Optimize Your Machine Learning or Big Data Learning Journey with These Powerful Strategies
“Your deepest moments of happiness don’t come from doing easy things; they come from realizing your potential and overcoming your own limiting beliefs about yourself.”
Scott H. Young
Learning can be a challenging and often frustrating process, especially when you’re trying to master a new skill or subject. I found myself a lot in this process, having no idea how I could improve my study time while increasing learning efficiency with minimal effort (and maintaining motivation over the days).
When you start studying Big Data, Data Engineering, and Machine Learning you face a vast world that needs a lot of background and practice (and also a lot of time to properly understand each topic). I always questioned:
It’s this really possible? Isn’t possible to make learning easier, more effective, and different than the old-fashioned way of studying?
After getting some book advice on Reddit, I found two ones that got my attention: Ultralearning by Scott Young and Learning How to Learn by Barbara Oakley. Here’s what I learned from those books in the past months and how they can (maybe) help you to give the next step in your learning process. The idea here is to combine the techniques taught in each book to create and optimize the way you study a new topic.
Technique 1: Deliberate Practice
In Ultralearning, Scott Young emphasizes the importance of setting specific goals and actively working to improve skills or knowledge in a particular area. He also advocates for the use of the Pomodoro Technique, which involves breaking your study sessions into focused, 25-minute blocks of time, as a way to increase productivity and reduce burnout.
In Learning How to Learn, Barbara Oakley advises using the Feynman Technique, which involves explaining complex concepts in your own words as a way to test your understanding and identify areas for improvement.
By combining deliberate practice with both the Pomodoro Technique and the Feynman Technique, you can optimize your learning by setting specific goals, using focused study sessions, and actively working to improve your understanding of complex concepts. Overall, the combination of deliberate practice with the Pomodoro Technique and the Feynman Technique allows you to effectively set specific goals, use focused study sessions, and actively work to improve your understanding of complex concepts.
How to Apply the Technique?
You might set a goal to improve your ability to interpret statistical data by focusing on a specific concept such as hypothesis testing. Use the Pomodoro Technique to break your study sessions into focused, 25-minute blocks, and use the breaks between Pomodoros to reflect on your progress and identify areas for improvement. Use the Feynman Technique to explain the concepts in your own words as a way to test your understanding and identify areas for improvement.
This combination of techniques will allow you to focus on specific goals, use focused study sessions, and actively work to improve your understanding of the concept of limits. Overall, the combination of the Pomodoro Technique and the Feynman Technique allows you to effectively focus on specific goals, use focused study sessions, and actively work to improve your understanding of math concepts.
Additional Resources:
- “The Pomodoro Technique” by Francesco Cirillo
- “How to Learn Faster with the Feynman Technique”
Technique 2: Interleaving
In Ultralearning, Scott Young advises using interleaved practice as a way to improve learning and retention. Interleaved practice involves mixing up the order in which you practice different skills or concepts, rather than focusing on one skill or concept at a time. This can help to prevent boredom and improve retention by forcing you to constantly switch between different skills or concepts. In Learning How to Learn, Barbara Oakley advises using the spaced repetition technique as a way to improve retention by spacing out your practice sessions over time.
By combining interleaved practice with spaced repetition, you can optimize your learning by mixing up the order in which you practice different skills or concepts, and spacing out your practice sessions over time.
How to Apply the Technique?
You might use interleaved practice to improve your math skills by practicing a variety of different math concepts in a single study session, rather than focusing on just one concept at a time. You could also use the spaced repetition technique to schedule your math practice sessions over time, reviewing previously learned concepts at increasingly longer intervals to help with retention.
This combination of techniques will allow you to practice a variety of math concepts in a single study session, while also spacing out your practice sessions to help with retention.
Additional Resources:
- “The Spacing Effect: A Powerful Force in Learning” by Robert A. Bjork
Technique 3: Spacing
In Ultralearning, Scott Young advises using spacing as a way to improve retention by spacing out your practice sessions over time. Spacing involves reviewing previously learned material at increasingly longer intervals, helping to reinforce your knowledge and improve retention. In Learning How to Learn, Barbara Oakley advises using the testing effect as a way to improve learning and retention by actively testing your knowledge.
By combining spacing with the testing effect, you can optimize your learning by reviewing previously learned material at increasingly longer intervals and actively testing your knowledge.
How to Apply the Technique?
You might use spacing to improve your statistical skills by reviewing previously learned statistical concepts at increasingly longer intervals. You could also use the testing effect to actively test your statistical knowledge by attempting to solve statistical problems without any outside assistance or by explaining statistical concepts in your own words.
This combination of techniques will allow you to review previously learned statistical concepts at increasingly longer intervals, while also actively testing your statistical knowledge.
Additional Resources:
- “The Testing Effect: A Better Way to Learn” by John Dunlosky
Technique 4: Retrieval Practice
In Ultralearning, Scott Young advises using retrieval practice as a way to improve learning and retention by actively recalling information from memory. Retrieval practice involves actively recalling information from memory, helping to reinforce your knowledge and improve retention. In Learning How to Learn, Barbara Oakley advises using the chunking technique as a way to improve learning and retention by breaking up complex information into smaller, more manageable chunks.
By combining retrieval practice with the chunking technique, you can optimize your learning by actively recalling information from memory and breaking up complex information into smaller, more manageable chunks.
How to Apply the Technique?
You might use retrieval practice to improve your Machine Learning skills by actively recalling concepts from memory. You could also use the chunking technique to break up complex ML models concepts into smaller, more manageable chunks, allowing you to better understand and retain the material.
This combination of techniques will allow you to actively recall programming concepts from memory, while also breaking up complex ML concepts into smaller, and more manageable chunks.
Additional Resources:
Technique 5: Retrieval Practice
In Ultralearning, Scott Young advises using elaboration as a way to improve learning and retention by adding personal context and meaning to the material being studied. Elaboration involves adding personal context and meaning to the material being studied, helping to reinforce your knowledge and improve retention. In Learning How to Learn, Barbara Oakley advises using the mapping technique as a way to improve learning and retention by creating visual representations of complex concepts.
By combining elaboration with the concept mapping technique, you can optimize your learning by adding personal context and meaning to the material being studied, while also creating visual representations of complex concepts.
How to Apply the Technique?
You could also use the concept mapping technique and elaboration to create visual representations of data streaming concepts, such as streaming architectures, data pipelines, and real-time processing.
The combination of techniques will allow you to add personal context and meaning to data streaming concepts, while also creating visual representations of the concepts, which can be particularly useful when working with complex streaming systems.
Additional Resources:
In this article, we have explored how to mix techniques from Ultralearning and Learning How to Learn to optimize your learning in various subjects. By combining techniques such as deliberate practice, interleaving, spacing, retrieval practice, and elaboration, you can improve your learning and retention of complex concepts and skills. I hope that this information has been useful and that you can use these techniques to enhance your own learning journey.
Stay tuned for Part 2, where we will explore additional techniques and topics such as Concreteness, Reflection, Testing, and Feedback!
Until then, I encourage you to try out some of the techniques discussed in this article and see how they can help you improve your learning and retention.
