Learning - Spencer Heckathorn's Blog

Since I was young, I have wanted to learn more, which was easy for a time. Then life got in the way. So for the last ten or maybe even 20 years, I've sought out whatever information I could find on learning more, learning faster, and efficiently. After my short stent in college, I was playing online poker, and learning became an arms race of sorts. Whoever learned faster and more effectively would win the day. I got down and dirty. I altered my sleeping patterns, adjusted my diet, exercised, and regulated my downtime. This was only effective to a point because I still had to live life to a degree, but I could see the improvements. Life Gets in the Way BUT however effective 2 hours sleeping and 4 hours awake actually was at stimulating stronger neural connections; it was in no way sustainable. Not because it caused issues with my health or for any related reasons; it was unsustainable because there was always a holiday, birthday, party, or other reason to come back to the "real world" and function like everyone else. I don't think it helped that I was about a 1-2 hr drive from everywhere I needed to go either. It's kind of hard to put things on hold and explain why you gotta take a 2-hour nap in the middle of the day. So I kept searching and trying things. Life Has ALWAYS Gotten in the Way I should point out there is more backstory to this also. If you don't know, around 2006 or so, I found out I had hypothyroidism, and as the medication kicked in and my hormones aligned toward something "normal," I felt robbed. See, for so many years of my life, I would sit down to do homework, read a book, or just relax and fall asleep from inexplicable exhaustion. It was easy to pass off too. When my parents purchased their land around 2000, we started working immediately—clearing hundreds of trees, moving rocks, building sidewalks, building kennels, and so much more. Add in football practice and a desire to play video games all night, and basically, you end up with an exasperated person. It didn't help that any energy I had I was going to use. So when I started to feel better from my hypothyroidism, I felt like the imbalance in my system had caused me to miss out on many opportunities. My drive to learn and make money was fueled by this feeling and still is to a degree. Even now, I look out at my peers and see where I lack, but I also try to keep in mind the opportunities I've been granted, and today I have an exciting opportunity for you! As someone who has read papers, articles, and books, watched video courses and taken classes, and listened to podcasts, audiobooks, and speakers, I can say I found something that sums up everything I've learned about learning in an excellent neat package. Some Cool Information I like videos as a format for conveying things. I'm not sure how long-term effective they are vs. something like reading, but they are convenient and entertaining. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eW6Eagr9XA A great video about learning Veritasium has put together an excellent video that reestablished some principles I had forgotten and reinforced some that I had thought were not as important.