Want to Learn Something? Go to the Library!

Books are a great resource despite the proliferation of free information the Internet. Books have generally been done more carefully than the things you find online. I think some people appreciate books but every so often they have a bad experience.

You know the kind. The kind where the author’s treatment of a topic sucks. Unfortunately, what most people believe after that type of experience is that something must be wrong with them. That if they couldn’t understand the material from one author, they must be incapable of understanding the material. That the author’s presentation of the material is somehow the only way to present the material. I’m happy to say that this line of thinking is unproductive and misleading.

There’s usually more than one way to present the same material. And at least one of those presentations will more than likely make sense to you. Instead of thinking you can’t get the concept, think the author hasn’t communicated to you effectively.

Your best defense in this case is to find other authors and see how they present the subject. Search the Web and see what presentations/lectures pop up on the material of interest. If you search long and hard enough, you’ll find something. It may seem like it’s a lot of work, but in the end, it’s actually less work. It’s far better to understand material before an exam than after the exam. It’s far better to understand material before you have to use it in the real-world than after you have to use it in the real-world.

So the next time you find yourself wanting to learn something. 

1. Go to the library. 
2. Get a number of different books that cover the same topic. 
3. Skim through all the books you get. 

 You’ll know very quickly which author expresses things in way that really works for you.

Don't Be Fooled

I’ve been in the Cambridge area for a little while now.  I’ve come across a handful of MIT students, and I’ve noticed a pattern.  

They work hard as hell.    

There might be some that don’t really study for anything and still do well--but I haven’t met them.  I’d consider such people the exception and not the rule.  The typical MIT student has raw intelligence that is coupled with really, really hard work.  

The media rarely advertises how hard they work, but don’t let that fool you.  They’re putting in massive amounts of hours and leveraging multiple resources (e.g., other students, library, online resources).  MIT has a reputation and the students understand there’s a reputation to uphold. And unfortunately, in trying to keep up, some students burn out, but we rarely hear about those cases.  Again, thank the media for this.  So don’t be fooled!  Burning out and consequently dropping out totally happens.  

If you’d like to mimic the typical to excellent MIT grad: 

Work.  Hard.  As.  Hell. 

You’ll be damn good.