Sachinism Posted February 23, 2010 Posted February 23, 2010 How I Was Able to Ace Exams Without Studying Rapid Learning Techniques 1. Metaphors and Analogy Create your own metaphors for different ideas. Differential calculus doesn’t need to just be an equation, but the odometer and speedometer on a car. Functions in computer programming can be like pencil sharpeners. The balance sheet for a corporation can be like the circulatory system. Shakespeare used metaphor prolifically to create vivid imagery for his audience. Your professor might not be the bard, but you can step in and try them yourself. 2. Visceralization Visceralization is a portmanteau between visceral and visualization. The goal here is to envision an abstract idea as something more tangible. Not just by imagining a picture, but by integrating sounds, textures and feelings (like Tammet does). When learning how to find the determinant of a matrix, I visualized my hands scooping through one axis of the matrix and dropping through the other, to represent the addition and subtraction of the elements. Realize you already do this, just maybe not to the same degree. Whenever you see a graph or pie chart for an idea, you are taking something abstract and making it more tangible. Just be creative in pushing that a step further. 3. The 5-Year Old Method Imagine you had to explain your toughest subject to a 5-year old. Now practice that. It may be impossible to explain thermodynamics to a first grader, but the process of explanation forces you to link ideas. How would you explain the broader concepts in simpler terms a child would understand? 4. Diagramming Mind-mapping is becoming increasingly popular as a way of retaining information. That’s the process of starting with a central idea and brainstorming adjacent connections. But mindmapping is just the skin of the onion. Creating diagrams or pictures can allow you to connect ideas together on paper. Instead of having linear notes, organized in a hierarchy, what if you had notes that showed the relationships between all the ideas you were learning? 5. Storytelling to Remember Numbers and Facts Pegging is a method people have been using for years to memorize large amounts of numbers or facts. What makes it unique isn’t just that it allows people to perform amazing mental feats (although it can), but the way it allows people to remember information–by connecting the numbers to a story. Pegging is a bit outside the scope of this article, but the basic idea is that each digit is represented by the sound of a consonant (for example: 0=c, 3=t, 4=d…). This allows you to convert any number into a string of consonants (4304 = d-t-c-d). The system allows you to add any number of vowels in between the consonants to make nouns (d-t-c-d = dot code). You can then turn this list of nouns into a story (The dot was a code that the snake used…). Then all you need to do is remember the order of the story to get the nouns, consonants and back to the numbers. The Way We Were Taught to Learn is Broken Children are imaginative, creative and, in many ways, the epitome of this rapid learning strategy. Maybe it’s the current school system, or maybe it’s just a consequence of growing up, but most people eventually suppress this instinct. The sad truth is that the formal style of learning, makes learning less enjoyable. Chemistry, mathematics, computer science or classic literature should spawn new ideas, connections in the mind, exciting possibilities. Not only the right answers for a standardized test. The irony is that maybe if that childlike, informal way of learning came back, even just in part, perhaps more people would succeed on those very tests. Or at least enjoyed the process of learning. from http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/ Anyone use any of these techniques and do they help? I remember watching a documentary on Kim Peek (the guy on who Rain Man was based) and there were talking about other 'geniuses' I remember one guy who was trying to break the record for remembering the most number of playing cards in a row and he used story telling approach
flamy Posted February 23, 2010 Posted February 23, 2010 wtf man, i thot i came up with the word visceralize :hitler: anyways young has written a book called learn more and study less. pdfs abound. :winky:
CSK Fan Posted February 23, 2010 Posted February 23, 2010 I would ask whats the point of acing exams anyways. How do they really help? Help you getting your dream job? Mostly not. Help you get really rich? Never. A happy life? Nada
Sooda Posted February 23, 2010 Posted February 23, 2010 I would ask whats the point of acing exams anyways. How do they really help? Help you getting your dream job? Mostly not. Help you get really rich? Never. A happy life? Nada Ego...? :dontknow: And they do help with getting jobs obv people with A grades >> candidates than those with B's - for the most part. Assuminh experience etc is the same...
CSK Fan Posted February 24, 2010 Posted February 24, 2010 Ego...? :dontknow: And they do help with getting jobs obv people with A grades >> candidates than those with B's - for the most part. Assuminh experience etc is the same... But after a point it stops mattering in life. Imagine the years you waste learnign things mostly useless in your life. The time you could have spent actually lving
flamy Posted February 24, 2010 Posted February 24, 2010 That is only around 22 years yaar. After that, you have choice. I don't regret those days in India when I used to memorize (the worst thing ever). It is over and I'm grateful for the USA for it's more useful education system.
CSK Fan Posted February 24, 2010 Posted February 24, 2010 That is only around 22 years yaar. After that' date=' you have choice. I don't regret those days in India when I used to memorize (the worst thing ever). It is over and I'm grateful for the USA for it's more useful education system.[/quote'] Yes, but i was questioning the point of sacrificing everything else for some studies which most of the time prove usless in life and also doesnt get you your dream job/money. There are so many other skills we neglect like social skills,
flamy Posted February 24, 2010 Posted February 24, 2010 Yes, in India it is all topsy turvy. There is no concept of multiple intelligences. We need a Howard Gardner type system in India.
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