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I am still working on being consistent on my learning but the one thing that I find very discouraging. My study schedule is very errant due to my varied extern

by sharmi 11y ago

I am still working on being consistent on my learning but the one thing that I find very discouraging. My study schedule is very errant due to my varied external commitments and inevitably I end up having long gaps in my study. When I get back, I find that what ever I have picked up two months ago are again new to me :( So one of the biggest stumbling blocks in independent learning is to actually retain what you have already learnt over a period of time. I am in the process of putting anki ( spaced repetition memory training program) to the task but I am not sure of the effectiveness yet. Of course, I would be very happy to know if anyone has faced this issue and solved it!

zadyree 11y ago
Have you considered that your mind was not able to keep the content of your courses for the very reason that it won't link it to precise uses? For example, let's imagine you want to learn the Pythagorean theorem. You may learn that the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the two other sides by heart, and hope it will stay in your brain until the 8th grade (but it's probably too late now). Otherwise, you can try by yourself to know a way to find a relation between the two shortest sides and to the hypothenuse, and eventually find out the Theorem. Then, you can be sure you will remember it longer. Why? I have my theory, based on Spinoza's ontology. It's a bout the three kinds of knowledge: 1st kind: You learned something from someone who told you, an erroneous deduction, or even experience. 2nd kind: You learned by demonstration, you KNOW why... 3rd kind: Your knowledge of the full system lets you deduct theorems, intuitivey. Of course, the third kind of knowledge is not what I am talking about. It is the second kind that will interest us, as the knowledge of the third type is a lifetime exercise.
lovelearning 11y ago
I have the same problem. I improved upon it by writing recall notes in a word processor - with diagrams, code, explanations - every 3 or 4 weeks. I do this for every topic I'm having difficulty with. It has improved my recall and understanding. I did try Anki for a while, but I was unable to get comfortable with its user interface or workflow. This is possibly because the topics I'm learning are concept and math heavy like ML and image processing, and unlike spoken languages, don't lend themselves easily to rote memorization.
- sharmi 11y ago
  I am familiar with ML but I want to have the depth of knowledge and I am into probability now. And this is exactly the same problem I am facing. May be your approach will work well for me too.
umbs 11y ago
I too spend time learning breadth of topics, including startups (though it is orthogonal to my work). However, I retain very little after a while. I stumbled in to Edgar Dale's "Cone of Learning" or "Pyramid of Learning" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Dale https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Dale Based on that, I plan to teach whatever I learn (God save the listener/viewer!) by compiling short videos and unleashing it on the common man, via youtube. Also, note the criticism of above research/ideas at this blog: http://www.danielwillingham.com/daniel-willingham-science-and-education-blog/cone-of-learning-or-cone-of-shame http://www.danielwillingham.com/daniel-willingham-science-an... One more thing that kept me motivated during learning is to build tiny projects along the way (in case of technical learning). The take away from this is regular positive reward can be a good motivator.

by sharmi 11y ago

zadyree 11y ago

Have you considered that your mind was not able to keep the content of your courses for the very reason that it won't link it to precise uses? For example, let's imagine you want to learn the Pythagorean theorem. You may learn that the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the two other sides by heart, and hope it will stay in your brain until the 8th grade (but it's probably too late now). Otherwise, you can try by yourself to know a way to find a relation between the two shortest sides and to the hypothenuse, and eventually find out the Theorem. Then, you can be sure you will remember it longer. Why? I have my theory, based on Spinoza's ontology. It's a bout the three kinds of knowledge: 1st kind: You learned something from someone who told you, an erroneous deduction, or even experience. 2nd kind: You learned by demonstration, you KNOW why... 3rd kind: Your knowledge of the full system lets you deduct theorems, intuitivey. Of course, the third kind of knowledge is not what I am talking about. It is the second kind that will interest us, as the knowledge of the third type is a lifetime exercise.

lovelearning 11y ago

I have the same problem. I improved upon it by writing recall notes in a word processor - with diagrams, code, explanations - every 3 or 4 weeks. I do this for every topic I'm having difficulty with. It has improved my recall and understanding. I did try Anki for a while, but I was unable to get comfortable with its user interface or workflow. This is possibly because the topics I'm learning are concept and math heavy like ML and image processing, and unlike spoken languages, don't lend themselves easily to rote memorization.

sharmi 11y ago
I am familiar with ML but I want to have the depth of knowledge and I am into probability now. And this is exactly the same problem I am facing. May be your approach will work well for me too.

umbs 11y ago

I too spend time learning breadth of topics, including startups (though it is orthogonal to my work). However, I retain very little after a while. I stumbled in to Edgar Dale's "Cone of Learning" or "Pyramid of Learning" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Dale https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Dale Based on that, I plan to teach whatever I learn (God save the listener/viewer!) by compiling short videos and unleashing it on the common man, via youtube. Also, note the criticism of above research/ideas at this blog: http://www.danielwillingham.com/daniel-willingham-science-and-education-blog/cone-of-learning-or-cone-of-shame http://www.danielwillingham.com/daniel-willingham-science-an... One more thing that kept me motivated during learning is to build tiny projects along the way (in case of technical learning). The take away from this is regular positive reward can be a good motivator.