The method is wrong, the effort is in vain, how to learn is very important

Because I started a new job in the last 2 weeks: telemarketing. The vast majority of waking hours are now devoted to new jobs.

Time, attention, and money have the same attribute. They are exclusive and limited resources. If they are used here, they cannot be used elsewhere. So this week has not been able to dedicate enough time to improve Golang, so we have been going on for many weeks "Golang improves a little bit every day" This week is going to be interrupted. Here I would like to express my apologies to readers who liked the previous Golang advanced rhythm.

At the same time, you don't have to be lost. Today's article on how to learn may be more helpful for self-driven extreme learners like us, and may be more helpful for our long-term growth.

How to learn is very important. There is an old saying that goes: "The method is wrong, and the effort is in vain". It is very important to get the method right first. Looking back, I have had a lot of ways to be wrong before, so a lot of my previous efforts may have been in vain.

So, what am I doing wrong?

I tried reading for self-study, buying courses and watching videos at geek time, searching for articles on Google or searching for videos on bilibili and YouTube when I encountered something I wanted to know or didn’t understand. Outside the Internet, I don't have any advanced learning partners around me. I don't know whether my learning is efficient or inefficient, because there is no comparison.

After a while of fiddling around, driven by self-doubt, I remembered that I am a member of the "Lyric Manager and His Friends" (Mixin ID: 7000103166) community. You can find product managers who focus on Mixin ecology. Ask Mr. Lyric.

I went to the group and asked: "Ask the manager, what way do you usually learn programming, read books, video courses, or something else?"

The manager replied: "Read the official documents, say something clearly in a few paragraphs, and listen to Ta for a long time if you watch the video."

Mr. Li An, a well-known independent developer of the Mixin ecology, also agrees: "It is more efficient to read and learn programming."

I realized that spending those hours watching videos to learn and output at the same time may not be a particularly efficient learning method.

Recognize the problem and take action

Now that you realize the problem, take action.

The sales position I am currently in implements a large and small weekly rest system. This week is a big week, and I have 2 days off. The sales work can finally be suspended and continue to advance the code we love. So I acted early in the morning, opened the electronic library Calibre, and tried to find a book to start today's study.

"Head First Go" is interesting and not boring. I have learned a lot from reading the Chinese version recently, so I think it is better to read the English version. Teacher Li Xiaolai has repeatedly emphasized the power of repetition, and also said that good books should be read repeatedly. Although I heard this truth, but looking back, did you do it? Rarely does that, or the desire for more and more quickly prevails.

Then use the English version of "Head First Go" to practice this truth today!

When I read the Chinese version before, I was deeply impressed by some tips on how to learn in the book. I read it again in the English version today, and it is still thought-provoking.

It is also excerpted here ^[1] , and I invite you to read it together:

What you can do to bend your brain into submission

1. Slow down, The more you understand, the less you have to memorize.

   Don't just read. Stop and think. When the book asks you a question, don't just skip to the answer. Imagine that someone really is asking the question. The more deeply you force your brain to think, the better chance you have of learning and remembering.

2. Do the exercises. Write your own notes.

   We put them in, but if we did them for you, that would be like having someone else do your workout for you. And don't just look at the exercises. Use a pencil . There's plenty of evidence that physical activity while learning can increase the learning.

3. Make this the last thing you read before bed. Or at least the last Challenging thing.

   Part of learning (especially the transfer to long-term memory) happens after you put the book down. Your brain needs time on its own, to do more processing. If you put in something new during that processing time, some of what you just learned will be lost.

4. Talk about it . Out loud.

   Speaking activates a different part of the brain. If you're trying to understand something. or increase your chance of remembering it later, Say it loud. Better still, try to explain it out loud to someone else. You'll learn more quickly , and you might uncover ideas you hadn't known were there when you were reading about it.

5. Drink Water. Lots of it.

   Your brain works best in a nice bath of fluid. Dehydration (which can happen before you ever feel thirsty) decreases cognitive function.

6. Listen to your brain.

   Pay attention to whether your brain is getting overloaded. If you find yourself starting to skim the surface or forget what you just read, it's time for a break. Once you go past a certain point, you won't learn faster by trying to shove more in, and you might even hurt the process.

7. Feel something.

   Your brain needs to know what this matters. Get involved with the stories. Make up your own caption for the photos. Groaning over a bad joke is still better than feeling nothing at all.

8. Write a lot of code!

   There's only one way to learn to develop Go programs: Write a lot of code. And that's what your are going to do throughout this book. Coding is a skill, and the only way to get good at it is to practice…

translate:

Tips to make your brain better understand knowledge points

1. Slow down, the more you understand, the less you need to remember.

   Don't just read, stop and think. When you come across a question while reading, don't go straight to the answer. Imagine that a real person is asking you that question, and the more you control your brain to think, the better chance you have of learning and remembering.

2. Do exercises and make your own notes

   We put our notes in the book too, but if you don't take notes yourself, it's like we're doing the exercises for you. Don't just read the exercises given in the book, use a pencil, there is plenty of evidence that hands-on practice can improve learning while learning.

3. Schedule our reading study plan before bed

   Part of the learning activity (especially the ones that need to be turned into long-term memory) happens around the time you put the book down, and your brain needs time to digest what's already on it and do more with it. If you add new things to it in the process, some of the information you are processing that has already been eaten may be lost.

4. read it out loud

   Speaking activates parts of the brain, if you're trying to understand something, or to increase your chances of remembering it later, read it out loud. It's better to keep reading, trying to explain what you read aloud to others, you will learn faster, and you can discover things that were there when you read them but didn't come to you.

5. drink water, drink plenty of water

   Your brain works best when it's soaked in fluids, and dehydration (which used to happen when you're thirsty) can reduce cognitive function.

6. listen to your brain

   Watch if your brain is becoming overloaded. If you find yourself starting to flicker or forget what you just read, it's time to take a break from reading, once you get past a certain point, you won't learn faster by forcing yourself to type, or even have Maybe that will negatively affect your studies.

7. seriously feel

   Your brain needs to know this is important. Going into the story, thinking of a title for the picture you read, and clumsily coming up with a poor description is better than feeling nothing at all.

8. write a lot of code

   There is only one way to learn to write Go programs: write a lot of code . This is also what you will be doing throughout the book. Writing code is a skill, and the only way to master it is to practice.

^[1] : Jay McGavren. (2019). Head First Go 1005 Gravenstein Highway North: O'Reilly Media