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The Science of Rapid Skill Acquisition: Advanced Methods to Learn, Remember, and Master New Skills, Information, and Abilities
Scientific Methods to accelerate your learning to save time, beat competition, and get from Point A to point B at the speed of light. Learning is the key to bettering your circumstances and becoming the person you want to be. Skills, information, and abilities will never come to you - it’s up to you to seek them out, and this book shows you how to do so in the most effective and efficient manner. Applicable and actionable advice - not just theory and description. Work smarter, not harder. The Science of Rapid Skill Acquisition is the definitive resource to get you where you want to be in terms of a new talent, skill, or ability. You may not realize it, but each day is a set of skills and tasks that we repeat. Each hobby and interest is also a set of skills and tasks. This book focuses on what matters in processing information and being able to use it effectively to your advantage. Rapid skill acquisition is how you get ahead in life professionally and personally. Learn to rapidly train your brain and develop muscle memory. Understand the underlying psychology and biology. Peter Hollins has studied psychology and peak human performance for over a dozen years and is a bestselling author. He has worked with a multitude of individuals to unlock their potential and path towards success. His writing draws on his academic, coaching, and research experience. Tactics that top 1% performers and competitors use. • Theories and principles of learning and what we are doing wrong. • How your expectations matter more than your amount of talent. • How to make a plan to strategically deconstruct and analyze information and skills. How to get better results while working less. • Surprising methods to utilize the people and environment around you. • The art of practicing, pivoting, and correcting yourself. • How to stack your skills and become a unique resource. • Take advantage of learning science to best absorb info. Learning slowly and inefficiently will lead to your downfall -- or even worse, being average. We live in a fast-paced world. Will you fall behind or take the lead? The choice is yours -- learning unlocks the doors to everything we want in life. Accelerating that process makes your life easier and more fulfilled. Personally, your intersts and hobbies will grow at a quick pace for more enjoyment. Professionally, your career opportunities will skyrocket because of your newfound proficiencies. Start your journey rapidly by clicking the BUY NOW BUTTON at the top of this page!
204 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 3, 2019
1082 people are currently reading
4045 people want to read
About the author
Peter Hollins
138 books357 followersPeter Hollins is a bestselling author, human psychology researcher, and a student of the human condition. He possesses a BS in psychology and a graduate degree.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
December 31, 2019
What value does this book add?
Yes, it does add some value, in that it carefully captures various aspects of learning into clear frameworks. Almost all the knowledge in the book is taken from elsewhere. The author has made zero contributions or original contributions to this book, except that he has organized it carefully into a small readable book. Almost everything from this book is taken from other books, all of which I have read already, for example, he takes from Cal Newport a few concepts, then he takes a few concepts from The Talent Code and then more concepts from Flow and on and on. He takes one concept after the other, but he organizes them very well. If you wish to save a lot of time and get the side headings right or get the keywords rights, then this book might help, but if you wish to get a deeper understanding of learning, this book is only the beginner's manual or an introductory work. It won't go to the depth required to understand these concepts. This book reminded me of another such book, the PERSONAL MBA, where the author tries to capture all the keywords in MBA in one book, in a desperate attempt to boil down a two-year course into a small book, he manages to get all the definitions, speaking very rapidly.
Books:
democracy and education and introduction to the philosophy of education
The Talent Code
Flow
Purpose
Demand and supply
Talent
Current circumstances
Life situations
Stages of learning
1. Unconscious incompetence - don't know what you don't know
2. Conscious incompetence - basics
3. Conscious competence - proficiency not natural yet
4. Unconscious competence - expert
Learning - chan
Deliberate practice
Interleaved practice
Yes, it does add some value, in that it carefully captures various aspects of learning into clear frameworks. Almost all the knowledge in the book is taken from elsewhere. The author has made zero contributions or original contributions to this book, except that he has organized it carefully into a small readable book. Almost everything from this book is taken from other books, all of which I have read already, for example, he takes from Cal Newport a few concepts, then he takes a few concepts from The Talent Code and then more concepts from Flow and on and on. He takes one concept after the other, but he organizes them very well. If you wish to save a lot of time and get the side headings right or get the keywords rights, then this book might help, but if you wish to get a deeper understanding of learning, this book is only the beginner's manual or an introductory work. It won't go to the depth required to understand these concepts. This book reminded me of another such book, the PERSONAL MBA, where the author tries to capture all the keywords in MBA in one book, in a desperate attempt to boil down a two-year course into a small book, he manages to get all the definitions, speaking very rapidly.
Books:
democracy and education and introduction to the philosophy of education
The Talent Code
Flow
Purpose
Demand and supply
Talent
Current circumstances
Life situations
Stages of learning
1. Unconscious incompetence - don't know what you don't know
2. Conscious incompetence - basics
3. Conscious competence - proficiency not natural yet
4. Unconscious competence - expert
Learning - chan
Deliberate practice
Interleaved practice
February 25, 2025
"Learning is the key to bettering your circumstances and becoming the person you want to be. Skills, information, and abilities will never come to you - it’s up to you to seek them out, and this book shows you how to do so in the most effective and efficient manner."
I will need to reread this again several times. It's practical and unlike a lot of books it uses evidence-based strategies to learn new skills efficiently and effectively. It emphasizes focused practice, feedback loops, and tailored learning techniques.
On an emotional level, the takeaway for me was the reminder to keep a child-like curiosity and enthusiasm, understanding that the process will we painful at times and always rewarding as long as you persist.
I will need to reread this again several times. It's practical and unlike a lot of books it uses evidence-based strategies to learn new skills efficiently and effectively. It emphasizes focused practice, feedback loops, and tailored learning techniques.
On an emotional level, the takeaway for me was the reminder to keep a child-like curiosity and enthusiasm, understanding that the process will we painful at times and always rewarding as long as you persist.
April 8, 2020
As an aggressive autodidact myself in several fields, I can testify this all works. I've been applying these findings for years now to great results. The book is written in clear, very approachable style.
July 5, 2019
I started this book and immediately was unimpressed. It's one of those books that spends the time selling itself a fair degree, contradicting itself at times, and then it began an overview of the various learning styles so that you could understand them all. That's more a summary of the current scientific understanding of how learning might be structured/understood/broken down, not something useful! I gave up an hour or two in; anyone who's interested in this should probably read Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning which is the real version of what this book advertises itself to be.
June 13, 2020
I went to school in America. It makes sense, right? I mean, I was born in the United States, so it isn’t like I would travel to Sweden, say, for my education. Initially, I went to a Catholic School, but I couldn’t afford the tuition for a Private High School and went to my local Public School for that. High School in the United States is generally done from the ages of 14 to 18 and is split into four grades; freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior. In any case, the only thing I learned at school was the rote memorization of facts. Regurgitating facts was relatively easy for me, so I did pretty well in high school.
The main problem with my schooling is that it didn’t teach me how to learn. This might seem astonishing. How can someone attend school for a large proportion of their life and not know how to learn new things with ease? Well, schools get things all wrong. It might have to do with the history of formal schooling in America, or it might have to do with the fact that going by age is a problem. It might be that trying to lump everyone with different histories and abilities is a flawed idea. However, I don’t have the answer to any of that, and that isn’t the point of this particular piece of writing.
The Science of Rapid Skill Acquisition is another book by Peter Hollins. It follows the same basic formula as his other books; large print text, endnotes for each chapter that summarize what was written, scientific backing for the ideas put forth, and so on. It seems that he could have combined all of his books into one massive book, but I am not a publisher or editor.
Hollins goes into the theories and ideas that underlie our understanding of the process of learning. We know quite a bit about it, but many of us don’t bother learning new things outside of a school environment. This makes a bit of sense, we don’t have an infinite amount of time. There are only so many things that one can learn, and learning new things is difficult sometimes.
So let’s say you wanted to gain a new skill; say you wanted to learn how to play Go. Go is an ancient game of Asian origin that shares some similarities with Chess, but at the same time, it is in its own league for complexity and beauty. On the other hand, Go has some downsides depending on where you live. Let’s say you’re like me, you live in Milwaukee, WI, or a city of similar size. Who has even heard of Go where you live? Sure there is the internet, but that is limiting in you might not know what you are doing and you could learn the wrong way. That is one issue. The other issue is that learning to play Go is a very difficult proposition. If you are aiming for professionalism, apparently you have to make it before the age of thirty-five. I don’t know if they changed that rule, but it doesn’t matter to me all that much. With Chess, you just become a Grandmaster and that’s it. With Go, there are different levels, sort of like martial art belts. This is merely my understanding, I apologize if it is wrong.
So with all of that, you might be discouraged from learning to play. That same set of rules applies to learning an instrument. Learning an instrument is also difficult. You have to do a lot of practice. You can’t just mindlessly play chords though, you have to have a real plan of action. So with all of this advice, Hollins goes over a lot of techniques and methods to learn things more efficiently. It is a good book. I can’t recall how much I paid for it, but I did like reading it.
The main problem with my schooling is that it didn’t teach me how to learn. This might seem astonishing. How can someone attend school for a large proportion of their life and not know how to learn new things with ease? Well, schools get things all wrong. It might have to do with the history of formal schooling in America, or it might have to do with the fact that going by age is a problem. It might be that trying to lump everyone with different histories and abilities is a flawed idea. However, I don’t have the answer to any of that, and that isn’t the point of this particular piece of writing.
The Science of Rapid Skill Acquisition is another book by Peter Hollins. It follows the same basic formula as his other books; large print text, endnotes for each chapter that summarize what was written, scientific backing for the ideas put forth, and so on. It seems that he could have combined all of his books into one massive book, but I am not a publisher or editor.
Hollins goes into the theories and ideas that underlie our understanding of the process of learning. We know quite a bit about it, but many of us don’t bother learning new things outside of a school environment. This makes a bit of sense, we don’t have an infinite amount of time. There are only so many things that one can learn, and learning new things is difficult sometimes.
So let’s say you wanted to gain a new skill; say you wanted to learn how to play Go. Go is an ancient game of Asian origin that shares some similarities with Chess, but at the same time, it is in its own league for complexity and beauty. On the other hand, Go has some downsides depending on where you live. Let’s say you’re like me, you live in Milwaukee, WI, or a city of similar size. Who has even heard of Go where you live? Sure there is the internet, but that is limiting in you might not know what you are doing and you could learn the wrong way. That is one issue. The other issue is that learning to play Go is a very difficult proposition. If you are aiming for professionalism, apparently you have to make it before the age of thirty-five. I don’t know if they changed that rule, but it doesn’t matter to me all that much. With Chess, you just become a Grandmaster and that’s it. With Go, there are different levels, sort of like martial art belts. This is merely my understanding, I apologize if it is wrong.
So with all of that, you might be discouraged from learning to play. That same set of rules applies to learning an instrument. Learning an instrument is also difficult. You have to do a lot of practice. You can’t just mindlessly play chords though, you have to have a real plan of action. So with all of this advice, Hollins goes over a lot of techniques and methods to learn things more efficiently. It is a good book. I can’t recall how much I paid for it, but I did like reading it.
September 15, 2019
Neither scientific nor practical. There are loose anecdotes and half correct regurgitations of concepts developed by smarter people and that's basically it.
Learning is hard but worth it, there that's the book for you.
It isn't even a good overview of existing methods, so I don't know who that book is for. In my opinion this book is absolutely wasted time, pseudo science, and bad self-help garbage.
Learning is hard but worth it, there that's the book for you.
It isn't even a good overview of existing methods, so I don't know who that book is for. In my opinion this book is absolutely wasted time, pseudo science, and bad self-help garbage.
February 10, 2025
2024- feb
July 11, 2020
This is not a Review. It is just my notes for future reference.
- Active Learning
- Ikigai
- (Aim for) unconscious competence
- #1 Expert gets paid much more
- 80/20
- Do what works (Learning method): Video / Audio / Book
- Teach yourself > Teach others
- Choose expert wisely; skim through different sources, compare between them
- Objectively evaluate, note down key points, remove fake news
- Review differing opinions - Avoid Confirmation bias - losing of objectivity
- Put it all together; Mix and use; Don't be stuck with one teacher
- Producer's mindset, not Consumer's
- Don't delay start until achieving 100% expertise
- Need to learn from doing as well, what you don't know can be learned on the way
- Deliberate practice; Practice right; Repetition doesn't mean improvement
- Muscle memory does not discriminate between good and bad; It just fortifies the practice
- So learn right, even if it takes more time. Speed will come on its own
- Practice does not make perfect; Right practice with continual improvement makes perfect
- You are only as strong as your weakest point. So first fix it
- Interconnect to fill gaps
- Interleaving practice
- Spaced repetition; Distributed practice; More spaced is better;
- Frequency more imp than the duration of a single study session
- Review what you have learned 15 minutes before going to bed
- Problem-based learning
- Don't lose the lesson while practicing
- Compare with your yesterday regularly; to track your progress; Not to compare with others
- Elaborate info; able to answer any questions
- Curiosity
- Elaborate interrogation
- The brain is like any other muscle; You can't do all the training at once
- 25 minutes concentrated study; 5 minutes break; After 3 sets 15 minutes break, and so on
- Ask yourself fundamental questions; most important of it is 'why'; Give yourself a simple answer
- Fineman technique:
- Choose a topic; write a 2 sentence summary;
- If you cant teach a six-year-old you don't know it
- You don't know a thing if you can't explain it
- What you can't explain is your blindspot
- Bloom's taxonomy
- Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, Create
- Curiosity begets learning
- Skill Stacking
- Skill should be compatible
- You can differentiate yourself in your career this way; You distinguish yourself from the masses
- You become more flexible, more marketable
- Being in the top 1% is near impossible, But with 'Skill stacking', you could be in top 5%, which is good enough
- E.g. Learn to promote yourself through YouTube, Blogs, Own web site (eCommerce enabled), LinkedIn articles, etc. The fanbase will convert into income.
- Out of sight, out of mind
- Declutter the negatives
- Shun the negative influence, people, circumstances. Tune out the negative people. Be smart
- Jealousy is real; no one is free from it
- Role model support system
- Model the mindset of your role model
- Construct your virtual social environment before you have the real one
- You can include fictional characters in you 'mastermind alliance'
- Have mentors who have overcome struggles like yours
- Have your own personal BoD
- You are the average of 5 people with whom you spend the most time with
- Have intimidatingly high profile people around yourself virtually and really
- Learn through highly competitive and intensely demanding life circumstances and environment
- It is hard not to learn new skills in such circumstances
- Futsal to Soccer
- You can't teach height
- A good apprentice is better than his master
- Keep all resource you need, near you
- Keep distractions away
- Manage your expectations, don't feel dejected easily
- Don't expect a smooth ride in learning
- Sacrifice is essential for success
- I know nothing (Compared to the collective knowledge in the minds of others)
- Have a beginner's mindset
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2020
Nothing novel. Writing style is dull. Pretty much just a synthesis of content that is freely available from other sources.
January 26, 2025
note to self: As you get started on learning something new, it’s easy to fall into the trap of endlessly collecting information. While it’s tempting to keep researching, you’ll never be completely prepared. At some point, you need to stop reading and start doing.
notes:
- the way many of us were taught in school – passive memorization and repetition – often leaves us feeling unprepared to tackle new challenges
- Sadly, many people never learn how to learn, as traditional education emphasizes passive absorption over practical skills
- in the stage of unconscious incompetence, you don’t know what you don’t know, which leads to unintentional mistakes. As you progress to conscious incompetence, you start to recognize your errors but don’t yet have the ability to correct them
- conscious competence, where success requires focus and attention
- unconscious competence, where the skill becomes second nature
- breaking something big into smaller parts not only makes it less daunting but clarifies which steps will yield the greatest impact. Focus on those first. (obvs but worth noting)
- Think about learning a new language. Research shows that knowing just a couple hundred key words can allow you to understand most daily conversations. By concentrating on the most commonly used parts of a skill, you can get better faster and more efficiently.
- A method that keeps you focused will always be more effective than one that doesn’t.
- Self-assessment is where you tie everything together.
-
notes:
- the way many of us were taught in school – passive memorization and repetition – often leaves us feeling unprepared to tackle new challenges
- Sadly, many people never learn how to learn, as traditional education emphasizes passive absorption over practical skills
- in the stage of unconscious incompetence, you don’t know what you don’t know, which leads to unintentional mistakes. As you progress to conscious incompetence, you start to recognize your errors but don’t yet have the ability to correct them
- conscious competence, where success requires focus and attention
- unconscious competence, where the skill becomes second nature
- breaking something big into smaller parts not only makes it less daunting but clarifies which steps will yield the greatest impact. Focus on those first. (obvs but worth noting)
- Think about learning a new language. Research shows that knowing just a couple hundred key words can allow you to understand most daily conversations. By concentrating on the most commonly used parts of a skill, you can get better faster and more efficiently.
- A method that keeps you focused will always be more effective than one that doesn’t.
- Self-assessment is where you tie everything together.
-
May 17, 2022
Książka mądra, ale tą wiedzę już gdzieś słyszałem. Lecz to ona mnie utwierdziła w tym co mam robić i jak robić aby się nauczyć tego obcego języka - może tym razem da radę?
Podobno w codziennej mowie korzystany z 750 słów.
Aby zrozumieć 70% treści w danym języku wystarczy poznać 1000 słów
Aby rozumieć 80% treści potrzebujemy już 2000 słów...
Lepiej codziennie powtarzać przez 10 - 20 minut niż za tydzień próbować nauczyć się wszystkiego w jeden dzień i za tą radą też pójdę!
To są proste fakty które nawet ja zrozumie ale też książka porusza bardziej skomplikowane jak np.: martwe pole w naszej wiedzy, to tak jak w sytuacji na drodze w aucie które prowadzimy, gdy coś schowa się w naszym "martwym polu" - hmm ciężko mi to wytłumaczyć.
Są też zagadnienia względem nauki gry na instrumencie dość szczegółowo wytłumaczona praktyka, chyba to autor zamiast jeździć na BMX musiał uczyć się muzyki - chyba to w tej książce (?).
Żałuję, że nie ma ścieżki np jak nauczyć się programować ale sądzę, że tą część z nauki języka obcego można tu wdrożyć. W sumie do powtórzenia jeszcze raz aby lepiej zrozumieć i to w papierze bo audiobook to nie to samo...
5 STAR za motywację i plan działania - ciekawe czy skuteczny? Do sprawdzenia!
Podobno w codziennej mowie korzystany z 750 słów.
Aby zrozumieć 70% treści w danym języku wystarczy poznać 1000 słów
Aby rozumieć 80% treści potrzebujemy już 2000 słów...
Lepiej codziennie powtarzać przez 10 - 20 minut niż za tydzień próbować nauczyć się wszystkiego w jeden dzień i za tą radą też pójdę!
To są proste fakty które nawet ja zrozumie ale też książka porusza bardziej skomplikowane jak np.: martwe pole w naszej wiedzy, to tak jak w sytuacji na drodze w aucie które prowadzimy, gdy coś schowa się w naszym "martwym polu" - hmm ciężko mi to wytłumaczyć.
Są też zagadnienia względem nauki gry na instrumencie dość szczegółowo wytłumaczona praktyka, chyba to autor zamiast jeździć na BMX musiał uczyć się muzyki - chyba to w tej książce (?).
Żałuję, że nie ma ścieżki np jak nauczyć się programować ale sądzę, że tą część z nauki języka obcego można tu wdrożyć. W sumie do powtórzenia jeszcze raz aby lepiej zrozumieć i to w papierze bo audiobook to nie to samo...
5 STAR za motywację i plan działania - ciekawe czy skuteczny? Do sprawdzenia!
October 18, 2019
Some of the things on the book are common sense. But you really have to think about it to see what the book wants you to learn. The thing is its not really science. Its more about following well meaning advice. It kinda of threw me off a couple of times but I muddled through it.
July 2, 2023
A cursory introduction to skills development
Peter Hollins offers a brief introduction to skill development. It would be a grratvjumo off point for my students. Throughout the brief work, he introduces beneficial techniques and concepts that, if adhered to, will increase proficiency. I enjoyed reading the book. It will be a great reference for me and my students.r
Peter Hollins offers a brief introduction to skill development. It would be a grratvjumo off point for my students. Throughout the brief work, he introduces beneficial techniques and concepts that, if adhered to, will increase proficiency. I enjoyed reading the book. It will be a great reference for me and my students.r
February 3, 2022
Why increase skill? Increase happiness, bankability, capitalise on natural ability, enhance life purpose, cope with life circumstance etc.
Unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence and unconscious competance
Deconstruct and learn subskills
- pareto principle (20% of stuff can make u learn 80% effect)
Learning pyramid and hemisphere of brains are disproven
2 ways of engaging with info
- Solomon-Felder index of learning styles and preferences - 8 styles to learn information
- active vs reflective
- sensing vs intuitive
- visual vs verbal/other
- sequential vs global
- the learning pyramid
5 steps of research
- gather information
- filter your sources
- observe patterns
- find dissenting opinions
- put it all together
Have a producer mindset, not consumer mindset
Deliberate practice
- Cal Newport
- drill down on weaknesses
Interleaved practice
ABC rather than AAA then B
- 41% more effective
Spaced repetition
- not intensity of each session
- regular periods of active memorizations
Problem based learning
- in solving the problem Y, you have also learnt X in the process
- been around since John Dewys "Democracy and Education: An introduction to the philosophy of education" - one basic premise was learning by doing
- used in medical school - using real patients
Can work as a series of steps:
1. define your problem
2. determine what you already know
3. list potential solutions and choose the one most likely to succeed
4. break the steps into action items (a timeline often helps)
5. identify what you still need to know and how you will get that information
10 Questions to assess yourself during practice
1. What was the cause of the mistake?
2. Did you make a mistake in the strategy or in the method that you chose to follow?
3. Did you make a mistake in execution?
4. What should you have done differently?
5. Were there any warning signs you missed?
6. Did you make any assumptions that turned out wrong?
7. Has making this mistake revealed any blind spots or skills you need to practice more?
8. Did this mistake reveal a character trait- like hubris or inflexibility- that's holding you back?
9. How will you do things differently moving forward so this doesn't happen again?
10. If you saw someone else making a similar mistake, how would you advise them?
Schedule your practice
Practice in short bursts
- Pomdoro technique - set a timer for 25 minutes where you'll work intensely then 5 minute break. Repeat this 4 times and then a 15 minute break. Repeat all this again
Comprehension
Elaborative Interrogation
- keep asking why? Why? Why? Until there's no gap in knowledge
- what is the Great depression? Why did it happen? Why did stock's go down? What is margin selling? Etc
Feynmann technique
- able to explain complicated things in very simple terms and shirt sentences I.e. what is gravity?
- choose ur concept, write down explanation concept in plain English, find ur blindspots and use an analogy
Blooms taxonomy
- remember
- understand
- apply
- analyse - deconstruct
- evaluate
- create - construct
Curiosity muscle
5 dimensions of curiosity
- joyous exploration
- deprivation sensitivity
- stress tolerance
- social curiosity
Stack your skills
- intermingling many skills makes you unique - having one skill will mean u have elite competition to beat
- Scott Adams - Dilbert
- rather than be in 1% be in top 10-15% in many things
- stockbroker: on top of communication and calculating skills, learn a foreign language (relevant to foreign markets), knowledge of biotech, medicine
Physical and social environment helps
- study by New England Journal of Medicine found that if members of their friendship circle gained weight, so did they. If one is obese the likelihood of the other increases by 171%
No negative Nancies
- if friends say piano are for nerds, you wouldn't learn piano
- get rid of friends who assure negative thoughts
Don't be the superlative of your friends. Be the average in the midst so u can learn
Learn external and internal behaviours and motivations
Skill hotbed
- Good environments - Florentine art collective and Brazillian futsal cooperative
- Meetup.com - international groups devoted to any skill
Physical surroundings
- assume worst about ur own self-discipline
- Brian Wansink of Cornell University conducted dietary study where serving 10 inch plates instead of 12 reduced food eaten by 22%
Lower activation energy on desirable activities and increase it with undesirable ones
- keep things close if u need them
- keep distractions away from you
Temper expectations
- takes 2 months to develop a habit and 25 hours to become skilled
There'll always be opportunity costs with learning
You need confusion endurance
Have a beginners mindset - don't assume and be open
- ask dumb questions
Unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence and unconscious competance
Deconstruct and learn subskills
- pareto principle (20% of stuff can make u learn 80% effect)
Learning pyramid and hemisphere of brains are disproven
2 ways of engaging with info
- Solomon-Felder index of learning styles and preferences - 8 styles to learn information
- active vs reflective
- sensing vs intuitive
- visual vs verbal/other
- sequential vs global
- the learning pyramid
5 steps of research
- gather information
- filter your sources
- observe patterns
- find dissenting opinions
- put it all together
Have a producer mindset, not consumer mindset
Deliberate practice
- Cal Newport
- drill down on weaknesses
Interleaved practice
ABC rather than AAA then B
- 41% more effective
Spaced repetition
- not intensity of each session
- regular periods of active memorizations
Problem based learning
- in solving the problem Y, you have also learnt X in the process
- been around since John Dewys "Democracy and Education: An introduction to the philosophy of education" - one basic premise was learning by doing
- used in medical school - using real patients
Can work as a series of steps:
1. define your problem
2. determine what you already know
3. list potential solutions and choose the one most likely to succeed
4. break the steps into action items (a timeline often helps)
5. identify what you still need to know and how you will get that information
10 Questions to assess yourself during practice
1. What was the cause of the mistake?
2. Did you make a mistake in the strategy or in the method that you chose to follow?
3. Did you make a mistake in execution?
4. What should you have done differently?
5. Were there any warning signs you missed?
6. Did you make any assumptions that turned out wrong?
7. Has making this mistake revealed any blind spots or skills you need to practice more?
8. Did this mistake reveal a character trait- like hubris or inflexibility- that's holding you back?
9. How will you do things differently moving forward so this doesn't happen again?
10. If you saw someone else making a similar mistake, how would you advise them?
Schedule your practice
Practice in short bursts
- Pomdoro technique - set a timer for 25 minutes where you'll work intensely then 5 minute break. Repeat this 4 times and then a 15 minute break. Repeat all this again
Comprehension
Elaborative Interrogation
- keep asking why? Why? Why? Until there's no gap in knowledge
- what is the Great depression? Why did it happen? Why did stock's go down? What is margin selling? Etc
Feynmann technique
- able to explain complicated things in very simple terms and shirt sentences I.e. what is gravity?
- choose ur concept, write down explanation concept in plain English, find ur blindspots and use an analogy
Blooms taxonomy
- remember
- understand
- apply
- analyse - deconstruct
- evaluate
- create - construct
Curiosity muscle
5 dimensions of curiosity
- joyous exploration
- deprivation sensitivity
- stress tolerance
- social curiosity
Stack your skills
- intermingling many skills makes you unique - having one skill will mean u have elite competition to beat
- Scott Adams - Dilbert
- rather than be in 1% be in top 10-15% in many things
- stockbroker: on top of communication and calculating skills, learn a foreign language (relevant to foreign markets), knowledge of biotech, medicine
Physical and social environment helps
- study by New England Journal of Medicine found that if members of their friendship circle gained weight, so did they. If one is obese the likelihood of the other increases by 171%
No negative Nancies
- if friends say piano are for nerds, you wouldn't learn piano
- get rid of friends who assure negative thoughts
Don't be the superlative of your friends. Be the average in the midst so u can learn
Learn external and internal behaviours and motivations
Skill hotbed
- Good environments - Florentine art collective and Brazillian futsal cooperative
- Meetup.com - international groups devoted to any skill
Physical surroundings
- assume worst about ur own self-discipline
- Brian Wansink of Cornell University conducted dietary study where serving 10 inch plates instead of 12 reduced food eaten by 22%
Lower activation energy on desirable activities and increase it with undesirable ones
- keep things close if u need them
- keep distractions away from you
Temper expectations
- takes 2 months to develop a habit and 25 hours to become skilled
There'll always be opportunity costs with learning
You need confusion endurance
Have a beginners mindset - don't assume and be open
- ask dumb questions
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2024
I can’t honestly say I enjoyed this book. The title seems misleading as the book appears to have little to do with science, other than quoting the results of a few experiments, and it is written more in the style of a ‘sales’ text rather than something which appeared genuine and enjoyable. There is a lot of what I consider to be unnecessary padding and repetition in this book causing me to skim-read to find anything useful. Some may like this book and the writer’s style, of course, but it didn’t work well for me and I am likely to avoid reading further books by this author.
January 25, 2025
Peter Hollins’ "The Science of Rapid Skill Acquisition" dives into the art of mastering new skills effectively and efficiently. In a world where information is abundant and easily accessible, learning is no longer a luxury but an essential part of personal and professional growth. However, traditional methods of learning, which often rely on passive memorization and repetition, fail to equip people with the tools they need to succeed. Hollins emphasizes the need for actionable strategies, deliberate practice, and a shift in mindset to truly excel. This book serves as a guide to help readers identify skills that align with their goals, tackle challenges head-on, and implement techniques to accelerate mastery.
The journey toward rapid skill acquisition begins with determining which skills matter most. Time and energy are finite resources, so focusing on skills that add significant value to your life is crucial. Whether it’s enhancing your happiness, addressing challenges, or aligning with your life’s purpose, choosing the right skills to learn is the foundation of success. Hollins explains the stages of learning, from unconscious incompetence—where you’re unaware of what you don’t know—to unconscious competence, where skills become second nature. Understanding these stages helps set realistic expectations, reducing frustration during the inevitable moments of discomfort and mistakes.
Mistakes, Hollins argues, are not setbacks but allies in the learning process. They provide valuable feedback and help learners adjust their strategies. Persistence through these challenges is what ultimately leads to mastery. By embracing discomfort and viewing errors as opportunities, learners can build resilience and confidence.
One of the core principles in Hollins’ approach is breaking down complex skills into manageable parts. This concept, often referred to as deconstruction, makes seemingly overwhelming tasks more approachable. For example, building a house involves mastering smaller tasks like wiring, tiling, and drafting blueprints. Similarly, breaking down a skill into its essential components clarifies which steps yield the most significant results. This aligns with the 80/20 rule, which suggests that focusing on the most impactful 20% of a skill can lead to 80% of the results.
Hollins encourages learners to experiment with different learning styles and formats to find what works best for them. Whether it’s watching tutorials, reading guides, or hands-on practice, the key is staying engaged. He warns against the trap of endless preparation—gathering information without taking action. True learning happens when you start doing, even if you’re not fully prepared. Action, combined with a willingness to learn as you go, is what drives progress.
Deliberate practice is another cornerstone of Hollins’ method. Simply repeating a task isn’t enough; improvement comes from targeting areas of difficulty and working on them intentionally. For instance, a pianist struggling with a specific section of a piece should focus on that part rather than playing the entire composition repeatedly. This targeted approach builds accuracy and prevents the reinforcement of bad habits.
Interleaving, or alternating between related skills during practice, is another technique Hollins highlights. For example, a guitarist might alternate between practicing scales, chords, and picking exercises. This method forces the brain to work harder, creating stronger connections and improving retention. Spaced repetition—short, consistent practice sessions spread over time—further reinforces learning by embedding knowledge into long-term memory.
Self-assessment plays a critical role in the learning process. Hollins advises learners to regularly evaluate their progress, identify areas for improvement, and adjust their strategies accordingly. Honest and detailed evaluations help pinpoint weaknesses and refine skills over time. By combining deliberate practice, interleaving, spaced repetition, and self-assessment, learners can build a solid foundation for mastery.
To deepen understanding, Hollins introduces methods like elaborative interrogation and the Feynman Technique. Elaborative interrogation involves asking “why” and “how” questions to uncover deeper insights. Similarly, the Feynman Technique encourages learners to simplify complex concepts and explain them in layman’s terms. If gaps in understanding emerge, they serve as cues to revisit the material. These methods foster critical thinking, clarity, and robust comprehension.
Curiosity is a driving force behind effective learning. By tapping into one’s natural curiosity—whether it’s the joy of discovery, solving a problem, or exploring something new—learners can stay motivated even when challenges arise. Hollins emphasizes the importance of maintaining curiosity to make the learning process enjoyable and rewarding.
Skill stacking is another powerful strategy Hollins explores. Instead of aiming to be the best in a single area, learners can combine complementary skills to create unique value. For instance, a writer with knowledge of HTML and social media marketing can reach a broader audience and open new opportunities. Hollins uses Scott Adams, the creator of "Dilbert", as an example. Adams combined his moderate artistic skills, business knowledge, and humor to create a distinctive and successful comic strip. By identifying core skills and adding complementary abilities, learners can position themselves as irreplaceable in their fields.
The influence of one’s surroundings also plays a significant role in learning. Hollins cites research showing how social environments can shape behaviors, emphasizing the importance of surrounding oneself with positive influences. Role models, mentors, and supportive communities can inspire growth and provide valuable guidance. Creating a physical environment that supports learning—such as organizing tools for easy access and minimizing distractions—further enhances the process.
Lastly, Hollins stresses the importance of realistic expectations and preparation. Learning a new skill is a journey that requires time, patience, and sacrifices. Overambitious goals can lead to frustration, while overly modest ones may fail to challenge and engage. Hollins advises adopting a beginner’s mindset, embracing the discomfort of the learning curve, and staying persistent through setbacks. With deliberate effort and preparation, learners can achieve meaningful progress and unlock their potential.
In conclusion, "The Science of Rapid Skill Acquisition" provides a comprehensive guide to mastering new skills efficiently and effectively. Peter Hollins challenges traditional learning methods, offering actionable strategies that emphasize focus, discipline, and resilience. By breaking skills into manageable parts, embracing deliberate practice, and leveraging curiosity and creativity, readers can accelerate their learning journey. Surrounding oneself with positive influences, stacking complementary skills, and setting realistic expectations further enhance the process. With these tools, Hollins empowers readers to take control of their learning, overcome challenges, and achieve lasting success.
The journey toward rapid skill acquisition begins with determining which skills matter most. Time and energy are finite resources, so focusing on skills that add significant value to your life is crucial. Whether it’s enhancing your happiness, addressing challenges, or aligning with your life’s purpose, choosing the right skills to learn is the foundation of success. Hollins explains the stages of learning, from unconscious incompetence—where you’re unaware of what you don’t know—to unconscious competence, where skills become second nature. Understanding these stages helps set realistic expectations, reducing frustration during the inevitable moments of discomfort and mistakes.
Mistakes, Hollins argues, are not setbacks but allies in the learning process. They provide valuable feedback and help learners adjust their strategies. Persistence through these challenges is what ultimately leads to mastery. By embracing discomfort and viewing errors as opportunities, learners can build resilience and confidence.
One of the core principles in Hollins’ approach is breaking down complex skills into manageable parts. This concept, often referred to as deconstruction, makes seemingly overwhelming tasks more approachable. For example, building a house involves mastering smaller tasks like wiring, tiling, and drafting blueprints. Similarly, breaking down a skill into its essential components clarifies which steps yield the most significant results. This aligns with the 80/20 rule, which suggests that focusing on the most impactful 20% of a skill can lead to 80% of the results.
Hollins encourages learners to experiment with different learning styles and formats to find what works best for them. Whether it’s watching tutorials, reading guides, or hands-on practice, the key is staying engaged. He warns against the trap of endless preparation—gathering information without taking action. True learning happens when you start doing, even if you’re not fully prepared. Action, combined with a willingness to learn as you go, is what drives progress.
Deliberate practice is another cornerstone of Hollins’ method. Simply repeating a task isn’t enough; improvement comes from targeting areas of difficulty and working on them intentionally. For instance, a pianist struggling with a specific section of a piece should focus on that part rather than playing the entire composition repeatedly. This targeted approach builds accuracy and prevents the reinforcement of bad habits.
Interleaving, or alternating between related skills during practice, is another technique Hollins highlights. For example, a guitarist might alternate between practicing scales, chords, and picking exercises. This method forces the brain to work harder, creating stronger connections and improving retention. Spaced repetition—short, consistent practice sessions spread over time—further reinforces learning by embedding knowledge into long-term memory.
Self-assessment plays a critical role in the learning process. Hollins advises learners to regularly evaluate their progress, identify areas for improvement, and adjust their strategies accordingly. Honest and detailed evaluations help pinpoint weaknesses and refine skills over time. By combining deliberate practice, interleaving, spaced repetition, and self-assessment, learners can build a solid foundation for mastery.
To deepen understanding, Hollins introduces methods like elaborative interrogation and the Feynman Technique. Elaborative interrogation involves asking “why” and “how” questions to uncover deeper insights. Similarly, the Feynman Technique encourages learners to simplify complex concepts and explain them in layman’s terms. If gaps in understanding emerge, they serve as cues to revisit the material. These methods foster critical thinking, clarity, and robust comprehension.
Curiosity is a driving force behind effective learning. By tapping into one’s natural curiosity—whether it’s the joy of discovery, solving a problem, or exploring something new—learners can stay motivated even when challenges arise. Hollins emphasizes the importance of maintaining curiosity to make the learning process enjoyable and rewarding.
Skill stacking is another powerful strategy Hollins explores. Instead of aiming to be the best in a single area, learners can combine complementary skills to create unique value. For instance, a writer with knowledge of HTML and social media marketing can reach a broader audience and open new opportunities. Hollins uses Scott Adams, the creator of "Dilbert", as an example. Adams combined his moderate artistic skills, business knowledge, and humor to create a distinctive and successful comic strip. By identifying core skills and adding complementary abilities, learners can position themselves as irreplaceable in their fields.
The influence of one’s surroundings also plays a significant role in learning. Hollins cites research showing how social environments can shape behaviors, emphasizing the importance of surrounding oneself with positive influences. Role models, mentors, and supportive communities can inspire growth and provide valuable guidance. Creating a physical environment that supports learning—such as organizing tools for easy access and minimizing distractions—further enhances the process.
Lastly, Hollins stresses the importance of realistic expectations and preparation. Learning a new skill is a journey that requires time, patience, and sacrifices. Overambitious goals can lead to frustration, while overly modest ones may fail to challenge and engage. Hollins advises adopting a beginner’s mindset, embracing the discomfort of the learning curve, and staying persistent through setbacks. With deliberate effort and preparation, learners can achieve meaningful progress and unlock their potential.
In conclusion, "The Science of Rapid Skill Acquisition" provides a comprehensive guide to mastering new skills efficiently and effectively. Peter Hollins challenges traditional learning methods, offering actionable strategies that emphasize focus, discipline, and resilience. By breaking skills into manageable parts, embracing deliberate practice, and leveraging curiosity and creativity, readers can accelerate their learning journey. Surrounding oneself with positive influences, stacking complementary skills, and setting realistic expectations further enhance the process. With these tools, Hollins empowers readers to take control of their learning, overcome challenges, and achieve lasting success.
March 20, 2019
The critical right answers.
Peter Hopkins has given me a fresh breath; towards learning. Throughout my life I have achieved success in many endeavers. Along the way there have been many failures. The failures produced corrective action and that made them benifical. This book has organized a clear path to quickly acquire new skills in a short time with complete comprehension and knowledge. Being born in 1939; I am still learning and acquiring new skills.
For the last two years, I have had a mental block in learning a Cad / Can program. With information from this book; that block is broken. I changed my attitude to knowing nothing. It was like magic. Concepts fell into place and I suddenly found I knew more about the subject that had escaped me for so long.
Thanks for writing this book!
Peter Hopkins has given me a fresh breath; towards learning. Throughout my life I have achieved success in many endeavers. Along the way there have been many failures. The failures produced corrective action and that made them benifical. This book has organized a clear path to quickly acquire new skills in a short time with complete comprehension and knowledge. Being born in 1939; I am still learning and acquiring new skills.
For the last two years, I have had a mental block in learning a Cad / Can program. With information from this book; that block is broken. I changed my attitude to knowing nothing. It was like magic. Concepts fell into place and I suddenly found I knew more about the subject that had escaped me for so long.
Thanks for writing this book!
November 20, 2024
Its a comprehensive guide to truly master different skills. I appreciate it being a short read that gets to the point and provides a variety of methods, steps and suggestions along with recaps at the end of each chapter.
November 22, 2019
OK as a reminder of stuff I've mostly already heard, nothing revolutionary
At one point he mentions the law of diminishing returns and "that if you've already read 4 books on a subject, the fifth one is unlikely to give you much new information"
If this is your nth book on productivity/learning, just stop it! Go and actually do something instead! (hopefully I will remember this next time)
At one point he mentions the law of diminishing returns and "that if you've already read 4 books on a subject, the fifth one is unlikely to give you much new information"
If this is your nth book on productivity/learning, just stop it! Go and actually do something instead! (hopefully I will remember this next time)
March 6, 2019
The book feels like a comprehensive collection of blog posts on the topic of learning and skill acquisition. There are many practical tips. I knew many already but to have them all in one place was a great reminder.
August 27, 2019
I wasn't very in depth, but it was a nice overview of the subject. I would say this is a great introduction to a lot of these ideas, and if you like what you see (hear), it's a good jumping-off point for a deeper dive.
November 26, 2024
Peter Hollins’ *The Science of Rapid Skill Acquisition* is a practical guide for those seeking to learn new skills efficiently. By combining insights from psychology, neuroscience, and productivity techniques, Hollins delivers a step-by-step framework to master skills faster than traditional methods allow. Whether you’re a professional aiming to boost career performance or someone pursuing personal hobbies, this book provides actionable strategies that are both effective and motivating.
1. **The 10 Principles of Rapid Skill Acquisition:**
Hollins introduces foundational principles for skill learning, such as identifying clear goals, breaking down skills into smaller components, and ensuring consistent practice. These principles act as a checklist for anyone beginning a new learning journey.
2. **The Importance of Intense Focus:**
Hollins emphasizes the need to eliminate distractions and concentrate fully during learning sessions. Short bursts of deep focus, he argues, are far more effective than long, unfocused periods.
3. **Mental Models and Deconstruction:**
By deconstructing a skill into smaller, digestible parts, learners can focus on mastering specific components before combining them. This reduces overwhelm and speeds up mastery.
4. **Deliberate Practice:**
Borrowing from Anders Ericsson’s research, the book highlights the importance of deliberate practice—purposefully working on weak points and pushing beyond comfort zones. Hollins provides examples and techniques to make practice sessions more productive.
5. **Feedback Loops:**
Constructive and immediate feedback is critical for improvement. Hollins outlines ways to create self-feedback systems, track progress, and adjust methods accordingly.
6. **The Role of Visualization and Mental Rehearsal:**
Hollins explains how mental rehearsal can complement physical practice by activating similar neural pathways. This approach is particularly useful when actual practice is limited by time or resources.
7. **Overcoming Plateaus and Resistance:**
The book addresses the common challenge of hitting a learning plateau and provides strategies to push through it, such as introducing variation, changing the environment, and revisiting goals.
8. **The 80/20 Rule (Pareto Principle):**
Focus on the 20% of activities or techniques that yield 80% of the results. This ensures learners invest time and effort where it matters most.
---
### Strengths:
- **Actionable Advice:** Hollins avoids abstract theories, instead offering clear and practical steps that readers can implement immediately.
- **Diverse Applications:** The strategies can be applied to virtually any skill, from physical activities like playing an instrument to cognitive skills like coding or problem-solving.
- **Engaging Examples:** Case studies and anecdotes keep the book relatable and inspiring.
### Weaknesses:
- **Repetitiveness:** Some points feel repeated, which may slow the pacing for readers already familiar with productivity techniques.
- **Generalization:** While the advice is practical, it occasionally lacks depth in specific skill domains, which might leave some readers wanting more tailored guidance.
---
### Verdict:
*The Science of Rapid Skill Acquisition* is a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their ability to learn efficiently. Hollins distills complex concepts into an accessible format, making it ideal for both beginners and experienced learners. While it may not dive deeply into niche skills, the principles outlined provide a solid foundation for learning almost anything.
**Recommended For:**
- Lifelong learners
- Professionals aiming to upskill
- Anyone seeking to cultivate a growth mindset
August 14, 2024
1)Deconstruct the skill into several sub skills to figure out the 20% that truly is the most important to learn in the skill first. (Equivalent to learning the most used words in the English language)
2) all information is equal. What dictates whether one of better or not is whether you personally absorb it better or get distracted easily. Are you an active (hands on learner) or a passive reflective(analyzing first)? Are you focused on the big picture or detail oriented? Visual (in multiple ways or mediums) or audible and verbal (heavy emphasis on words) or kinesthetic (learning through movement). Sequential (step by step) or global learning(conceptual)?
Lastly comes the learning pyramid that ranks the amount of knowledge that is generally gained. It's not quite accurate but a general indicator. On the bottom of the pyramid would be listening. This is the standard professor at the start of class. This should be limited to only the start of the learning process.
Reading is next because it is dense information at your pace. Audio or visual have twice the potential. A demonstration, a live performance has even higher learning retention. The heart of private lessons. Group discussion is far better as you can discuss with others that are leaning too. Comparisons and misconceptions are easily solved in this method. Real life application is the definition of the deep end though. Teaching others though is qualified at the number one method to retain learning. You are forced to break it down, answer questions and see where you don't know the answers.
3) gather information. Problem is to trust that specific source. Not acquiring the source. Preliminary research to eliminate sources should be done. Use credibility, clarity and acceptance as guidelines. Once filtering, you need to pick up on patterns and build bridges between thoughts. Then seek opposing opinions so you can fight against the trap of confirmation bias. The bigger trap which im certainly guilty of is getting caught up with the initial phase of gathering resources and never getting started.
4) practice. This is the obvious part but one of the key components to practice is struggling. It's not to be easy. Practice also needs to be deliberate to your weakest component of the skill. Muscle memory cannot distinguish between good or bad technique so it's important in your end to be able to dictate when you've had enough and have gotten sloppy. Patience is important in the repetitions of a skill as it can help manage expectations. Do not work in uninterrupted blocks or steps. Quite the opposite, you have to intermittently leave a step or block. An interesting way of putting it is that the brain is a muscle as well that needs rest and recovery so approaching learning in a similar fashion as working out is a good way to program. The "sets" though in a learning scenario should be recalling the skill as opposed to passively reflecting. In other words, you should be pushing yourself to some degree in order to learn. He mentions how something that can really drive this process is Problem based learning. Learning the skill as a while to solve a problem and learning the sub skill to solve a problem. Another critical skill or method to maximize your learning is the self appraisal. It's not an end all be all but it helps learning without a teacher.
Learning from mistakes
Elaborative interrogation
Feynman method
Create an analogy to get a deeper conceptual picture
A skill stack rather than the 1 %
Association
What are your idols driving force, especially when they were learning.
2) all information is equal. What dictates whether one of better or not is whether you personally absorb it better or get distracted easily. Are you an active (hands on learner) or a passive reflective(analyzing first)? Are you focused on the big picture or detail oriented? Visual (in multiple ways or mediums) or audible and verbal (heavy emphasis on words) or kinesthetic (learning through movement). Sequential (step by step) or global learning(conceptual)?
Lastly comes the learning pyramid that ranks the amount of knowledge that is generally gained. It's not quite accurate but a general indicator. On the bottom of the pyramid would be listening. This is the standard professor at the start of class. This should be limited to only the start of the learning process.
Reading is next because it is dense information at your pace. Audio or visual have twice the potential. A demonstration, a live performance has even higher learning retention. The heart of private lessons. Group discussion is far better as you can discuss with others that are leaning too. Comparisons and misconceptions are easily solved in this method. Real life application is the definition of the deep end though. Teaching others though is qualified at the number one method to retain learning. You are forced to break it down, answer questions and see where you don't know the answers.
3) gather information. Problem is to trust that specific source. Not acquiring the source. Preliminary research to eliminate sources should be done. Use credibility, clarity and acceptance as guidelines. Once filtering, you need to pick up on patterns and build bridges between thoughts. Then seek opposing opinions so you can fight against the trap of confirmation bias. The bigger trap which im certainly guilty of is getting caught up with the initial phase of gathering resources and never getting started.
4) practice. This is the obvious part but one of the key components to practice is struggling. It's not to be easy. Practice also needs to be deliberate to your weakest component of the skill. Muscle memory cannot distinguish between good or bad technique so it's important in your end to be able to dictate when you've had enough and have gotten sloppy. Patience is important in the repetitions of a skill as it can help manage expectations. Do not work in uninterrupted blocks or steps. Quite the opposite, you have to intermittently leave a step or block. An interesting way of putting it is that the brain is a muscle as well that needs rest and recovery so approaching learning in a similar fashion as working out is a good way to program. The "sets" though in a learning scenario should be recalling the skill as opposed to passively reflecting. In other words, you should be pushing yourself to some degree in order to learn. He mentions how something that can really drive this process is Problem based learning. Learning the skill as a while to solve a problem and learning the sub skill to solve a problem. Another critical skill or method to maximize your learning is the self appraisal. It's not an end all be all but it helps learning without a teacher.
Learning from mistakes
Elaborative interrogation
Feynman method
Create an analogy to get a deeper conceptual picture
A skill stack rather than the 1 %
Association
What are your idols driving force, especially when they were learning.
February 14, 2020
As a primer, certainly not bad. As someone familiar with a lot of the methodology here, it definitely glossed over details but I don't think that's necessary for the type of book it's trying to be. The fine-grained details for everything they mentioned can be found through simple googling using the terms given in the book. This was a bit of a refresher for me and, as usual with books of this srot, a reminder that I'm not leveraging what I know nearly enough to maximize my productivity.
The basic recommendations are as follows. Prioritize problem-based learning using things like case studies and challenges. Perform elaborative interrogation by asking 'why' until you reach a point where you no longer have a meaningful answer. Practice interleaved learning by not focusing on a single topic/subtopic but mixing them (it feels like you're learning less but your performance increases). Use spaced repetition to overcome the forgetting curve (not mentioned in the book and should have been) and embed knowledge easily without unnecessary repetition. Practice deliberately by specifically identifying and working on sticking points rather than repeating an entire sequence over. Schedule your own performance reviews/ self checks to ensure progress towards goal. Use the Feynman technique by explaining an idea in plain english, finding your own blind spots (when you come upon something you can't put into plain english), and finally creating an analogy as the surest sign of your grasp of the concept (not mentioned was the feynman map which is a manual form of this sort of johari window exploration). Increase your value, utility, and indispensability by stacking a unique combination of high level (but not necessarily top level) skills that complement one another (unfortunately unstated/ understated is to maximally leverage your existing strengths in order to more rapidly acquire related skills, also called ladder-jumping or, when successful, called mario-piping).
The basic recommendations are as follows. Prioritize problem-based learning using things like case studies and challenges. Perform elaborative interrogation by asking 'why' until you reach a point where you no longer have a meaningful answer. Practice interleaved learning by not focusing on a single topic/subtopic but mixing them (it feels like you're learning less but your performance increases). Use spaced repetition to overcome the forgetting curve (not mentioned in the book and should have been) and embed knowledge easily without unnecessary repetition. Practice deliberately by specifically identifying and working on sticking points rather than repeating an entire sequence over. Schedule your own performance reviews/ self checks to ensure progress towards goal. Use the Feynman technique by explaining an idea in plain english, finding your own blind spots (when you come upon something you can't put into plain english), and finally creating an analogy as the surest sign of your grasp of the concept (not mentioned was the feynman map which is a manual form of this sort of johari window exploration). Increase your value, utility, and indispensability by stacking a unique combination of high level (but not necessarily top level) skills that complement one another (unfortunately unstated/ understated is to maximally leverage your existing strengths in order to more rapidly acquire related skills, also called ladder-jumping or, when successful, called mario-piping).
December 13, 2020
Another generally satisfactory productivity book by Peter Hollins written. As with his other books, nothing is really new to those who've been reading this genre regularly for "a while" (I'd estimate at least 7 - 8 books in this genre should satisfy that criterion), but simultaneously, even though much of this content is not new, Hollins has a consistent talent at picking "the right" morsels of information to put in his book. If I were to do it all over again, had I known this information, instead of reading dozens of self-help productivity books, i may have just read all of his to save the time, and get an efficient distillation.
The advice is simple: Learn with purpose, know how different "channels" of information consumption (audio, visual etc.) and learning activities (listening to lectures, reading a book, doing project/problems, teaching information to someone else etc.) impact the %-of-information retained (likely to be different for each person), probably via some journaling. Once known, try to emphasize the high-impact-per-retention activities and minimize the low ones. Then, engage in self-talk and probe your knowledge, a la the "Feynman method". Rinse & repeat.
The intersection-set between all of Hollins' books is high. However, if you take this itself as part of the learning pedagogy (repetition), I think the various books work well with each other if you are applying what you learn in-between reading each book. Again, a recommend. It may not be the most original, and some may say some of these books verge less as "book" and more "information product", but he gives you your money's worth (can't beat $3.99 for ebook of audible). Well read and organized, provides good values. Recommended.
The advice is simple: Learn with purpose, know how different "channels" of information consumption (audio, visual etc.) and learning activities (listening to lectures, reading a book, doing project/problems, teaching information to someone else etc.) impact the %-of-information retained (likely to be different for each person), probably via some journaling. Once known, try to emphasize the high-impact-per-retention activities and minimize the low ones. Then, engage in self-talk and probe your knowledge, a la the "Feynman method". Rinse & repeat.
The intersection-set between all of Hollins' books is high. However, if you take this itself as part of the learning pedagogy (repetition), I think the various books work well with each other if you are applying what you learn in-between reading each book. Again, a recommend. It may not be the most original, and some may say some of these books verge less as "book" and more "information product", but he gives you your money's worth (can't beat $3.99 for ebook of audible). Well read and organized, provides good values. Recommended.
August 11, 2025
An invitation to look deeper into your own learning style and a semi comprehensive guide on how to systematically conduct that assessment and utilise it to your own advancement. I really liked that the book simply states that the only true motivation behind learning is a need to change a person's circumstances, without the urgency that need introduces, one might never really feel the need to go through the process of learning.
Some takeaways:
- Stages of learning / Also favourite takeaway:
1. Unconscious incompetence / AKA GETTING STARTED - You don't know what you don't know
2. Conscious incompetence / AKA IMPOSTER SYNDROME - You know what you don't know
3. Conscious competence - You know what to do, but it takes effort
4. Unconscious competence / AKA GOALS - You can do it without thinking
- Deconstruction and redirection of maximum efforts, energy and resources To deconstruct a skill you must identify the subskills first and focus on the most essential one.
- Mix relevant skills and sessions and cram them in one session using repetition, problem based learning and grounding things in reality, enduring the pain and keeping in mind that learning is painful
- Test your knowledge and comprehension by interrogating your knowledge and using The Feynman Technique and utilising Bloom's Taxonomy (remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating)
- Stack skills that complement one another, be a writer that can also market their work through interactive social media engagement etc.
- Environment: social and physical- find role models, mentors, join or create a community, keep resources around, remove distractions and get inspired by the space you're in
Some takeaways:
- Stages of learning / Also favourite takeaway:
1. Unconscious incompetence / AKA GETTING STARTED - You don't know what you don't know
2. Conscious incompetence / AKA IMPOSTER SYNDROME - You know what you don't know
3. Conscious competence - You know what to do, but it takes effort
4. Unconscious competence / AKA GOALS - You can do it without thinking
- Deconstruction and redirection of maximum efforts, energy and resources To deconstruct a skill you must identify the subskills first and focus on the most essential one.
- Mix relevant skills and sessions and cram them in one session using repetition, problem based learning and grounding things in reality, enduring the pain and keeping in mind that learning is painful
- Test your knowledge and comprehension by interrogating your knowledge and using The Feynman Technique and utilising Bloom's Taxonomy (remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating)
- Stack skills that complement one another, be a writer that can also market their work through interactive social media engagement etc.
- Environment: social and physical- find role models, mentors, join or create a community, keep resources around, remove distractions and get inspired by the space you're in
December 17, 2024
If you’re already familiar with concepts like Deliberate Practice (Anders Ericsson), Deep Work (Cal Newport), and Ultralearning (Scott Young), you won’t find much new material in this book. That said, I still found it to be a helpful refresher on some tried-and-true methods—methods I wish I had known during my school years.
Here are a few high-level ideas worth putting into practice:
• Clarify your motivation: Understand why you want to learn a new skill, whatever it may be.
• Set specific, measurable goals: Define clear outcomes to guide your efforts.
• Take action relentlessly: Identify the smallest step you can take and persist through it.
• Break it down: Split skills into smaller, manageable components and practice them individually.
• Deliberate practice: Focus on areas where you’re weak and actively work to improve them.
• Spaced repetition: Spread practice sessions over time to boost retention and understanding.
• Interleaving: Alternate between different but related topics to improve recall and leverage context-switching benefits.
• Active recall: Don’t just memorize—actively retrieve what you’ve learned. Teaching others is the most effective form of active recall.
• Problem-based learning: Learn skills in context by solving real problems. For example, solve problem X by acquiring skill Y.
While the book doesn’t break new ground, it’s a solid reminder of timeless strategies that, when applied consistently, can greatly enhance learning and skill acquisition.
Bonus: this mind map is pretty helpful: https://x.com/MindBranches/status/185...
Here are a few high-level ideas worth putting into practice:
• Clarify your motivation: Understand why you want to learn a new skill, whatever it may be.
• Set specific, measurable goals: Define clear outcomes to guide your efforts.
• Take action relentlessly: Identify the smallest step you can take and persist through it.
• Break it down: Split skills into smaller, manageable components and practice them individually.
• Deliberate practice: Focus on areas where you’re weak and actively work to improve them.
• Spaced repetition: Spread practice sessions over time to boost retention and understanding.
• Interleaving: Alternate between different but related topics to improve recall and leverage context-switching benefits.
• Active recall: Don’t just memorize—actively retrieve what you’ve learned. Teaching others is the most effective form of active recall.
• Problem-based learning: Learn skills in context by solving real problems. For example, solve problem X by acquiring skill Y.
While the book doesn’t break new ground, it’s a solid reminder of timeless strategies that, when applied consistently, can greatly enhance learning and skill acquisition.
Bonus: this mind map is pretty helpful: https://x.com/MindBranches/status/185...
December 22, 2024
This book explores effective methods for learning and mastering new skills and information. It emphasizes that traditional, passive learning is not the most effective way to acquire skills. It stresses the importance of strategic planning by deconstructing skills into smaller subskills, focusing on the most crucial ones (the 20% that yield 80% of the results), and mixing learning styles and mediums. It also emphasizes gathering credible and clear information.
The core of the book focuses on practice methods: deliberate practice, which involves focused effort on weaknesses, interleaved practice, which mixes related skills, spaced repetition, which spreads out learning over time, and problem-based learning, which applies skills to solve real-world issues. The book also highlights the importance of deep comprehension, achieved through self-explanation (elaborative interrogation), the Feynman Technique (simplifying concepts), and applying Bloom's Taxonomy (moving through levels of learning from memorization to creation).
The book also discusses skill stacking, combining several related skills, and the influence of social and physical environments. It also advises readers to manage expectations by remaining realistic, recognizing the costs of learning, accepting confusion, and adopting a beginner's mindset.
The core of the book focuses on practice methods: deliberate practice, which involves focused effort on weaknesses, interleaved practice, which mixes related skills, spaced repetition, which spreads out learning over time, and problem-based learning, which applies skills to solve real-world issues. The book also highlights the importance of deep comprehension, achieved through self-explanation (elaborative interrogation), the Feynman Technique (simplifying concepts), and applying Bloom's Taxonomy (moving through levels of learning from memorization to creation).
The book also discusses skill stacking, combining several related skills, and the influence of social and physical environments. It also advises readers to manage expectations by remaining realistic, recognizing the costs of learning, accepting confusion, and adopting a beginner's mindset.
June 5, 2022
I like how the table of contents of this book can be used as a "starter" outline for how to improve your studying or practicing, with the rest of the book explaining the various strategies. However, many of the sections are a bit thin--for example, there is a section on the importance of persevering when you don't know exactly what to do, but there weren't really any tactics for how to do this. As such, I think it is a good place to start, but should be treated as merely an introduction.
What this book is: A good starting outline for how to approach learning a new skill. Easy-to-read style. Summary of many well-known practices for learning.
What it is not: The title is misleading--this isn't really science or rapid. Very few studies are cited, evidence is often anecdotal. Definitely not a careful scientific treatment. Consider this book to be "how to achieve a learning goal in a reasonable amount of time" and not "how to fast-track your goals." Also, don't expect novel ideas or learning hacks.
What this book is: A good starting outline for how to approach learning a new skill. Easy-to-read style. Summary of many well-known practices for learning.
What it is not: The title is misleading--this isn't really science or rapid. Very few studies are cited, evidence is often anecdotal. Definitely not a careful scientific treatment. Consider this book to be "how to achieve a learning goal in a reasonable amount of time" and not "how to fast-track your goals." Also, don't expect novel ideas or learning hacks.
January 25, 2025
Blinkist book of the day: Designed for both personal and professional growth, it provides practical insights to help you work smarter, not harder.
My notes:
You don’t know what you don’t know
Recognize your efforts
Persistent practice
Skills as second nature through persistence and trust
Achieve mastery by breaking down skills
Master small tasks and tacking one by one
Deconstruct the skills
The takeaway: mastering new skills is less about talent and more about the strategies you use. By focusing on skills that matter most to your goals and breaking them into manageable steps, you can make meaningful progress faster. Mistakes and challenges are essential parts of the process, helping you grow as you refine your approach.
Whether it’s through deliberate practice, stacking complementary skills, or surrounding yourself with the right influences, learning effectively gives you the power to reshape your circumstances and achieve lasting success. With these tools in hand, you’re ready to take control of your learning and unlock your potential.
My notes:
You don’t know what you don’t know
Recognize your efforts
Persistent practice
Skills as second nature through persistence and trust
Achieve mastery by breaking down skills
Master small tasks and tacking one by one
Deconstruct the skills
The takeaway: mastering new skills is less about talent and more about the strategies you use. By focusing on skills that matter most to your goals and breaking them into manageable steps, you can make meaningful progress faster. Mistakes and challenges are essential parts of the process, helping you grow as you refine your approach.
Whether it’s through deliberate practice, stacking complementary skills, or surrounding yourself with the right influences, learning effectively gives you the power to reshape your circumstances and achieve lasting success. With these tools in hand, you’re ready to take control of your learning and unlock your potential.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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