April 24, 2009, 2:59 PM — One of the greatest benefits that comes with the privilege of writing this blog every day is the learning that comes with it. Virtually every post idea comes with a healthy dose of research, most of which never ends up written down. But I'm a firm believer in the idea that constantly learning new things leads to a better life. Or at least, a healthier mind.
So, as today seems to be a pretty quiet tech news day (so far), I wanted to share an article that Tim O'Reilly shared via Twitter: Hacking Knowledge: 77 Ways to Learn Faster, Deeper, and Better. This is (unsurprisingly) a list of tips and tricks to help you learn and problem solve. Some of them [#14: Take a bath or shower. Both activities loosen you up, making your mind more receptive to recognizing brilliant ideas.] you may have discovered instinctively; how many times has the solution to a problem suddenly come to you during your morning shower? Others [#24: Stimulate ideas. Play rhyming games, utter nonsense words. These loosen you up, making you more receptive to learning.] aren't so commonly known. Or if they are, I've been left out of the loop.
The tips are broken up into broad categories like "Recall Techniques" and "For Teachers, Tutors, and Parents" so not every tip is going to be applicable to your situation, but I'm sure everyone can find something helpful in the list. There're lots of links to further study and details, too.
If you have a tip or trick not in the list, why not share it in a comment? For me, I find going for a drive (a relaxing drive, not a rush-hour traffic drive) can really help me work through problems. The act of driving keeps my 'surface mind' (as well as my body) occupied while deeper down my brain can turn over problems at its leisure without a lot of outside distractions. Night driving is perfect for this. What about you? What do you do when you're stuck on a problem?
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