Tips for learning things quickly and deeply?

[Soul_Khan]

Hey guys,
So basically I want to learn as much as I can throughout my life.. and I'm keen on self-learning University level Psychology and Economics for 'fun' next year. What tips can you give me for increasing my level of comprehension when learning but do so at an accelerated rate? I'll be spending 4-6 months before I begin my self-learning journey by reading a lot of books/textbooks on learning, memory (mnemonics), time management, habits, etc. but for the moment are there any learning strategies which you employ that have you helped you in comprehension?

For subjects like Psychology for example. I always relate every phenomenon that I learn about with past experiences and make up funny/bizzare stories to demonstrate the phenomena. This has helped me dramatically.

Thanks!

[brenden]

Unfortunately, I'm no expert on things that happen quick and deep, as I am too far into studying. Which often occurs slowly and leaves me with shallow energy levels.

[Tomw2]

I have always found rote memorisation of things time-consuming and soul-destroying, so a while back I tried different strategies so I could effectively absorb and retain lists of info. The thing that made a big difference for me was the Method of Loci. It works particularly well if you have spent a lot of time in a large building or house with lots of discrete 'loci' (ie bookcases, shelves, wall ornaments etc).

In regards to 'deeply' learning in a short amount of time (aka the scholarly Holy Grail), the most efficient techniques I have used are (1) talking about a topic with others who are learning it and (2) trying to teach a topic to another person who is unfamiliar with it (ie writing and reciting a mini-lecture and powerpoint presentation). Memory obviously works differently amongst people, but I've found that in order to teach a topic you need to be quite familiar with it and this schema makes deep learning relatively effective and quick (for me anyway).

For the vast majority of people though, learning tertiary level units deeply without spending much time is not really doable.

[Soul_Khan]

I have always found rote memorisation of things time-consuming and soul-destroying, so a while back I tried different strategies so I could effectively absorb and retain lists of info. The thing that made a big difference for me was the Method of Loci. It works particularly well if you have spent a lot of time in a large building or house with lots of discrete 'loci' (ie bookcases, shelves, wall ornaments etc).

In regards to 'deeply' learning in a short amount of time (aka the scholarly Holy Grail), the most efficient techniques I have used are (1) talking about a topic with others who are learning it and (2) trying to teach a topic to another person who is unfamiliar with it (ie writing and reciting a mini-lecture and powerpoint presentation). Memory obviously works differently amongst people, but I've found that in order to teach a topic you need to be quite familiar with it and this schema makes deep learning relatively effective and quick (for me anyway).

For the vast majority of people though, learning tertiary level units deeply without spending much time is not really doable.

Very interesting. Thanks for the reply. Yup I've noticed that as well. Teaching is the best is one of the fastest ways to gain a deeper understanding of a subject, also you retain the information more.

Another technique that I came across, is to pretend that you are teaching the concept to a 5 year old which involves simplifying things to a bare minimum - helps understanding a lot in my case. It'll be more harder with abstract subjects like Math though.

[TrueTears]

There is no such thing as learning quickly while being able to go to extreme depths, unless you are a prodigy and genius that can comprehend information to its deepest level from your first glance. Learning anything is a gradual process, sometimes I stay focused on a problem for days and still not able to solve it, but it's a journey, during the times where I'm puzzled for days is the time I learn the most, I go off on the most wondrous tangents, learn about concepts and questions which I tend to pose from these tangential thought processes and eventually I will still not be able to understand/solve my initial question. Whilst at most times, during this stage of the learning process, I would have already figured out my initial problem, however for the rare instances where I am unable to untangle my initial questions, I move on and keep learning, then one day when I return to the material which I was once confused about, I could understand it without any problems at all. The point is, you must take your time if you really want to understand the fundamentals, it could take you weeks or months just to understand a single concept, but it's well worth it in the end.

[Soul_Khan]

Thanks for the reply!

I think the title is somewhat misleading.. I don't want to learn things extremely quickly.. but more quicker than simple rote-learning.. you know how most people typically learn in VCE.

[MonsieurHulot]

How would you recommend studying for subjects like Maths? I have a SAC coming up in two weeks, and I was wondering if anyone does anything apart from the 'read textbook explanation, do questions, move on' routine.

[brenden]

How would you recommend studying for subjects like Maths? I have a SAC coming up in two weeks, and I was wondering if anyone does anything apart from the 'read textbook explanation, do questions, move on' routine.

Watch YouTube videos.

[Soul_Khan]

How would you recommend studying for subjects like Maths? I have a SAC coming up in two weeks, and I was wondering if anyone does anything apart from the 'read textbook explanation, do questions, move on' routine.

I get a piece of paper, pick a concept for example find the area using integrals and I write random notes on it.. sort of like scribbling your thoughts onto the paper.. and I ask as many questions as possible to reinforce understanding of the concept.

Another technique which my Methods teacher taught me, is to practice by doing Multiple choice questions.. each time you choose an answer for a multiple choice question, explain why the others are wrong and why the answer is you picked is the correct one.

Also do as many questions as possible.

[nisha]

Mmmm, I'm thinking of doing a similiar thing. Learning Psyc University level,. I wish I had done it in VCE as well.
Maybe look up youtube for experiments (plenty in the Psyc area) that correspond to the theory.

[FlorianK]

For Methods calculus stuff, watch all the khan academy stuff, best help you can get

[Mao]

There is no such thing as learning quickly while being able to go to extreme depths, unless you are a prodigy and genius that can comprehend information to its deepest level from your first glance. Learning anything is a gradual process, sometimes I stay focused on a problem for days and still not able to solve it, but it's a journey, during the times where I'm puzzled for days is the time I learn the most, I go off on the most wondrous tangents, learn about concepts and questions which I tend to pose from these tangential thought processes and eventually I will still not be able to understand/solve my initial question. Whilst at most times, during this stage of the learning process, I would have already figured out my initial problem, however for the rare instances where I am unable to untangle my initial questions, I move on and keep learning, then one day when I return to the material which I was once confused about, I could understand it without any problems at all. The point is, you must take your time if you really want to understand the fundamentals, it could take you weeks or months just to understand a single concept, but it's well worth it in the end.

^^This is TrueTears talking about how he proved Fermat's Last Theorem.