Learning How to Learn
(Lightning Talk Edition)
Kevin Feasel (@feaselkl)https://csmore.info/on/learning
Who Am I? What Am I Doing Here?
Motivation
My goals in this talk:
- Help you figure out what it makes sense to learn.
- Help you build a plan of action for learning.
- Provide you tips and tricks on learning efficiently.
Agenda
- Why Learn?
- Of Studies
- What Should I Learn?
- Why Should I Learn THIS Thing?
- When Should I Learn It?
- How Should I Learn?
Why Do You Want to Learn?
Understand your motivation(s). They can help drive your plan of action.
My movitations:
- Fear of obsolescence--the technical world is like a treadmill
- The joy of learning
Your motivations will give you an idea of the things you should learn and how you should prioritize your time. Make this your Why.
Agenda
- Why Learn?
- Of Studies
- What Should I Learn?
- Why Should I Learn THIS Thing?
- When Should I Learn It?
- How Should I Learn?
Of Studies
Of Studies is a short essay by Francis Bacon, written in 1597 and extended in 1625. One salient quotation:
Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.
Learning from the Essay
Key takeaways:
- Do not be afraid to abandon a book, article, or paper
- You do not need to read every word of every document
- But there are some works you should pay close attention to!
- Ground your decisions in your Why. Choose studies which accentuate your Why.
Have a Plan of Action
After understanding your Why, it's time to build a plan of action. Let's define that over the next few sections.
Agenda
- Why Learn?
- Of Studies
- What Should I Learn?
- Why Should I Learn THIS Thing?
- When Should I Learn It?
- How Should I Learn?
What Should I Learn?
The first key question is, what should you learn? Here are a few tips.
- Choose your topics wisely
- Understand the level you need to hit
- Understand the decay rate of knowledge
Choose Your Topics Wisely
We have a finite amount of time and there are an infinite number of things to learn. The math doesn't work out very well for us, so let's rig the game.
Build a Not-To-Do List
Many of us have to-do lists. But we should also have not-to-do lists: topics we choose not to engage with at this time because we have more important fish to fry.
- Is the technology less than 2 years old? Only look at if you're actively in that space already.
- Is it way outside your wheelhouse and you have no intent on turning it into a career? Read up on it if interesting; otherwise, avoid.
- In consulting, how many customers actually use this?
- In full-time work, how likely am I to use this?
Learn Orthogonally
Don't be afraid to go outside your normal realm! There's a lot of value in literature, history, philosophy, and the like. Not everything needs to relate to your current job or next job.
The Sherlock Holmes Effect
Sherlock Holmes could identify by scent every major and minor brand of pipe tobacco, yet had no idea nor inclination to learn whether the earth revolved around the sun or vice versa.
This is an extreme example of a common phenomenon.
The Fachidiot
A Fachidiot is someone who knows more and more about less and less until he knows everything about nothing at all.
Don't be a Fachidiot.
Agenda
- Why Learn?
- Of Studies
- What Should I Learn?
- Why Should I Learn THIS Thing?
- When Should I Learn It?
- How Should I Learn?
Why Should I Learn THIS Thing?
- It sounds interesting
- My current job requires it
- My (hopeful) next job requires it
- I think it will make me better at my current / next job
- It will set me apart from my peers
- It will make me a better person
Be Intentional!
Suppose you want to learn Blazor. The next step is to answer, "I want to..."
- know what Blazor is.
- have a conversation about Blazor without sounding silly.
- try out a Blazor app and see how it works.
- develop Blazor apps or migrate existing apps to Blazor.
- understand the internals of how Blazor works.
- be an expert on Blazor, to the point where people pay me to learn about it.
Know the Level to Hit
Credit Eugene Meidinger:
| Level | Number of Hours |
|---|---|
| Give an elevator pitch | 1 hour |
| Present on it | 10 hours |
| Put it on your resume | 100 hours |
| Consult on it | 1,000 hours |
| Be an expert | 10,000 hours |
If you only need to be a beginner at a topic, don't try to be an expert. Time is a finite resource!
Agenda
- Why Learn?
- Of Studies
- What Should I Learn?
- Why Should I Learn THIS Thing?
- When Should I Learn It?
- How Should I Learn?
Time Slots and Themes
Most people can focus on 2-3 key topics at a given time.
Don't try to jam in more topics than you have the mental capacity to learn; otherwise, you're just wasting your time.
Finding Time to Learn
Take 1 hour a day at work if possible. Set a meeting notice so people are less likely to bother you. This is continuing education and you should be able to have specific examples of how your spending time to learn directly improves the company.
Can you find an hour a day to learn at home? This can be difficult, especially with young children. Understand your situation and prioritize the things which are most important.
Finding Time to Learn
Use calendar invites as a way of allocating time and also limiting your expectations. Along with this, know your energy levels. You won't learn much when exhausted, so don't try to force time slots when you are exhausted.
Agenda
- Why Learn?
- Of Studies
- What Should I Learn?
- Why Should I Learn THIS Thing?
- When Should I Learn It?
- How Should I Learn?
Finding Resources
| Resource | Best Use |
|---|---|
| Curated SQL | Get a feeling for what others are learning |
| Blogs | Great for exposure or specific information on a particular topic or topics with a high rate of decay |
| Podcasts and short videos | Great for exposure to topics, but not deep learning |
| Articles and tutorials | Great for exposure or deep learning on a single topic |
Finding Resources
| Resource | Best Use |
|---|---|
| Video / in-person training | Great for seeing things in action. Often great for deep learning |
| Academic papers | Great for state of the art, figuring out what is possible, and finding examples of how others have solved tough problems (e.g., in data science) |
| Books | Great for knowledge with a slow rate of decay |
Reading the Right Way
Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested[...]
Here's how to read an article quickly without losing important information:
- Read the introduction
- Read the conclusion
- Read the first paragraph and last paragraph of each section in whole
- Read the first and last sentence of each paragraph
This also works for books!
Reading the Right Way
Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested[...]
Read deeply when you need to, particularly as you move toward expertise. Careful reading will take several times as long, so save it for times when you really benefit from the reading.
Take Written Notes
Taking written notes is a secret to remembering more content. DO NOT JUST TYPE YOUR NOTES!
I use a reMarkable 2 for taking notes in articles:
Make Your Own Tools
Mechanics make their own tools. It helps them understand the fundamental techniques better than simply using existing tools.
Create your own examples and demos; don't just use the ones other people give you!
Share Your Knowledge
A classic training technique is See One, Do One, Teach One.
See how it's done from somebody who knows how to do it.
Do it yourself so that you understand the mechanisms.
Teach it to somebody else to solidify your understanding of the concept.
Blog, write, or record videos about the topic if you can.
Wrapping Up
Over the course of this talk, we have looked at techniques for learning in a busy world.
We looked at ways to prioritize specific tasks, understand the expected level of effort, discover available time, and make best use of that time.
Wrapping Up
To learn more, go here:
https://csmore.info/on/learning
And for help, contact me:
feasel@catallaxyservices.com | @feaselkl
Catallaxy Services consulting:
https://CSmore.info/on/contact