How to learn anything easily and fast?
Overview
This entire article is about how to learn anything easily and fast. In this, many methods and tricks have been given to learn anything easily and very quickly. Which will help you a lot to learn anything. To understand all things well, I have categorized all the subjects into different sections.
Introduction
Hello friends, let us see First, I'd like to give you some background information. I believe that if there's something I'm good at, then it is- reading, researching, understanding, learning and then making you understand.
For a fact, I have completed my Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. Presently, I'm pursuing a Bachelors in economics, political science, and business management. I've completed a Masters in renewable energy.
So, over the course of my life, I've almost studied all types of subjects Mechanics, material science, electronics, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, civil law, corporate law, accounting, biology, and International relations, microeconomics, macroeconomics.
For the purpose of this article, I'll classify all these subjects into four categories.
By this classification, you will understand my article properly. You also motivate for study by learning new methods and tricks.
The first category is understanding concepts. There are some subjects that involve understanding concepts.
The second category is memorization Some subjects involve rote learning.
The third category is that of Languages. Languages is a separate category on its own.
The fourth category is Application-based subjects which involve the application of concepts. Constant practicing is required.
Come let us see the subjects of these four categories. What are the different tricks that will help you study, understand and learn from them?
1. Understanding concepts
The first category is understanding concepts. This involves subjects like Physics, thermodynamics, and economics which require a deep understanding to grasp their concepts.
Feynmann Technique
The trick which can be used in this is that of Feynmann Technique. Feynmann was a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who, while studying in his university, discovered a technique that has become very famous in today's times which helps you learn something very easily.
He made a notebook and on it, wrote down the topic which he was trying to understand. He studied the topic and tried explaining it in his own words on a blank page in the notebook.
For example, there is a concept in economics- Lorenz curve which shows inequality. Now, I'll make use of the Feynmann Technique to understand the concept of the Lorenz Curve. How will I do it?
First, I'll look through my study materials. I'll try and understand it from the books that I have.
If I'm unable to understand. Then I'll look up Lorenz curve on Google And then I'll look at the results. I could also look at videos to understand it properly. I could look at its definition.
If the definition is complicated. Since it is a curve, I'll look at its images I've taken a look at the images. So, the Lorenz curve shows the distribution between population and income. My next step would be closing my study material.
Open up a blank page in the notebook. I will write "Lorenz Curve" here at the top and try explaining it in my own words. Whatever I have read on Google and my books When I write it down here, then I'd be able to see the gaps in my understanding.
This would become clear only upon writing. When I'd encounter gaps, then I'd go back and refer to see what it was. After this, the next step would be explaining out loud in words, whatever I've written down. I will not think quietly but say it out loud.
It has been scientifically proven that speaking out loud ensures a better understanding as compared to when you talk/ think quietly in your mind.
Now, I'd explain imagining a person standing in front of me. In fact, you should imagine a five-year-old child standing in front of you.
Your understanding should be enough to make a 5-year-old child understand.
Reading and understanding is a skill
Reading and understanding is a skill that you can practice even outside the purview of studies. You can even practice it in daily life. For instance, if you're reading the newspaper Read an article in the newspaper and summarize to your parents at home what the key points of the article were.
This is going to enhance your skill of reading something and understanding its key points. Feynmann Technique can be used even outside the purview of studies to improve our overall learning.
2. Memorization
The second category is memorization. This includes subjects like civics, history, law, biology, medicine. All the subjects that involve rote learning. Actually, in India, almost all the subjects involve rote learning somewhere.
The first thing you need to understand about our memory is that whatever our brains see or write. It cannot retain the written text very well.
What are the things that our brains can retain well? First is - emotional things. The things that we are emotionally attached to, the things that make us angry or happy or scared. We can retain these things better.
Second is- the things that activate more than one of our senses. For example, you don't just eat your food but also smell it. It also has a smell. Sometimes, there's also involvement of sounds in food.
So, you can remember it better. Some things involve feeling, a sense of touch. So, you can remember it even better. The number of senses you activate, the better you will be able to remember. The involvement of senses can be done by using your imagination.
Memory Palace
There are some techniques for this one of the techniques is a Memory Palace.
Memory Palace is a trick which involves using real-life locations that you know of through which you create imaginary objects and create associations with the thing that you want to remember.
In Memory Palace, you make use of an existing location that you know very well. For example, the neighborhood around your house or your very own home. You will use this location in creating an extremely weird storyline. Because you can navigate from the location.
Assume you are in the house. Now, I will use my house to create a storyline. The story can be funny, weird or absurd. Because emotional things and the things that activate multiple senses are better remembered by us. We also retain stories and images better. So, I want to learn the periodic table.
Now, I'd make use of my house. Assume I get inside my house because it is very sunny Sunlight means sun and the sun means Hydrogen. The periodic table begins with hydrogen. Now, what's the next thing you see after entering the house?
Some people encounter the kitchen first. Imagine that your mother is blowing up balloons inside the kitchen. She's blowing up a big red balloon. Why? Because the balloons have helium. So, after hydrogen comes Helium. So, I'm imagining a very weird thing because the more weird and emotional it is, the more you’ll retain it.
After hydrogen and helium, comes Lithium To imagine batteries, visualize your younger brother has strewn batteries all around. Whatever comes beyond the kitchen in your house. Next, imagine Beryllium. Now, Beryllium cannot be associated with a real-life thing.
So you can use its word. For example, Beryllium has the word "berry" in it. Now, from berry, you can imagine turning towards your bathroom next and seeing stains of berries on your T-shirts. Here, I'm using the locations to remember the order.
First I came inside the house- that was hydrogen then came helium and after that lithium. I'm making use of these weird situations to make an emotional impact. So that I can remember them.
So, here you are making use of your imagination and existing memories to remember a new thing.
This technique is effective when you have to learn a lot of something.
mnemonic trick
It is obviously not of much use for smaller things. For example, other techniques are better for learning the periodic table. A mnemonic trick is widely used to learn the periodic table.
For example, there's one "Kalu Nath Ca Mali Aloo Zara Feekay Pakata Hai".
So, from Kalu, we'd see K, which stands for potassium. Nath would be Sodium. Next comes calcium, magnesium, aluminum.
You must have heard of this trick in school. This trick is widely used in India.
So, I will not talk a lot about this trick because almost all of us already use it. You must also be using it. You can use it in any kind of thing. If someone else does not make the mnemonics, then you can make one for yourself that are self-created.
3. Languages
The third category is that of Languages. Languages have also been my weak point. I've only failed in 1 subject in the past year. And that subject was Spanish. I know English, Hindi, and German fluently.
But I know Spanish only up to the intermediate level. But I failed because language isn't something that you can study for 10-20 days and pass. Language requires everyday learning in small quantities and it requires a lot of practice.
Language can be divided into four categories. Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking.
Reading and listening can be practiced easily. You can merely go on the internet and read any entertaining stuff in that language for practice. Anything that you like reading You can practice listening similarly by watching your favorite movie in that language with subtitles.
But there's a lot of requirements of practice. There's a wonderful app for practice and learning grammar called - Duolingo. It is a completely free app. You can learn any language on it Speaking is something which is very difficult to learn, sitting at home.
There's a wonderful app for this- Cambly. Cambly is an app on which you can have a one on one talk with native English speakers on a video call. This is the best way to learn any language because what could be better than talking to a native speaker? The only thing better than this would be knowing and talking directly to a native speaker in real life.
4. Application-based subjects
The fourth category is Application-based subjects. It involves problem-solving and question-solving. The theory is quite small. The problems and questions are more in number. This includes subjects like Maths, Accounting, and Mechanics. There's only one trick to solve them and that is - practice, practice, and practice.
In fact, it requires so much practice that you can ignore the theory most of the time. You can start studying these subjects by looking at the example questions.
Look at how the example problems are solved. Recognize the pattern in the solutions and try and imitate it. When you are done solving some problems, then you can go back to the theory to understand.
The theory of the entire thing and what were the formulas being used in these questions. I'd like to give you a bonus suggestion here.
Sometimes, it so happens that you are reading something but you lose concentration and it all goes above your head.
Because you don't find it interesting. A possible solution, in this case, would be trying to go to the depths of studying that thing (try and find out) why are you actually studying it?
What is the purpose behind what you are studying? What is its history? Why was such a thing made? Why am I studying it today? Who was the first person to make it and why? What was he thinking of (while making it)?
If you go to history, you'll understand the purpose behind its existence and why are you studying it today?
I hope you would have learned a lot from this article. You would have learned "learning". What is the way to learn things? how to study?
If you found it useful then share this article. Thank you.