How to Learn Stuff Quickly (joshwcomeau.com)

Article summary

The article discusses the importance of learning how to learn effectively, especially for software developers. It highlights the need to balance guided and unguided learning, and provides strategies such as making intentional mistakes, extending tutorials, and building related projects. The article also emphasizes the importance of cultivating a growth mindset, setting goals, and using techniques like spaced repetition to retain information.

Main themes

• learning strategies
• guided vs unguided learning
• growth mindset
• practice and application
• mentorship and teaching
• neuroplasticity and aging
• learning in public
• understanding and mastery

What commenters say

• Some commenters argue that finding a good teacher or mentor is crucial for learning quickly, while others believe that self-learning and experimentation are more important.
• There is disagreement about the effectiveness of tutorials, with some seeing them as useful for learning specific skills and others viewing them as limited and lacking in theoretical foundation.
• The importance of practice and application in learning is widely agreed upon, with many commenters emphasizing the need to spend more time applying knowledge than simply learning it.
• Some commenters note that learning becomes more challenging with age, requiring more effort and deliberate protocols to follow, while others argue that it is still possible to learn quickly with the right approach.
• The value of learning in public, sharing knowledge and experiences with others, is seen as beneficial for reinforcing one's own understanding and connecting with the developer community.
• There is a discussion about the role of neuroplasticity in learning, with some commenters noting that it becomes more difficult to learn new things after a certain age, but others arguing that this change is gradual and can be mitigated with healthy habits and continued learning.
• Some commenters emphasize the importance of understanding the underlying concepts and principles, rather than just memorizing information or following tutorials.
• The idea that learning quickly requires a combination of knowing and mastering things, and that simply knowing things is not enough, is also discussed.