Chief Quant, Director of Analytics at Math Academy. Posts about learning, upskilling, math education, Math Academy, and more generally, stages 2-3 of Bloom's talent development process in hierarchical skill domains.
New on JustinMath.com - The Most Comprehensive 2h Overview of My Thoughts on Serious Upskilling
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Hey! You're receiving this email because you requested to be notified about new posts at JustinMath.com. I did another podcast which is currently the most comprehensive 2h overview of my thoughts on serious upskilling (summary and transcript available as well). Not just how to train efficiently, but also how to find your mission. Not just the microstructure, but also the metagame.
The Metagame Podcast #39: Math Academy and The Science of Learning
2025 Apr, ~2h • We covered tons of bases ranging from the micro level (science of learning & training efficiently) to the macro level (broader journey of finding, developing, and exploiting your personal talents). [~0:30] What is Bloom's two-sigma problem, how did Bloom attempt to solve it, why does it remain unsolved, and what is Math Academy's approach to solving it?
[~9:00] Efficient learning feels like exercise. The point is to overcome a challenge that strains you. It is by definition unpleasant. [~13:30] Knowledge graphs are vital when constructing efficient learning experiences. They allow you to systematically organize a learner's performance data to identify their edge of mastery (the boundary between what they know and don't know), what previously learned topics below the edge are in need of review, and what new topics on the edge will maximize the amount of review that's knocked out implicitly. [~18:00] None of this efficiency stuff matters if you don't show up consistently. Progress equals volume times efficiency. If either of those factors are low then you don't make much progress. [~21:30] Getting excited about the idea of getting good provides an initial activation energy, but seeing yourself improve is what fuels you to keep playing the long game, and efficiency is vital for that. [~26:30] Your training doesn't have to be super efficient at the beginning. You can gradually nudge yourself into higher efficiency training even if you don't have a whole lot of intrinsic motivation to begin with. However, there's often a skill barrier you need to break through to really get to the fun part, and it's advisable to do that in a timely manner so you don't stall out. But at the same time, don't rush it and fall off the rails. [~34:30] A common failure mode: being unwilling to identify, accept, and start at the level you're at. [~41:30] Center your identity on a mission that speaks to you, that you can contribute to, and do whatever else is needed to further it, regardless of whether you perceive these other things to be "you" or not. You'll be surprised what capabilities you develop, that you hadn't previously perceived to be a part of your identity. [~48:30] How to find your mission: sample wide to figure out what activities speak to you, then filter down and pick one (or a couple) that you're willing to seriously invest your time and effort climbing up the skill tree and going on "quests". You may not understand this early on, but skill trees branch out, and quests beget follow-up quests, and the act of climbing to these branch-points will imbue you with perspective that you can leverage to keep filtering down. If you iterate this process enough, it gradually converges into a single area that you can describe coherently and uniquely. That's your mission. [~55:30] Every stage in the journey to your mission is hard work, and the earlier you get to putting in that work, the better off you're going to be. It's never too late, but the longer you wait, the rougher it gets. At the same time, don't make a rash decision, don't tear the house down and build up a new house that you don't even like. But don't underestimate how fast you can progress when your internal motivation is aligned with your external incentives. [~1:12:00] Focus on what matters. That's obvious, but it's so easy to mess up lose focus and not realize it until after you've wasted a bunch of time. [~1:15:30] How to get back on the horse after you've fallen off. How to avoid feeling bad when something outside of your control temporarily knocks you off your horse. A good social environment can push you to get back on your horse. [~1:26:30] If you're a beginner, don't feel like you have to be advanced to join a community of learners. You can do this right away. And don't shy away from posting your progress -- it's not about where you are, it's about where you're going and how fast. It's only people who are insecure who will make fun of you. Most people, especially advanced people, will be supportive. [~1:31:30] There are numerous cognitive learning strategies that 1) can be used to massively improve learning, 2) have been reproduced so many times they might as well be laws of physics, and 3) connect all the way down to the mechanics of what's going on in the brain. The biggest levers: active learning (as opposed to passive consumption), direct/explicit instruction (as opposed to discovery learning), the spacing effect, mixed practice (a.k.a. interleaving), retrieval practice (a.k.a. the testing effect). Daniel is a top-notch host with a knack for pulling serious alpha out of people. If you enjoy this episode then I highly recommend checking out his other episodes of The Metagame! Best, |
Justin Skycak
Chief Quant, Director of Analytics at Math Academy. Posts about learning, upskilling, math education, Math Academy, and more generally, stages 2-3 of Bloom's talent development process in hierarchical skill domains.
Hey! You're receiving this email because you requested to be notified about new posts at JustinMath.com.(If you've changed your mind, click here to unsubscribe, please avoid marking spam.) Here are 3 new posts: What Happens When Middle School is Put to Good Use~3100 words • Typical honors students can learn all of high school math plus calculus *in middle school* if they are taught efficiently. They don't have to be geniuses, don't even have to spend more time on school. Just need to use time...
Hey! You're receiving this email because you requested to be notified about new posts at JustinMath.com.(If you've changed your mind, click here to unsubscribe, please avoid marking spam.) I recently started a podcast with Jason Roberts, called The Math Academy Podcast. We have two episodes out so far! It's on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, and transcripts are available here. Here are our first 2 episodes: Teach Like Your Life Depends On It - Math Academy Podcast #22025 Nov, ~2.75h...
Hey! You're receiving this email because you requested to be notified about new posts at JustinMath.com.(If you've changed your mind, click here to unsubscribe, please avoid marking spam.) Here are 3 new recent posts: The Joy of Math is Like The Joy of Exercise2025 Sep, ~550 words • Exercise gets way more fun once you notice a body transformation getting underway. It's the same way with math. I Believe You Have Potential2025 Sep, ~200 words • What people tend to need the most yet have the...