
How We Learn (Is it the same for you?) - mattjaynes
http://members.shaw.ca/priscillatheroux/Glasser.htm
======
pg
I agree with the ordering, roughly, but these numbers are complete bullshit.

~~~
brlewis
Why does that bother you so much? Most people (89.4%) expect and accept that
73.8% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

(I think all their percentages are too high.)

------
sri
and 99% of what we program (from GJS or Knuth or someone like that)

link: <http://www.oopsla.org/2005/ShowEvent.do?id=403>

this google video is also cool:
[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2726904509434151616&q;=gerald+sussman](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2726904509434151616&q=gerald+sussman)

anyone have any sussman stories they'll like to share?

~~~
mxh
"and 99% of what we program"

That seems consistent w/the "95% of what we teach" number. As Douglas Adams
wrote, a computer "...was, on the other hand, very good at being a slow and
dim-witted pupil. ... And the more slow, and dim-witted the pupil, the more
you have to break things down into more and more simple ideas. And that's
really the essence of programming."

------
whacked_new
Here is then the ultimate learning method: Read something, then hear an
audiobook version of it, make sure to look at the illustrations, then discuss
it with others in a personalized environment, teaching to anyone who doesn't
understand.

The result: 10+50+80+95 = 235 percent learning. Great!

------
skittles
I'm an auditory learner. I prefer to read at a conversational pace while
_hearing_ the words in my head. In an academic setting, I learn much more from
listening than by note-taking. I go into some sort of zen-like state when
taking notes that I don't get into while just listening. It's like my ears
tell my hand what to write without my brain processing the information. If I
put my pen down and listen (and participate when appropriate), I retain a high
percentage and usually don't need to study later. I wish I knew this sooner
about myself. It would have saved a lot of wasted effort.

------
nickb
You don't really know how well you know something until you try to explain it
to someone. This is why at my startup we require that:

1) At least once a week you explain something you've learned in the past week
to everyone else

2) To keep an internal/external blog/wiki going. Blogging/Wiki editing forces
you to put your thoughts down on 'paper' and you can distill a lot of your
ideas this way.

------
jkush
I would agree that teaching someone else is the best way to learn. The reason
why is because when you teach someone else you are forced to understand how
something works.

Learning why 2 + 2 = 4 is true is much more important than memorizing the
multiplication table. Never been a big fan of rote learning for that reason.

~~~
far33d
I learned the most as an undergrad when TAing CS classes (a benefit of brown
is the undergrad TA program). Not only do you learn the material at a deeper
level, you have an opportunity to teach at that deeper level too.

There's nothing more satisfying than explaining something to someone and
seeing the "aha!" moment.

------
ced
Maybe, but I can read 10X faster than I can produce material to teach it.

