, and catch up using your free time?

Re: Mastering Linear Algebra in 10 Days: Astounding Experiments in Ultra-Learning

#39

Post by tom_b »

tokenadult wrote: post #34

Cal Newport has the funniest definition of "mastering" and strangest definition of "world’s most efficient studiers" (another blog post of his from a couple years ago) http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2658927 I have ever seen. The shtick is getting old. Gee-whiz posts about a dilettante ramping up to a beginner's knowledge of a subject with little time and effort have nothing to do with the really challenging lear…

I have several concerns about the original article, but if the point of this guest post on Newport's blog is "look, I was able to grind through the MIT requirements in a year with reasonable success" it is not particularly damning that all the person achieved is a beginner's knowledge in several courses. Hopefully readers realize that this is not necessarily such a wonderful achievement while simultaneously respecting the effort made.

My bigger concern is that the overt focus on "time-compressed" learning is that it will devolve to pure hucksterism with no attempt to move beyond anecdote to real research and thought as to how teaching (either by self-directed methods or to students in a traditional way) can be improved. People seem so interested in short-cuts. I personally want to an "efficient studier," but what I mostly mean is that I do not want to waste time using bad learning methods or materials.

We do know that improvements in the learning process are out there - better books, spaced repetition for recall, better guidance and opportunity for early learners than they get in schools in subject-specific areas, etc.

These types of posts along with my reading of immersive learning experiences (like your own math programs, dual language programs, "programming school" opportunities) has me thinking about the innate value that immersion offers to the learner.

Would linear algebra learners be better off to spend 4 weeks focused on only that subject with a professor/mentor, a textbook, and deliberate practice than a single semester of normal lecture instruction?

Re: Mastering Linear Algebra in 10 Days: Astounding Experiments in Ultra-Learning

#40

Post by acuozzo »

drharris wrote: post #35
confluence wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. I'd like to note I literally have zero problems with either system really. I'm rather enjoying university right now and the lifestyle I have and am perfectly fine taking the scenic route. I learn plenty on my own and basically consider it a semi retirement stage :-)

I'm glad you feel that way. Those of us with jobs and families snicker at college students who claim to be "so busy". Life is good at this time; do your studies and use those massive amounts of free time to socialize and create new things.

> do your studies and use those massive amounts of free time to socialize and create new things.

I never had massive amounts of free time at college. Maintaining a 3.9 in Computer Science without having the same amount of raw talent (and previous experience) as your peers is really hard, so I had to work my ass off. My schedule was close to 16 hours per day, 7 days per week (including classes). It was "Hell Week" for the ~4 years I was there. I worried my family and friends. It was unhealthy.

Trying to keep up with, frankly, __smarter__ (and, most likely, more intelligent) peers was a real challenge. I tried "Studying Smarter, not Harder", but lacked the skills from K-12 education to do so. Attending classes on "How to Study" and the like really didn't help and, no matter what I tried, I always fell back into investing more time as a solution.

I lacked the bio-hardware (read: brains) to go into Computer Science. I did it anyway. Don't forget about people like me!

> Life is good at this time

No, it wasn't. Not for me.

> Those of us with jobs and families snicker at college students who claim to be "so busy".

I don't. I have more free time now that I'm married and working (a stable and well-paying job, thankfully).

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