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    The Superlearner Myth - The Organic, Long-Term Approach to Effective Learning
    The Superlearner Myth - The Organic, Long-Term Approach to Effective Learning
    The Superlearner Myth - The Organic, Long-Term Approach to Effective Learning
    Ebook43 pages24 minutes

    The Superlearner Myth - The Organic, Long-Term Approach to Effective Learning

    By Angelos Georgakis

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    About this ebook

    Superlearner is the same as superforgetter. Research in cognitive psychology, which goes back more than one hundred years, has shown that effective learning is hard and requires time and effort. You can feel like a superlearner by consuming tons of information in record time, but, in that case, you compromise the long-term results of your efforts. 

    Your memory is not a hard disk to download books in a matter of seconds. Effective learning means you spend enough time to encode and give meaning to new information. You need to interpret, associate, interrelate, and compare new information with already known information. There are no shortcuts to this process. 

    Today everyone is talking about speed-reading. However, research has shown that testing, or the practice of retrieving information from our memory, is the most effective way to immunize new information and helps to prevent memory loss. Even more telling, the harder the retrieval, the better your memory will be. 

    Today it has become fashionable to talk about mastering a skill in ten hours, or learning a language in seven days, or attending an all-day crash course on the weekend. However, multiple studies in cognitive psychology have shown that massed practice gives you an illusion that you can master a skill quickly, but the results are only temporary. Instead, effective learning means you space your practice, you allow some forgetting to happen, you make mistakes, you squeeze your head, or you feel mental pain. Does it sound bad? Maybe it does, but this is 100% healthy, optimal, long-term learning. 

    This book aims to talk you through the truth about how you can learn effectively. This truth is not the author’s truth; it’s the truth of the science of learning. The suggestions here may go against your intuition because effective learning, as we will see, is counterintuitive. By following these suggestions, though, you will soon become a more sophisticated learner with an increased ability to assess and improve your learning. 

    We live in a fast-paced world where competition is high and acquisition of new skills is key to professional success. We can’t afford to lose time. We want to see quick results in anything we do. However, we need to understand that we are not machines. Don’t give your learning more speed. Instead, give it motivation, curiosity, and space. Only then will it produce the fruits you are looking for.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAngelos Georgakis
    Release dateNov 17, 2015
    ISBN9781519978318
    The Superlearner Myth - The Organic, Long-Term Approach to Effective Learning
    Author

    Angelos Georgakis

    Angelos Georgakis is a life and business coach. He's said about his work: "I BE with my people and I LOVE them enough to BE anything I need to BE so that they may SEE." He helps his clients build self-awareness and craft their dream career. He's delivered talks at the University of Oxford and companies such as Google. You will find him on angelosgeorgakis.com

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      Book preview

      The Superlearner Myth - The Organic, Long-Term Approach to Effective Learning - Angelos Georgakis

      Introduction

      What is this book about?

      This book will teach you how to learn effectively according to research results in cognitive psychology. Effective learning here means durable, long-term learning. I do not believe in superlearning or consuming vast amounts of information in record times. I want to make your learning as strong as possible to prevent forgetting.

      The suggestions of this book will often go against your intuition. However, as we will see, effective learning is counterintuitive. When everyone else is talking about speed-reading, this book focuses on testing and retrieving information from our memory (retrieval practice). When everyone else is talking about how to master a skill in x hours or days (massed practice), this book focuses on spreading learning over time (spaced practice or spacing).

      I do not believe in learning on steroids. As with many aspects of life, trying to reduce the factor time comes at an expense. Faster muscle growth through chemical substances often has detrimental long-term impacts on an athlete’s health. Applying more fire to shorten the cooking time makes your food less tasty. Speeding in your car increases the possibility of an accident. The same happens with learning. If you want to speed it up, you will speed up forgetting too.

      Effective learning is not easy and you shouldn’t make it easy. You can mass information into your head and feel like a superlearner, but this means you will compromise the long-term results of your efforts. This book believes in the organic, long-term approach to learning. This approach aims to create a solid building of knowledge and skills that are durable over time. It’s up to you the way you want to go.

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