The tactic a Pulitzer-winning author uses to teach
One of my biggest joys is writing about a technique for learning and then finding out that some of the smartest people on earth already use it to learn better.
I was reading the book I am a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter after publishing yesterday's bootcamp lesson.
For those of you who don't know, Hofstadter won the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction (the Academy Award of writing) for his first book on consciousness and self-referential systems, Gödel, Escher, Bach.
In the book, Hofstadter writes about metaphors:
[One] of my firmest conclusions is that we always think by seeking and drawing parallels to things we know from our past, and that we therefore communicate best when we exploit examples, analogies and metaphors galore.
Even in teaching a topic as abstract as the philosophy of consciousness, Hofstadter avoids abstractions and sticks with down-to-earth metaphors.
Training Metaphor-Based Thinking
There are two main criticisms whenever I suggest people use holistic tactics to learn faster:
That's just fluff. Metaphors may work for easy topics, but in [some "hard" subject] that method won't work.
I can't learn with metaphors. Maybe holistic learning is just something you're born with.
The first criticism is empirically false. I've worked with hundreds of students over the last few years, and people have successfully used the rapid learning tactics on math to law, languages to music.
I bring up Hofstadter's example because in his fields, philosophy of mind and cognitive science are overrun with either esoteric abstractions or unimaginative explanations. By using metaphor and analogy, he writes award-winning, best-selling books on topics that normally never leave a university library.
The second criticism is also false. Anyone can become a more holistic learner, using metaphors and other tactics to learn better. I have dozens of cases of students who practiced the tactics and got better grades, studied less or both.
How can you do it?
Quantity over Quality
The first step is to focus on quantity over quality. I got a lot of responses back from people for the contest where they claimed, "I haven't come up with a metaphor yet."
My guess is that these people are searching for perfect, witty metaphors that are beautiful explanations. The problem is that in expecting perfection, they reduce their output to zero.
One of the reasons I created Learning on Steroids was to give people an environment where they could practice regularly, share advice and get feedback. Going alone makes it harder to create.
Consistency over Inspiration
The second step is to develop a practice schedule and follow it consistently.
I know what you're saying, "I thought this was supposed to SAVE me time! Now you're telling me I need to practice MORE!?"
Yes, you need to practice. But unlike going to the gym, you can use your practice when you're already learning. Taking Nayamot's example from the last case, he implemented a 30-Day training regimen, but saved enough time that he was able to go from struggling to finishing early.
This is also where Learning on Steroids can help. Since we run group 30-Day Trials in the forums, you can have an audience to keep you focused so you'll get over the initial weirdness of using the ideas and start learning faster.
Breaking Old Habits
Once you get past those first few attempts, it becomes easier and easier to apply the methods.
When I first started training image association for vocabulary (one of the tactics we teach) it took several minutes to remember each vocabulary word. After I got through the first few, I could remember lists of dozens in just a few minutes.
It's not just about KNOWING what to do. It's about breaking your habits so that you do it automatically.
Practice Time!
Since I know some of you are still struggling to find that "perfect" example to win the contest, I'm going to give you guys a helping hand.
Pick one of these three ideas, create a metaphor for it and hit REPLY. If you later come up with a better one for the contest before Saturday, you can use that one too. If you don't, then you'll still have a chance to win a free copy of Learn More, Study Less.
Pick ONE of these ideas and create a metaphor, using either SIMILARITY, HISTORY or STORIES (or any other method you want!):
- IDEA: Seasons occur because the earth has a tilt on its axis.
- IDEA: Pythagoras's Theorem: a^2 + b^2 = c^2
- IDEA: English-speaking countries use the common law system while most romance-language countries use the civil law system.
You don't have to use these three, they are just starting points if you're not sure what to do--just pick ONE of them and hit REPLY.
The goal here isn't to come up with a perfect metaphor, just to get yourself used to the idea of THINKING IN METAPHORS. Once you cross that hurdle, you can start becoming more creative and vivid in your attempts.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, please check out the first day of the bootcamp:
http://bit.ly/bNBc6e