If you're just writing down what the teacher wrote to memorize later, you're not learning the math properly. You should be deriving the solution at least one st

If you're just writing down what the teacher wrote to memorize later, you're not learning the math properly. You should be deriving the solution at least one step ahead of the teacher. Occasionally, there will be a clever insight where you might have to wait for the teacher to tell you that step, but those should be the minority. Once you get the insight, you should be jumping ahead again. It's the same in work meetings. If you're blindly absorbing what the presenter is saying, you're not a helpful participant. You should be deriving your own solutions and questioning differences between your solution and the presenter's when they arise. Sometimes, companies pay for improv classes for their employees to help them anticipate and react in meetings, but if you're already practiced in classroom learning, that's redundant.