Barbara Oakley

Try to touch again on something you’re learning within a day, especially if it’s new and rather challenging.

You will find many more insights and techniques about how to learn effectively in this fascinating and timely book, which looks at learning as an adventure rather than hard labor.

I only knew how to tap one mode for learning—and the result was that I was deaf to the music of math.

one mode for learning

A good rule of thumb, when you are first learning new concepts, is not to let things go untouched for longer than a day.

however, it’s best that you first wrestle with the problem yourself before you talk to anyone else, because it can embed the basic concepts deeply enough that you become receptive to the explanation

twenty-one minutes

Chunks are pieces of information that are bound together through meaning.

one of the first steps toward gaining expertise in math and science is to create conceptual chunks—mental leaps that unite separate bits of information through meaning.

Do not confuse the “aha!” of a breakthrough in understanding with solid expertise!