“The only real edge is how you learn and how fast you can stay ahead”

Important Principles to Understand:

Understanding the definition of studying: Devoting time and attention to acquiring knowledge on a subject.
- The overarching theme of my learning system is to acquire knowledge with the least time and energy, and preserve that knowledge long-term.
  - That’s why these principles exist for that reason:
    1. Parkinson’s Law - Your task will fill the dedicated time you give the task.
    2. Pareto Principle - 20% efforts leads to 80% results.
    3. Forgetting Curve - We quickly forget new information unless we keep practicing it.
    4. Yerkes-Dodson Law - How if you’re challenged it can actually be a benefit for your learning
    5. Hypercorrection Effect - Retention is strongest when correcting high confidence mistakes
    6. “Mastery is the inability to do it wrong” - My band teacher
    7. Formulas for success:
      1. Effective Studying = Acquiring Knowledge + Least Time + Least Energy + Maximum Focus + Minimal distractions
      2. Time you Spend Studying ≠ Knowledge Gained
      3. Knowledge Gained = Time * Intensity²
        
        Effort = Meaningful Learning
    8. Learning Pyramid - Retention increases as learning becomes more active

Sam’s 3 Step Learning Process

1. Acquire:

Purpose: Acquiring new knowledge

Before Class:

Priming:
- You will acquire new knowledge early by understanding the purpose of the lecture is the basis of priming

In-Class Notes:

The purpose of your notes is to support acquire new knowledge, not transcription, because notes are not the primary way you learn but exist to preserve knowledge.
- Make sure you’re writing down new things that you wont be able to find later in their resources or are hinted for an exam
For PowerPoint-Based Lectures:
- Download or print the slides before class.
- Annotate directly on the slides during lecture

2. Encode:

Purpose: Transferring acquired knowledge into memory to counter the Forgetting Curve

Active Recall:

The deliberate and effortful retrieval of information from memory without referring to the source material or simply you’re learning through answering questions.
Essentially, you’re making it harder to generate the answer to wire the information deeper to acquire knowledge (Knowledge gained formula)
- How?
  - Directly interacting with resources you have to answer questions:
    - Past Exams/Quizzes:
      - Testing is the best way to study because our brain learns faster when we’re trying to retrieve some information
    - Homework/Assignments
    - Flashcards:
      - Make sure you attempt to recall the answer before revealing it, since the purpose of flashcards is active recall.
      - Don’t expect that you can solve all the questions in your flashcards the first time. It’s SUPPOSED to be challenging (Yerkes-Dodson Law)
  - Important Notes:
    - Study the hard things first or things you have no idea about
    - Study one thing at a time
To memorize something:
- Blurting Method:
  - Helps you memorize a concept quicker
    - Logically breaking down a concept you need to memorize into smaller chunks.
      - Overloading your brain with too much content to remember will do the opposite and make you forget information
        
        After breaking it down into smaller chunks, look at the resource, then close it. Write as much as you can remember for each chunk and combine them as you go.
To understand the purpose of something:
- Feynman Technique:
  - Helps you understand the purpose of something
    - This technique involves extracting the core concept that a problem is trying to teach and then explaining it to yourself or someone else in simple terms. Every problem, regardless of the subject, is designed to assess your understanding of a specific concept by presenting it in a particular situation for a specific reason. The key is to identify this core concept and clearly explain why it applies to the problem. This method emphasizes not just recognizing the concept but also understanding the "why" behind it. This ensures deep comprehension and the ability to apply the concept across different contexts.
Important note for applying the two techniques:
- Different subjects require different balances of memorization and understanding. Some subjects rely heavily on memorization, others demand deeper understanding, and many require a mix of both. Because of this variation, the Blurting and Feynman Technique should be applied flexibly depending on the needs of the material.
- If a question feels confusing due to new wording, you should ask yourself - “What is the core concept being tested here, and what must be true regardless of how this question is worded?
Conclusion:
- Active Recall is literally a cheat code. If you can get in the habit of studying through testing. You’ll be able to study effectively and ace all your classes with ease.