The hottest Learning Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

Open Thread 353

Astral Codex Ten • 2821 implied HN points • 28 Oct 24
🎭️ Culture Learning
  1. People are questioning the optimism around solar power's future, showing that not everyone agrees on its potential. This discussion is happening after a recent conference.
  2. There's a bootcamp for learning about quantitative trading happening soon, but it's not designed to make you rich or improve job prospects in that field. It's more for those who just want to learn out of interest.
  3. The host is planning to limit advertising for events unless they're really important. This is to keep things focused and avoid overwhelming everyone with promotions.

AI Is Making Us Smarter

Justin E. H. Smith's Hinternet • 725 implied HN points • 29 Jun 25
🕹 Technology Learning
  1. AI is changing the way we learn and think, helping us access and absorb more information quickly. This means our ability to understand and process knowledge is growing.
  2. There's a belief that we, as humans, are becoming smarter thanks to our interactions with AI. It's not just machines getting smarter; we are evolving in our thinking too.
  3. The rise of AI makes it feel like we're entering a new age of intelligence, where our minds can integrate vast amounts of knowledge more effectively than ever before.

How to Get Better At Learning From Experience

Range Widely • 1336 implied HN points • 07 Mar 23
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Success is not always a good teacher, especially in unpredictable and impactful scenarios like earthquakes
  2. Differentiate between 'kind' and 'wicked' learning environments, where experience can either improve judgment or give false confidence
  3. Reflecting on and analyzing experiences can lead to better learning outcomes than relying solely on intuition or repetitive actions

Genius vs. Expertise

The Biblioracle Recommends • 668 implied HN points • 04 Feb 24
🎭️ Culture Learning
  1. Genius and expertise are different - expertise is achieved through practice, while genius is often seen as innate.
  2. Expertise can be just as valuable as genius - like the skillful drum tech behind a famous drummer.
  3. Dedication to a hobby or skill can enhance confidence and ability in other areas, showcasing the value of practice and expertise.

Starting Early

Obvious Bicycle • 854 implied HN points • 04 Jun 25
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Starting early is important for mastery. Many successful people began their passion before they turned ten, showing that practice over time leads to excellence.
  2. Be prepared to struggle when learning something new. Everyone starts off as a beginner and it takes time and effort to become skilled.
  3. Time will pass regardless, so it's better to start working on your goals now. You'll grow and have something to show for it in the future.
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Learning in the Forest

Software Design: Tidy First? • 2032 implied HN points • 22 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Learning
  1. Learning should come before production. It's important to focus on what team members need to learn, even if it slows down work at first.
  2. Juniors are still learning, so we shouldn't rush them. It's better to allow them to choose tasks that will help them grow, and to support their learning through pairing with seniors.
  3. Investing time in learning pays off. Gaining skills and knowledge today will help create better projects and more capable engineers in the future.

School is Not Enough

The Map is Mostly Water • 2214 implied HN points • 27 Oct 24
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Learning happens best when you actually do things, not just sit in school. Kids should have chances to explore and work on real tasks to gain skills.
  2. School can trap kids in a routine that doesn’t prepare them for the real world. It’s important to let children explore opportunities that help them learn outside the classroom.
  3. Parents play a big role in helping kids find meaningful activities. Encouraging children to dive into projects they are passionate about can build confidence and lead to mastery.

CodeChella Madrid 2024

Scott's Substack • 746 implied HN points • 07 Jan 24
🚌 Education Learning
  1. CodeChella Madrid 2024 is a four-day workshop in Madrid focused on diff in diff, featuring various speakers.
  2. The workshop aims to be fun, supportive, and educational, providing practical exercises and hands-on coding experience.
  3. Costs for attending are kept reasonable, with discounted rates for students and faculty, along with affordable hotel options.

Investing 101

Investing 101 • 59 implied HN points • 03 Jan 26
💼 Business Learning
  1. Build a compounding engine of reading, research, writing, and investing that converts broad exposure to ideas into concrete actions and bets.
  2. Adopt concrete daily and weekly habits to feed that engine — aim for steady reading across categories, a nightly short story/poem/essay routine, and weekly micro essays to capture emerging ideas.
  3. Make investing an explicit output of the process by widening conversational reach, documenting thinking in an investing journal, and publishing portfolio updates, Requests for Startups, and idea notes to strengthen conviction.

Follow Curiosity

Play Permissionless • 299 implied HN points • 19 Apr 24
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Following curiosity is key - it leads to better outcomes and energizes you.
  2. Avoid overcomplicating decisions - following curiosity beats elaborate planning.
  3. Excitement guides you in the right direction and fuels your projects.

Experiment 1: Daily earnest learning

Public Universal Friend • 19 implied HN points • 02 Sep 24
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Focusing on learning without distractions can help you improve faster. It's important to set aside time just for practice, away from everyday interruptions.
  2. Having hope while learning makes it more exciting and keeps you motivated. Even if your goals seem unrealistic, believing you can improve is really valuable.
  3. Instead of just learning new things, aim for mastery in what you already know. Realizing that there's always more to learn helps keep your passion alive.

A Simple Metaphor For Critical Thinking

A Mug of Insights • 1061 implied HN points • 20 Apr 23
📖 Philosophy Learning
  1. Don't always rely on what you're told, sometimes you need to look around yourself.
  2. The media might distort reality, so it's important to verify information and see things for yourself.
  3. To develop critical thinking, balance learning from others with observing the world firsthand.

Goodbye, real electronic lab kits?

lcamtuf’s thing • 4285 implied HN points • 02 Dec 23
🕹 Technology Learning
  1. Traditional electronic lab kits are disappearing, replaced by newer products like Snap Circuits
  2. The older kits offered a hands-on, educational experience with detailed schematics and components
  3. Newer products like Snap Circuits focus more on quick gratification than teaching electronics concepts

Ali Abdaal Featured This Medium Writer and Substacker — Here’s the Secret Way to Attract Ali (and Others)

Kristina God's Online Writing Club • 779 implied HN points • 10 Nov 23
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Building in public can really open up opportunities, like attracting people you admire. It's about sharing your journey and showing your work to the world.
  2. Luck and unexpected moments can play a big role in success. You never know when a chance encounter might lead to something great.
  3. Engaging content and a positive attitude can inspire others, just like Ali Abdaal does with his blend of education and entertainment.

using your memory to strengthen your memory: retrieval practice

Brain Pizza • 331 implied HN points • 19 Aug 25
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Retrieval practice is a powerful way to improve memory. Instead of just reading or highlighting, try recalling information from memory to really reinforce learning.
  2. Many people think they are learning effectively when they aren't. Simply rereading or practicing a skill over and over doesn't help as much as we think.
  3. Feeling some discomfort while learning is okay! It can actually lead to better memory and understanding when we push ourselves out of our comfort zones.

My School Experimented with ‘Education Equity.’ It Failed.

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1381 implied HN points • 10 Dec 24
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Mixing high-achieving and low-performing students in the same classes didn't work as intended. It led to negative outcomes for students who were doing well.
  2. The idea behind the 'multilevel classrooms' was to help students transition easily between different levels of difficulty. However, it was challenging to teach when students had very different skill levels.
  3. Though the mixed-class approach had some success in certain subjects, it struggled in STEM and language classes where a strong foundation is needed. Teachers found it hard to meet everyone's needs.

Why You Should Be A Control Freak

Zwischenzug • 432 implied HN points • 03 Feb 24
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Control in chess means knowing what your opponent can do and being ready for it.
  2. Maintaining control is crucial, especially in winning positions.
  3. The engine's evaluation may not reflect the full complexity of a position, so human perspective is key in strategic decisions.

Faster

ASK MOLLY • 471 implied HN points • 21 Jan 24
🚌 Education Learning
  1. The post is about writing faster and not delaying
  2. The focus of the workshop is on the importance of not burying the lead
  3. The session is part of a paid seminar for writing

This week in the science of learning, August 25, 2024

The Bell Ringer • 19 implied HN points • 25 Aug 24
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Teaching reading is a mix of art and science. Teachers need to use research but also rely on their own experience to help students learn.
  2. Meaningful knowledge helps students connect what they learn to related ideas. This makes learning more useful and encourages deeper understanding.
  3. Building strong relationships between teachers and parents can help support students. Parents should talk to their kids about learning and current events to strengthen this connection.

How to be an unsuccessful thinker

Bits of Wonder • 766 implied HN points • 18 Mar 23
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Reading too much can be counterproductive, limit your focused reading hours.
  2. Reading too little of substance hinders intellectual growth, prioritize quality input.
  3. Balance is key in intellectual pursuit, alternate between reading, thinking, and seeking feedback in moderation.

No more Theatre: How I embraced failure as an Engineering Leader

🔮 Crafting Tech Teams • 139 implied HN points • 20 May 24
💼 Business Learning
  1. Leaders need to embrace failure and turn it into a learning opportunity without fear of judgment.
  2. Teams require leaders to set clear boundaries, values, and expectations to create a psychologically safe environment.
  3. Continuous delivery in engineering leadership involves delivering faster, reducing stress, fostering a positive environment, and supporting team growth.

Time Well Spent

Timeless & Timely • 412 implied HN points • 17 Jan 24
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Learning
  1. Be careful with what you chase; you may get what you were looking for.
  2. Realize that ego isn't everything, it's not all about you.
  3. Balance egocentric tendencies with focus on learning, service, and relationships.

Lessons from Keith Drury's Cadre

DruGroup • 79 implied HN points • 25 Jun 24
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Learning
  1. It's important to choose a special group of leaders to invest in. When you invite them to be part of a select group, it makes them feel valued and noticed.
  2. Regular communication with your selected group helps them feel included and keeps them engaged. Sharing valuable insights can strengthen your connection with them.
  3. Connecting your leaders with each other can create new opportunities. They can work together and support each other in ways they might not have expected.

Should a Workshop Be a Safe Space?

The Recovering Academic • 534 implied HN points • 28 Nov 23
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Workshops should be places of respect where the focus is on the work itself, not personal attacks or fears.
  2. Creating in a workshop may not always be comfortable, but it should be a space of caring and deep respect for the work.
  3. Balancing belief in the work and constructive doubt can help writers grow without falling into extremes of pure praise or relentless criticism.

Is Asset-Based AI Even Possible?

Mathworlds • 373 implied HN points • 24 Jan 24
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Asset-based approach in teaching focuses on students' strengths rather than their weaknesses.
  2. Understanding students' existing knowledge is crucial for effective learning.
  3. AI may struggle to support asset-based instruction due to its focus on metacognitive learning over content learning.

On mathematics anxiety

Rebecca Birch - On Education • 373 implied HN points • 22 Jan 24
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Mathematics anxiety is prevalent and impactful, especially for girls.
  2. The report by David Geary highlights the types of knowledge acquisition and the challenges in learning mathematics.
  3. Girls experiencing early struggle in mathematics may lead to lower utility beliefs and fewer pursuing STEM careers.

Deep Learning Weekly: Issue 335

Deep Learning Weekly • 393 implied HN points • 10 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Learning
  1. AI models are assisting robots to execute complex tasks more transparently using multiple foundation models.
  2. LLMs are being used to solve reasoning problems and enhance tool use in deep learning.
  3. AutoRT is a system proposing diverse instructions to robots, leveraging VLMs and LLMs to scale up operational robot deployment.

Chess is 99% taking pieces

Zwischenzug • 628 implied HN points • 22 Jul 23
🎾 Sports Learning
  1. In chess, 99% of the game is about taking your opponent's pieces and not hanging your own.
  2. For many players, improvement comes from mastering basic concepts like piece safety rather than advanced strategies.
  3. Efficiency matters, so seek out resources that help you practice and improve on keeping your pieces safe in chess.

How I Write

Democratizing Automation • 395 implied HN points • 06 Jun 25
🕹 Technology Learning
  1. Writing improves with practice and prioritization. The more you write, the better you get at it.
  2. Finding your passion and voice is key to writing well. When you write about what you love, it becomes easier and more enjoyable.
  3. AI tools can support writing, but they also make it harder for new writers to learn. With auto-complete options, it takes more effort to become a good writer.

My Conversation with Matt Teichman

By Reason Alone • 42 implied HN points • 03 Jan 26
🎙 Podcasts Learning
  1. Structured practices like spaced repetition, reading groups, and long-term recall systems make learning more effective and more enjoyable.
  2. Even small bits of knowledge — names, dates, or basic history — give big interpersonal and intellectual returns, and many people genuinely enjoy the act of recalling facts.
  3. There are bigger questions about how knowledge and tools shape thinking: whether deeper knowledge aligns people’s views, whether humans can be universal explainers, and how imperfect LLMs might still add value to learning and creativity.

25 Useful Ideas for 2025

The Prism • 877 implied HN points • 02 Jan 25
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Being too focused on what we hate in politics makes us unhappy. Instead, we should think about what we stand for and what we can support positively.
  2. Markets and services can start off great for users but may turn worse as they become more focused on profits over their customers. We should be aware of this shift in priorities.
  3. To truly learn something well, we should try to teach it. Teaching others helps deepen our understanding and makes information stick better.

Some Recent Essays on Schooling

In My Tribe • 303 implied HN points • 09 Jul 25
🚌 Education Learning
  1. The Null Hypothesis suggests that many education methods don't really change student learning over time. When improvements do happen, they often fade away later.
  2. Extrinsic motivation, like rewards, can be a strong driver for student achievement. Personalized rewards for students can help them engage better in their learning.
  3. Different students have varied learning needs, and a one-size-fits-all approach might not work. Many students thrive in structured environments where they learn together, even if it feels less exciting.

Education of a Typing Man

Register Spill • 294 implied HN points • 04 Feb 24
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Experimenting with different keyboard layouts can improve typing skills.
  2. Learning to touch-type with all 10 fingers can boost typing speed and accuracy.
  3. Consistent practice and use of typing tools can lead to significant improvement over time.

Einstein on Education

Humanities in Revolt • 459 implied HN points • 25 Nov 23
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Albert Einstein believed that humanities were crucial for human flourishing and couldn't be replaced by a purely scientific education.
  2. Einstein criticized early specialization in education, emphasizing the importance of a broad humanistic general education over narrow career-focused paths.
  3. Einstein advocated for cultivating independent thinking skills in students, warning against excessive competitiveness in educational systems and promoting a philosophy of honoring individuality and social responsibility.

Putting the "M" in STEM

The Bell Ringer • 239 implied HN points • 01 Mar 24
🚌 Education Learning
  1. Math is really important in STEM fields, but schools need to focus more on improving math skills. We need better math education to succeed in science and technology.
  2. Many people talk a lot about STEM, but they often overlook how crucial math is to it. If we want to see progress, math achievement needs to be a priority in education.
  3. To get students excited about STEM, we should encourage a strong foundation in math from an early age. This can help build confidence and interest in science and technology careers.