ULTRALEARNING Book Summary || For Those Who Have Read The Book

 0-> Belief : That you can do it

1-> Metalearning : 

Why,What & How ?

Expert Interview

What : Concepts,Facts & Procedures

How : Benchmarking, Emphasize/Exclude , 5% to 10% of Total

2-> Focus :

Dont try to fix but Manage Procrastination & Distraction

Procrastination : Feeling of Pain / Uneasiness , 

Start Doing it For 5 min soon it will vanish

Distraction Source : Environment , Your Task & Mind

3-> Directness :

Spend a lot of time doing the thing you want to become good at.

*Project Based Learning

*Immersive Learning

*Flight Simulator Method

*The Overkill Approach

4-> Drill:

Attack your weakest point.

Identify the rate determining step and isolate and practice it.

The Direct-then-Drill Approach

Drill Ways :

*Time Slicing

*Cognitive Components

*Copycat

*Magnifying Glass Method

*Prerequisite Chaining

Mindful Drilling

5-> Retrieval:

The Testing Effect

Is Difficulty Desirable?

What  Should be retrieved?

How : 

*Flash Cards

*Free Recall

*The Question Book Method

*Self Generated Challenges

*Closed Book Learning

6-> Feedback :

What kind of Feedback do you need?

  *Outcome Feedback : Are you doing it wrong?

  *Informational Feedback : What are you doing wrong?

  *Corrective Feedback : How can you fix what you are doing wrong

How to improve Feedback ?

  *Noise Cancellation

  * Hitting the difficulty sweet spot

  *Metafeedback

  *High Intensity Rapid Feedback

7-> Retention : 

Ebinghaus Forgetting Curve

Hypothesis of forgetting :

*Decay

*Interference

*Forgotten Cues

How to prevent forgetting ?

*Spacing:Repeat to Remember

*Proceduralization : Automatic will endure

*Overlearning : Practice Beyond Perfect

*Mnemonics

8-> Intuition :

*Do not ask whether a statement is true until you know what it means

*Do not Give Up On Hard Problems Easily

*Prove things to understand them

*Start with a concrete example

*Don't Fool Yourself

* Work the problem step by step

9-> Experimentation

*Experiment with learning resources

*Experimenting with Technique

How :

*Copy & then Create

*Compare Methods Side by Side

*Introduce New Constraints

*Explore the Extremes

*Find Your Superpower in the Hybrid of Unrelated Skills

-Blog Author

Detailed Review of The Book

Mastering the Art of Learning: A Practical Guide

 

1. Belief: Trust Yourself to Succeed

   • Why It Matters: The belief that you can improve is the foundation of any learning journey. Without it, your efforts will be half-hearted.
   • Actionable Steps:
     • Write down past successes where you overcame challenges.
     • Create affirmations like, "I can learn this skill if I persist."
     • Surround yourself with stories of others who achieved similar goals.

2. Metalearning: Learn How to Learn

   • Why It Matters: Understanding the “map” of what you’re learning saves time and avoids wasted effort.
   • Actionable Steps:
     • Why: Reflect on the purpose of your learning. Is it to get a job, solve a problem, or create something?
     • What: Categorize your focus areas:
       • Concepts: What do you need to understand? (e.g., programming logic)
       • Facts: What must you memorize? (e.g., syntax rules)
       • Procedures: What do you need to practice? (e.g., coding exercises)
     • How: Research benchmarks—how experts approach it. Allocate 5-10% of your learning time to planning and refining your approach.

3. Focus: Manage Procrastination and Distractions

   • Why It Matters: Lack of focus leads to inefficiency and frustration.
   • Actionable Steps:
     • Procrastination:
       • Break inertia with the 5-Minute Rule: Commit to working for just 5 minutes—this often eliminates the initial resistance.
       • Visualize the task as already complete to reduce uneasiness.
     • Distractions:
       • Adjust your environment (e.g., work in a quiet space, block distracting websites).
       • Redefine your tasks (e.g., split a big task into smaller, actionable steps).
       • Calm your mind with techniques like mindfulness or a quick 2-minute breathing exercise.

4. Directness: Learn by Doing

   • Why It Matters: Skills are best learned in the environment where they’ll be used.
   • Actionable Steps:
     • Choose project-based learning: If learning a language, build a chatbot. If learning writing, start a blog.
     • Use immersive methods: If learning French, try speaking only French for a day.
     • Apply the Overkill Approach: Set a goal slightly harder than what’s necessary. For example, write a 10,000-line program when only 2,000 are required.

5. Drill: Sharpen Your Weakest Points

   • Why It Matters: Addressing weaknesses accelerates progress.
   • Actionable Steps:
     • Identify your “rate-determining step”—what’s holding you back? (e.g., for guitar, finger transitions; for coding, debugging).
     • Try drills like:
       • Time Slicing: Dedicate short, focused sessions to practicing a single component.
       • Magnifying Glass Method: Deep dive into one aspect (e.g., practice only Python loops for 30 minutes).
       • Prerequisite Chaining: Ensure foundational skills are strong before advancing.

6. Retrieval: Strengthen Memory Through Practice

   • Why It Matters: Testing yourself reinforces knowledge better than rereading or reviewing.
   • Actionable Steps:
     • Use flashcards for facts or vocabulary.
     • Practice free recall: After learning, close your material and try to write down everything you remember.
     • Create a Question Book: Write questions as you study, and revisit them later.

7. Feedback: Improve with Purpose

   • Why It Matters: Feedback pinpoints mistakes and guides improvement.
   • Actionable Steps:
     • Seek outcome feedback: Are you succeeding or failing? (e.g., Did the code compile?)
     • Ask for informational feedback: What went wrong? (e.g., What caused the syntax error?)
     • Get corrective feedback: How can you improve? (e.g., Practice fixing common errors.)
     • Maximize feedback effectiveness by:
       • Hitting the “difficulty sweet spot”—not too easy, not too hard.
       • Asking for feedback early and often.
       • Using metafeedback: Evaluate if your feedback process is working.

8. Retention: Don’t Let Knowledge Fade

   • Why It Matters: Retention ensures you don’t waste time relearning.
   • Actionable Steps:
     • Use spaced repetition: Review material at increasing intervals.
     • Proceduralize: Turn skills into habits (e.g., practice scales daily for musicians).
     • Engage in overlearning: Practice beyond mastery to ensure permanence.
     • Use mnemonics: Create memory aids (e.g., acronyms, visualizations).

9. Intuition: Build Deep Understanding

   • Why It Matters: Intuition helps you tackle complex problems and innovate.
   • Actionable Steps:
     • Start with concrete examples before abstract concepts.
     • Work step by step: Break down problems into manageable parts.
     • Prove ideas to yourself: Test assumptions or solve examples to internalize concepts.

10. Experimentation: Innovate and Adapt

• Why It Matters: Experimentation uncovers new methods and accelerates learning.
• Actionable Steps:
• Try copying and then creating: Replicate a method, then tweak it to fit your needs.
• Compare techniques side by side to find what works best.
• Explore extremes: Push constraints (e.g., learn coding with only 100 lines).
• Hybridize unrelated skills: Combine unique abilities to discover a competitive edge.

Crisp Summary of the Book 

JEE is a journey, and a very challenging one at that

 JEE is a journey, and a very challenging one at that. It requires sacrifices, and it really strengthens the candidates along the way. It has the ability to bring out the best in people.

Some sacrifices made by me during the JEE preparation:

• No outings or parties with friends: I had minimized my outings to almost non-existent during the JEE preparation phase. As a result, I could not attend the birthday parties of my friends or go for movie outings with them.
• Tussle with school: My attendance started dropping in school, because I spent most of my time at home studying for JEE. This led to quite a lot of tussle and arguments with my class teacher, who felt that Class XII board exam was the only determining factor in one’s career.
• No computer games: I used to play a lot of computer games before I started preparing for JEE. Age of Empires used to be my favourite. Not a day would go by without me playing Age of Empires. I stopped that during JEE preparation, and I soon lost interest in computer games. I haven’t played any computer game since then.
• Control over sleep: I used to study till late night and then wake up early in the morning to study again. My dad used to fill a full jug with cold coffee and keep it by my side at night, so that I could concentrate.

The JEE preparation phase was a defining period in my life, and led to many positive developments:

• I gained an excellent friend circle: While I could not go out with my school friends, I developed a new friend circle in my coaching. All of us had similar goals, and we soon became really close.
• I started developing new hobbies: I started playing Badminton everyday for a couple of hours in the evening to keep myself fit. I also read novels whenever I found any free time.
• I started becoming more confident: JEE preparation makes you more confident in life, especially because the JEE syllabus is tougher than the school syllabus by a huge margin. You start looking even at real-life problems from a different angle, and develop a structured thought process.

I have very fond memories from my JEE days. Those two years of JEE preparation have taught me a lot.

-Rohan Jain

If you want to make the best jewellery with pure gold

So, you go to the market and buy the purest form of Gold, i.e. 24 carare gold, paying the highest price.

Do you think getting gold with 100% purity is possible?

The answer is no.

In the real world, the 24 karat and 999.9 fineness are generally accepted as pure gold as it is impossible to produce 100% pure gold.

It means that even the purest form of gold has at least 0.01% impurity.

The same is true for every other substance in the world.

However, it does not mean that all golds are equally valuable and that 24K gold and 10K gold are all the same because both are impure.

In the same way, it is impossible to have complete (100%) freedom from unhappiness and suffering.

However, we can work to minimise the pain and maximise our happiness.

Numerous people suffer pain most of their lives, with only a rare glimpse of happiness once in a while.

There are also millions of people in the world who are happy most of the time, with occasional instances of pain.

So, living a life almost free from pain and suffering is possible.

Instead of seeking a painless-full-joy life, seek a less-pain-more-joy life.

You can get such a life by working hard today to develop a proper understanding of the self, acquiring proper knowledge, planning for the future, and leading a disciplined and moral life.

Source of picture: Google Images

-Awdhesh Singh

Footnotes

[1] 

https://www.bullionbypost.com/index/gold/gold-purity/#:~:text=All%20BullionByPost%2C%20bars%20are%20pure,products%20in%20their%20specification%20section.

You see rich kids at IITs. You see sons and daughters of rich businessmen making it to IITs.

 You see rich kids at IITs. You see sons and daughters of rich businessmen making it to IITs.

You also see poor kids at IITs. You see students who cannot afford to survive in IIT without a scholarship. Students who studied with borrowed calculators and books to prepare for JEE.

You see students who only speak in English all the time. You also see students who have never spoken English or studied in an English medium school.

You see students from the north of India at IITs. You see students from the south of India. You also see students from the east and west of India.

You see Hindus at IITs. You also see Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains and students from other religions. You see students from all castes and backgrounds in IITs.

Everyone in IIT is treated equally, regardless of their background. Once in IIT, everyone has access to the same launching pad. It is then completely upto the students how well they utilize the launching pad.

-Rohan Jain, IIT,IIM

The most intelligent people I know are not mathematicians or physicists, but............

 The most intelligent people I know are not mathematicians or physicists, but businessmen and politicians. (Not all of them!)

IQ exams are designed to test rapid abstract reasoning, very closely related to mathematical ability. People who score high on such tests are typically people with those skills, and those are the skills that can lead to careers in math and physics. So it is natural that physicists and mathematicians score high on the standard IQ tests, since they were developed to test math ability. That does not make them more intelligent than those who score low.

The tests do not test many things. Among these are:

1. Intelligence in understanding complex phenomena. (This is very important for business and military leaders and many others. How high do you think Warren Buffet’s intelligence is?)

2. Musical intelligence. This is the kind displayed by Mozart. How did he know how to write music that we would want to listen to?

3. Social intelligence. Important in almost every field; it often develops late. Can you read body language? Can you judge who is “solid” and reliable; who tells the truth; who fools you; who fools himself?

4. Evaluation of real-time motion. Key for fighter pilots, nintendo players, and football and basketball players.

5. Large picture intelligence. This is related to the complex phenomena aspect. It is exemplified by our greatest political leaders, those who not only had “vision” but could follow through on it.

This list is just made off the top of my head by thinking about the numerous people I know who are not in math/physics but whom I consider to be more intelligent than I am. I could extend the list much farther, but this is long enough to make my point.

-Richard Muller

Advice is like a medicine, which should normally be given when the patient demands it.

However, if your loved one, a family member or a friend gets sick and refuses to acknowledge his illness, will you not advise the person to go to a doctor and take medicine?

While it may be a bad idea to give unsolicited advice to a stranger, it is necessary that we must give advice to the people who are close to us, or whom we love, whether or not they seek our advice, and they will thank you for your unsolicited advice.

Around 2006, many IRS officers resigned from the service to join private sector jobs. In those days, government salaries were pathetic. I was an Additional Commission with 16 years of seniority, yet my salary was around Rs 35,000 pm (CTC around Rs 5 lakhs per annum). Almost all the IRS officers who resigned joined BIG 4 (Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC) and were offered salaries ranging from Rs 20–50 lakhs per annum plus bonuses.

I, too, was thinking of quitting the service.

However, in an official meeting, when this issue was discussed, and I expressed my desire to quit the job, one of my seniors (whom I will call PK) told me bluntly, “Awdhesh! How long will you live for your career? Your daughter is in class 8th and 9th; they need your time and help. If you join a private company, you may get money, but you will have no time for your children. At this stage of your life, you must give your time to your children and help them make a good career for themselves.”

Somehow, I got so much influenced by his advice that I decided to give up the idea of changing my job, and started teaching my children every day after office hours, which not only helped me build a strong relationship with my children but also helped them perform quite well in their senior classes, get selected in good Engineering colleges and build a good career for themselves.

Even today, I feel extremely grateful for PK for his advice.

Almost a decade later, when I was posted in Chennai, Mr PK came to my home, and we had dinner. I reminded him of his advice and told him how thankful I was for his advice. Interestingly, he did not even remember giving me such advice.

In the Bible, Jesus tells of a farmer who sows seed indiscriminately. Some seed falls on the path (wayside) with no soil, some on rocky ground with little soil, some on soil which contains thorns, and some on good soil. In the first case, the seed is taken away; in the second and third soils, the seed fails to produce a crop; but when it falls on good soil, it grows and yields thirty-, sixty-, or a hundred-fold.”

[1]

Just like a seed may provide a good yield when sown on good soil, sound advice can change a person's life forever.

It was unsolicited advice given by a few saints that transformed Valmiki from a bandit to a Maharshi (great saint). 

[2]

Hence, it is not always wrong to give unsolicited advice.

Most people are hesitant to seek advice due to self-respect or ego, even when they are in trouble and unable to find a way to get out of it.

If you give the right advice to such a person in the right manner, you can help the person overcome his problems and lead a good life, thus improving society and the world.

-Awdhesh Singh

Stuck in Life?

Source of picture: Google Images

Footnotes

[1] 

Parable of the Sower - Wikipedia

[2] 

Redirect Notice

Twins

Twins are born.

From birth — they experience the same things.

They have the same parents, they get the same type of food, the same school, etc.

But still, their lives will be completely different. Why?

Because your life depends on your interpretation.

Two people can go through the same circumstances and the result will be completely different.

Because one person says “why me”— the other “how can I make it better?”

One is letting life happen to you and the other is taking charge.

When I hear, why me? — I know this person is going to suffer in life.

Because it’s victim question. You defeat yourself before even getting started.

---

People glamorize the fancy decisions — move to a new city, get that job but in reality — the small day to day decision holds all the power.

Because depending on what you decide — it compounds and leads to life.

When you couldn’t get hold of someone — why me or what can I do now?

When you lost the lead — why me or what can I do now?

These minute mental interpretations are what will revolutionize your life in the long-run.

So, take a look at your interpretation.

Are you getting bitter over things or taking control?

Because at the end of the day — If you don’t change you (mind) nothing will change for you.

I urge you to think differently — More on this.

-Rafael Eliassen

Click here to read  why : "Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know"

You are poor others are rich but why ?

Break or Study ?

 I used to take a break from studies every few hours during my JEE preparation days, and I think that helped me immensely.

Every three-four hours, I used to take a break to read a novel for thirty minutes. And I used to play Badminton every evening for two hours. Both these activities provided me with a channel to release my stress and re-energize myself so that I could continue studying with full concentration.

JEE preparation is very tough, but studying all the time will not help. It is important to take regular breaks in between to ensure that the preparation is more effective.

At the same time, it is important to ensure that the breaks do not supersede the study duration. There is a very big difference between taking small breaks every few hours of studying, and studying for a small duration every few hours of break.

-Rohan Jain

Clearing JEE is Sign of Success ?

You will suck at...........

I was very complacent about most academic things when I was younger. This is partly due to the fact that I have a fairly good analytical bent of mind, and that my parents nourished it the right way with books and CDs.

Due to this, I was usually well aware of the content of most subjects even before they were taught. I seldom put effort, and I did fairly well. I felt I was really cool.

I kept at this till I was in the 11th and started preparing for the IIT JEE. There were a couple of folks I knew, who took national level competitive examinations. There was one particular friend of mine, who used to score 100 marks lesser than me in a 500 mark examination. I felt even cooler.

Till one fine day, he scored higher, and higher, and higher. I could not believe it - he ended up qualifying for a selective All India classroom program; I didn’t. My coolness evaporated and I was brought back to ground in emphatic style.

I was perplexed at the time as to how this was happening, but I knew in my mind why it was. He worked hard - I didn’t; that made all the difference. I humbly got my act together and started studying. He deservedly got a higher rank than me in the JEE, but if it was not for my realisation - I wouldn’t have even qualified.

What’s my biggest life lesson? There’s no substitute for hard work. Nothing can beat it - nothing. You may be smart, talented, blessed - if you’ve got to make it, you’ve got to put in the hours. Anyone who claims otherwise is not your well wisher.

I have a quote in my room that constantly reminds of this learning, which is now deeply ingrained in my mind:

“Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.”

-Aviral Bhatnagar 

Toffee at IIM ?

 The practice of offering toffees to the candidates was probably started to make the candidates feel more comfortable and to eliminate stress. It seems to have had the opposite effect.

I think the panelists have a lot of fun behind the back when they know that a simple action such as offering or not offering a toffee to the candidate can make him or her go into instant panic mode.

Let me make one thing clear: It is just a toffee and there is absolutely no hidden motive behind offering a toffee.

Among the five IIM interviews I had given (IIM A,B,C,L,K), I was offered a toffee or cookie only at IIMA and IIML. But I had converted the other three interviews as well. So offering a toffee or not to the candidate has nothing to do with how the interview went.

Interestingly, I was offered a cookie first at the end of my IIM Ahmedabad interview. As soon as I took the cookie, they also offered me a toffee. I hesitated, but then went for the toffee as well. The panelists started laughing and also offered me a cashew. Since I had a cookie in one hand and a toffee in the other, I couldn’t go for the cashew and politely declined.

During my IIM Lucknow interview, I was offered a cookie at the beginning of the interview. As soon as I put the cookie in my mouth, the panelists started asking the interview questions. There was a long awkward pause after the question, when they were waiting for me to answer and I was trying to chew my cookie as fast as possible without making any chewing noise.

-Rohan Jain