Mastering Linear Algebra in 10 Days: Astounding Experiments in Ultra-Learning The MIT hallenge My !riend "#ott $oung re#ently !

inished an astounding !eat: he #ompleted all %% #ourses in MIT&s !abled #omputer s#ien#e #urri#ulum' !rom Linear Algebra to Theory o! omputation' in less than one year( More importantly' he did it all on his o)n' )at#hing the le#tures online and e*aluating himsel! using the a#tual exams( +"ee "#ott&s ,Apage !or the details o! ho) he ran this #hallenge(. That )or/s out to around 1 #ourse e*ery 1(0 )ee/s( As you /no)' I&m #on*in#ed that the ability to master #ompli#ated in!ormation 1ui#/ly is #ru#ial !or building a remar/able #areer +see my ne) boo/ as )ell as here and here.( "o' naturally' I had to as/ "#ott to share his se#rets )ith us( ,ortunately' he agreed( 2elo) is a detailed guest post' )ritten by "#ott' that drills do)n to the exa#t te#hni1ues he used +in#luding spe#i!i# examples. to pull o!! his MIT hallenge( Ta/e it a)ay "#ott3 4o) I Tamed MIT&s omputer "#ien#e urri#ulum' 2y "#ott $oung I&*e al)ays been ex#ited by the prospe#t o! learning !aster( 2eing good at things matters( Expertise and mastery gi*e you the #areer #apital to earn more money and en5oy li!estyle per/s( I! being good is the goal' learning is ho) you get there( Despite the ad*antages o! learning !aster' most people seem relu#tant to learn ho) to learn( Maybe it&s be#ause )e don&t belie*e it&s possible' that learning speed is solely the domain o! good genes or talent( 6hile there )ill al)ays be people )ith un!air ad*antages' the resear#h sho)s the method you use to learn matters a lot( Deeper le*els o! pro#essing and spa#ed repetition #an' in some #ases' double your e!!i#ien#y( Indeed the resear#h in deliberate pra#ti#e sho)s us that )ithout the right method' learning #an plateau !ore*er( Today I )ant to share the strategy I used to #ompress the ideas !rom a 7-year MIT #omputer s#ien#e #urri#ulum do)n to 18 months( This strategy )as honed o*er %% #lasses' !iguring out )hat )or/ed and )hat didn&t in the method !or learning !aster( 6hy ramming Doesn&t 6or/ Many student might s#o!! at the idea o! learning a 7-year program in a 1uarter o! the time( A!ter all' #ouldn&t you 5ust #ram !or e*ery exam and pass )ithout understanding anything9 Un!ortunately this strategy doesn&t )or/( ,irst' MITs exams rely hea*ily on problem sol*ing' o!ten )ith unseen problem types( "e#ond' MIT #ourses are highly #umulati*e'

e*en i! you #ould snea/ by one exam through memori:ation' the se*enth #lass in a series )ould be impossible to !ollo)( Instead o! memori:ing' I had to !ind a )ay to speed up the pro#ess o! understanding itsel!( an $ou "peed Up Understanding9 6e&*e all had those' ;Aha<= moments )hen )e !inally get an idea( The problem is most o! us don&t ha*e a systemati# )ay o! !inding them( The typi#al pro#ess a student goes through in learning is to !ollo) a le#tures' read a boo/ and' !ailing that' grind out pra#ti#e 1uestions or reread notes( 6ithout a system' understanding !aster seems impossible( A!ter all' the mental me#hanisms !or generating insights are #ompletely hidden( 6orse' understanding is hardly an on>o!! s)it#h( It&s li/e layers o! an onion' !rom *ery super!i#ial insights to the deep understandings that underpin s#ienti!i# re*olutions( ?eeling that onion is o!ten a poorly understood pro#ess( The !irst step is to demysti!y the pro#ess( @etting insights to deepen your understanding largely amounts to t)o things: Ma/ing #onne#tions Debugging errors onne#tions are important be#ause they pro*ide an a##ess point !or understanding an idea( I struggled )ith the ,ourier trans!orm until I reali:ed it )as turning pressure to pit#h or radiation to #olor( Insights li/e these are o!ten ma/ing #onne#tions bet)een something you do understand and the material you don&t( Debugging errors is also important be#ause o!ten you ma/e mista/es be#ause you&re missing /no)ledge or ha*e an in#orre#t pi#ture( A poor understanding is li/e a buggy so!t)are program( I! you #an debug yoursel! in an e!!i#ient )ay' you #an greatly a##elerate the learning pro#ess( Doing these t)o things' !orming a##urate #onne#tions and debugging errors' is most o! #reating a deep understanding( Me#hani#al s/ill and memori:ed !a#ts also help' but generally only )hen they sit upon the !oundation o! a solid intuition about the sub5e#t( The Drilldo)n Method: A "trategy !or Learning ,aster During the yearlong pursuit' I per!e#ted a method !or peeling those layers o! deep understanding !aster( I&*e sin#e used it on topi#s in math' biology' physi#s' e#onomi#s and engineering( 6ith 5ust a !e) modi!i#ations' it also )or/s )ell !or pra#ti#al s/ills su#h as programming' design or languages( 4ere&s the basi# stru#ture o! the method: o*erage ?ra#ti#e

Insight I&ll explain ea#h stage and ho) you #an go through them as e!!i#iently as possible' )hile gi*ing detailed examples o! ho) I used them in a#tual #lasses( "tage Ane: o*erage $ou #an&t plan an atta#/ i! you don&t ha*e a map o! the terrain( There!ore the !irst step in learning anything deeply' is to get a general sense o! )hat you need to learn( ,or a #lass' this means )at#hing le#tures or reading textboo/s( ,or sel!-learning it might mean reading se*eral boo/s on the topi# and doing resear#h( A mista/e students o!ten ma/e is belie*ing this stage is the most important( In many )ays this is the least e!!i#ient stage be#ause the amount you #an learn per unit o! time in*ested is mu#h lo)er( I o!ten !ound it use!ul to speed up this part so that I )ould ha*e more time to spend on the latter t)o steps( I! you&re )at#hing *ideo le#tures' a great )ay to do this is to )at#h them at 1(0x or 8x the speed( This #an be done easily by do)nloading the *ideo and then using the speed-up !eature on a player li/e BL ( I&d )at#h semester-long #ourses in t)o days' *ia this method( I! you&re reading a boo/' I )ould re#ommend against highlighting( This is pro#esses the in!ormation at a lo) le*el o! depth and is ine!!i#ient in the long run( A better method )ould be to ta/e sparse notes )hile reading' or do a one-paragraph summary a!ter you read ea#h ma5or se#tion( 4ere&s an example o! notes I too/ )hile doing readings !or a #lass in ma#hine *ision( "tage T)o: ?ra#ti#e ?ra#ti#e problems are huge !or boosting your understanding' but there are t)o main e!!i#ien#y traps you #an get #aught in i! you&re not #are!ul( C1 D Eot @etting Immediate ,eedba#/ The resear#h is #lear: i! you )ant to learn' you need immediate !eedba#/( The best )ay to do this is to go 1uestion-by-1uestion )ith the solution /ey in hand( An#e you&*e !inished a 1uestion' #he#/ yoursel! against the pro*ided solutions( ?ra#ti#e )ithout !eedba#/' or )ith delayed !eedba#/' drasti#ally hinders e!!e#ti*eness( C8 D @rinding ?roblems Li/e the students )ho !all into the trap o! belie*ing that most learning o##urs in the #lassroom' some students belie*e understanding is generated mostly !rom pra#ti#e 1uestions( 6hile you #an e*entually build an understanding simply by grinding through pra#ti#e' it&s slo) and ine!!i#ient(

?ra#ti#e problems should be used to highlight areas you need to de*elop a better intuition !or( Then te#hni1ues li/e the ,eynman te#hni1ue' )hi#h I&ll dis#uss' handle that pro#ess mu#h more e!!i#iently( Eon-te#hni#al sub5e#ts' ones )here you mostly need to understand #on#epts' not sol*e problems' #an o!ten get a)ay )ith minimal pra#ti#e problem )or/( In these sub5e#ts' you&re better o!! spending more time on the third phase' de*eloping insight( "tage Three: Insight The goal o! #o*erage and pra#ti#e 1uestions is to get you to a point )here you /no) )hat you don&t understand( This isn&t as easy as it sounds( A!ten you #an be mista/en into belie*ing you understand something' but don&t' or you might not !eel #on!ident )ith a general sub5e#t' but not see spe#i!i#ally )hat is missing( This next te#hni1ue' )hi#h I #all the ,eynman te#hni1ue is about narro)ing do)n those gaps e*en !urther( A!ten )hen you #an identi!y pre#isely )hat you don&t understand' that gi*es you the tools to !ill the gap( It&s the large gaps in understanding )hi#h are hardest to !ill( The te#hni1ue also has a dual purpose( E*en )hen you do understand an idea' it pro*ides you opportunities to #reate more #onne#tions' so you #an drill do)n to a deeper understanding( The ,eynman Te#hni1ue I !irst got the idea !rom this method !rom the Eobel pri:e )inning physi#ist' Fi#hard ,eynman( In his autobiography' he des#ribes himsel! struggling )ith a hard resear#h paper( 4is solution )as to go meti#ulously through the supporting material until he understood e*erything that )as re1uired to understand the hard idea( This te#hni1ue )or/s similarly( 2y digesting the big hairy idea you don&t understand into small #hun/s' and learning those #hun/s' you #an e*entually !ill e*ery gap that )ould other)ise pre*ent you !rom learning it( ,or a *ideo tutorial o! this te#hni1ue' )at#h this short *ideo( The te#hni1ue is simple: @et a pie#e o! paper 6rite at the top the idea or pro#ess you )ant to understand Explain the idea' as i! you )ere tea#hing it to someone else 6hat&s #ru#ial is that the third step )ill li/ely repeat some areas o! the idea you already understand( 4o)e*er' e*entually you&ll rea#h a stopping point )here you #an&t explain( That&s the pre#ise gap in your understanding that you need to !ill( ,rom that gap' you #an resear#h the ans)er !rom a textboo/' tea#her or online( @enerally' on#e you&*e narro)ly de!ined your misunderstanding it be#omes mu#h easier to !ind the pre#ise ans)er(

I&*e used this te#hni1ue hundreds o! times' and I&*e !ound it #an ta#/le a )ide *ariety di!!erent learning situations( 4o)e*er' sin#e ea#h might be slightly di!!erent' it may seem hard to apply as a beginner' so I&ll try to )al/ through some di!!erent examples( ,or Ideas $ou Don&t @et At All The )ay I handle this is to go through the te#hni1ue but ha*e the textboo/ open to the #hapter explaining that #on#ept( Then I go through and meti#ulously #opy both the author&s explanation' but also try to elaborate and #lari!y it !or mysel!( This ;guided= ,eynman #an be use!ul )hen trying to )rite anything on your o)n )ould be impossible( 4ere&s an example I used !or trying to understand photogrammetry( ,or ?ro#edures $ou #an also use the method to !ully understand a pro#ess you need to use( @o through all the steps and explain not only )hat they do' but ho) they exe#ute it( I )ould o!ten go through proo! te#hni1ues by #are!ully explaining all the steps( I also used it in understanding #hemi#al e1uations or in organi:ing the stages o! gly#olysis in biology( $ou #an see this example I used )hen trying to !igure out ho) to implement grid a##eleration( ,or ,ormulas ,ormulas should be understood' not 5ust memori:ed( "o )hen you see a !ormula' but #an&t understand ho) it )or/s' try )al/ing through ea#h part )ith a ,eynman( 4ere&s an example I used !or the ,ourier analysis e1uation( ,or he#/ing $our Memory

,eynmans also o!!er a )ay to sel!-test your /no)ledge o! the big ideas !or non-te#hni#al sub5e#ts( 2eing able to !inish a ,eynman on a topi# )ithout re!eren#ing the sour#e material means you understand and #an remember it( 4ere&s one I did !or an e#onomi#s #lass' re#alling the #on#ept o! predatory pri#ing( De*eloping a Deeper Intuition ombined )ith pra#ti#e 1uestions' the ,eynman te#hni1ue #an peel those !irst !e) layers o! understanding( 2ut it #an also drill deeper i! you )ant to go !rom not 5ust ha*ing an understanding' but to ha*ing a deep intuition( Understanding an idea intuiti*ely isn&t easy( An#e again' getting to this point is o!ten seen as a 1uasi-mysti#al pro#ess( 2ut it doesn&t ha*e to be( Most intuitions about an idea brea/ do)n into one o! the !ollo)ing types: Analogies D $ou understand an idea by #orre#tly re#ogni:ing an important similarity bet)een it and an easier-to-understand idea(

Bisuali:ations D Abstra#t ideas o!ten be#ome use!ul intuitions )hen )e #an !orm a mental pi#ture o! them( E*en i! the pi#ture is 5ust an in#omplete representation o! a larger' and more *aried' idea( "impli!i#ations D A !amous s#ientist on#e said that i! you #ouldn&t explain something to your grandmother' you don&t !ully understand it( "impli!i#ation is the art o! strengthening those #onne#tions bet)een basi# #omponents and #omplex ideas( $ou #an use the ,eynman te#hni1ue as a )ay o! en#ouraging these types o! insights( An#e you&*e gotten past a basi# understanding o! the idea' the next step is to go !urther and see i! you #an explain it using some #ombination o! the three methods abo*e( The truth is plagiarism is o/ay too' and not e*ery insight needs to be uni1ue( Understanding #omplex numbers as being t)o dimensional is hardly original' but it allo)s a use!ul *isuali:ation( DEA repli#ation )or/ing li/e a one-)ay :ipper is not a per!e#t analogy' but so long as you understand )here it o*erlaps' it be#omes a use!ul one( The "trategy to Learn ,aster Learning !aster doesn&t need to be a tri#/ to )or/ )ell( It simply means re#ogni:ing )hat is a#tually going on )hen )e rea#h a ne) le*el o! insight and !inding tools to help us rea#h those stages #onsistently( In this arti#le I des#ribed learning as being three stages: #o*erage' pra#ti#e and insight( This gi*es the !alse impression that these three o##ur al)ays in distin#t phases and ne*er o*erlap or repeat( In truth you may !ind yoursel! going bet)een them in a loop as you su##ess!ully peel do)n to deeper layers o! understanding( The !irst time you read a #hapter you may get only super!i#ial insights' but a!ter doing pra#ti#e 1uestions and building intuitions' you may go ba#/ and read !or deeper understandings( Applying the Drilldo)n Method !or Eon-"tudents This pro#ess isn&t one you need to be a student to apply( It also )or/s !or learning #omplex s/ills or building expertise on a topi#( ,or s/ills li/e programming or design' most people !ollo) the !irst t)o stages( They read a boo/ tea#hing them the basi#s' then they pra#ti#e )ith a pro5e#t( $ou #an extend that pro#ess ho)e*er' and use the ,eynman te#hni1ue to better lo#/ in and arti#ulate the insights you #reate( ,or expertise on a topi#' the only di!!eren#e is that' prior to doing #o*erage' you need to !ind a set o! material to learn !rom( That #ould be resear#h arti#les or se*eral boo/s on the topi#( In either #ase' on#e you&*e de!ined the #hun/ o! /no)ledge you )ant to master' you #an drill do)n and learn it deeply(