Mastering Skills for Success in Life | Ulrich Boser | Talks at Google

Learn Better: Mastering the Skills for Success in Life, Business, and School, or, How to Become an Expert in Just About Anything

For centuries, experts have argued that learning was about memorizing information: You're supposed to study facts, dates, and details, burn them into your memory, and then apply that knowledge at opportune times. But this approach to learning isn’t nearly enough for the world that we live in today, and in Learn Better journalist and education researcher Ulrich Boser demonstrates that how we learn can matter just as much as what we learn.

In this brilliantly researched book, Boser maps out the new science of learning, showing how simple techniques like comprehension check-ins and making material personally relatable can help people gain expertise in dramatically better ways. He covers six key steps to help readers “learn how to learn,” all illuminated with fascinating stories like how Jackson Pollock developed his unique painting style and why an ancient Japanese counting device allows kids to do math at superhuman speeds. Boser’s witty, engaging writing makes this book feel like a guilty pleasure, not homework.

"Learn Better" will revolutionize the way students and society alike approach learning and makes the case that being smart is not an innate ability ― learning is a skill everyone can master. With Boser as their guide, readers will be able to fully capitalize on their brain’s remarkable ability to gain new skills and open up a whole new world of possibilities.

[КротКирпич]

Here's a short summary:

1. "Retrieval practice" outscores all other techniques in learning new material (recall freshly acquired information and try to write it down on a blank paper);
2. "Mixing up" and interleaving of practice makes it easier to remember;
3. "Think about thinking." Constantly reassessing the goals of acquiring new information lets you dig deeper in understanding and hence remembering;
4. "Remembering memory." Consider that you're capable of holding around 3 to 5 elements in your short-term memory;
5. "Spacing out." Acquired information gets deteriorated within a very short period of time (50% gets lost the next day). Dealing with information again prolongs its stay in the brain;
6. "Find relationships." Related facts stick better than unrelated chunk of data;
7. "Reflect." Operate on what you've learned, play with it, use it, think about it and so on. Useful info stays, useless - disappears.

Could've misinterpreted some of these, but anyways, hope it helps to grasp the key points of the video.

[DharmendraRaiMindMap]

No Q & A ! Dammmmn ! That is one of the most interesting aspects of Google Talks . One of the reasons classroom learning is powerful because people learn from the group's intelligence . Please please make it a part of every talk !

[tsu]

06:09 another thing makes sense is explaining something to other people...So researchers really love to name things specific in psychology. This is now known as the protege effect, and explains why explaining something to someone else is actually like a really effective way to learn.

[msajjadali]

Excellent. Very informative and empowering. Thanks for sharing and helping others.

[DharmendraRaiMindMap]

Excellent ! I ' learned" lots

[neildbarker]

A decent overview. I was hoping for more practical recommendations rather than details from research studies and experts.

[AnimeshSharma]

Thanks for the talk, good reminder for spacing, interleaving and reflection. Just got confused @36:28 "water expands as it grows bigger", probably the speaker meant water expands when it freezes?

[human.spirit]

Google Talk should invite Swami Sarvapriyananda for a talk. The Swami is a monk, and the minister of the Vedanta Society of New York. He is an enlightened soul, and an incredible speaker. His talks are around eastern philosophy, and consciousness studies. Most importantly, you will feel uplifted in his presence. I am not exaggerating, and have no axe to grind. Listen to one of his talks on YouTube and see if you can stop listening!

[skgal]

Have you really not improved as a driver since age 18? Can you better anticipate other drivers' actions, how/when to speed up or slow down (such as in rain or upon encountering construction)? How about parking or using your mirrors effectively? Is skill improvement not considered learning?

[КротКирпич]

By the way, the principle that he's talking about at 30:10 totally applies here too. The fact that he's giving a finger to the phone as an example does not make him a less credible source of information, but certainly makes you feel that he is one.
Besides, that joke about Obama at 37:03 felt absolutely cringe worthy.

[FahimFarooqFoto]

ich habe heute noch nicht gefrühstückt

[kroda]

Informative talk, seemingly nice guy. But says "right" too much (the ultimate speaking crutch of our time).

[ipadsforautism]

Wow! Your 1st point is so WRONG for most people. The MORE wrong most people are about whatever subject esp the MORE they are shown how wrong they truly are, the more entrenched they become with their wrong information, wrong position, wrong thinking etc.

[duallinguallady-aishaahmed]

* His speech was interesting 🤔, however I wasn’t sure about his fascination about Obama.

Frankly speaking, I find Obama’s long interval pauses between speaking somewhat quite annoying!

The poor man! Even though he had declared his faith as Christianity and has proven over and over again by countless times to his fellow country American men and women of Christian faith, how trustworthy they are in believing him. A very pitiful situation!

Even this speaker couldn’t help himself at the end of his speech by drawing the audience’s attention to the fact that Mr.Obama came from an African origin!

What a sad 😞 situation it must be for Mr. Obama knowing his mother was a white American lady married to an African man that he later may not have been in touch with, but nonetheless has the burden of going on being called an unAmerican.

Where as Ms. Kamala Harris doesn’t have to prove herself to anyone!

Her father just like Mr. Obama’s is also an African man, but there’s no mention of her anywhere that she’s from Africa nor she is from India 🇮🇳 when her mother is a South Indian lady from Chennai! Everyone considers her as an American Black lady. What irony?!

Why do you think 🤔 that is?

Could it possibly be because Obama has been given a Muslim name by his father?

Do you know a Muslim man can marry a Christian and a Jewish women?

In that case, it’s up to the children what faith they want to follow?

Even the people who are born into a Muslim family change their faith. But it’s funny how the Christians are NOT acceptable to Mr. Obama’s faith.