The hottest Learning Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

Learning by Doing

Sunday Letters • 59 implied HN points • 15 Oct 23
🚌 Education Learning Teaching Career Experiments Mindset
  1. Doing is often better than just thinking. If you want to learn a skill, just start practicing it a lot.
  2. Trying many things and being okay with failure helps you learn faster. When you're not focused on being perfect, you can improve more easily.
  3. Having a 'beginner's mind' can lead to better results. Beginners often do well because they aren't held back by too much prior knowledge or self-doubt.

Group Theory. The Math Twin to Object Oriented Programming[Math Mondays]

Technology Made Simple • 79 implied HN points • 31 Jan 23
🕹 Technology Programming Mathematics Learning Design Online Platforms
  1. Group theory in mathematics helps in understanding inheritance and polymorphism in Object-Oriented Programming.
  2. In OOP, inheritance allows classes to inherit properties, similar to how groups inherit properties from subgroups.
  3. Group theory provides a framework for designing efficient and modular systems by understanding class and object relationships.

How Writing has helped me- even though it's failed [Storytime Saturdays]

Technology Made Simple • 59 implied HN points • 28 May 23
🚌 Education Writing Learning Communication Documentation Personal Development
  1. Creating content can provide exposure and opportunities, leading to networking and industry insights.
  2. Content creation can enhance learning by fostering a continuous search for knowledge and interactions with followers.
  3. Crafting content improves communication skills, critical thinking, and documentation, which can have a positive impact on personal and professional growth.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Productive Struggle, Q&A

Pershmail • 58 implied HN points • 20 Feb 23
🚌 Education Teaching Research Learning Evidence
  1. Productive struggle has different definitions in research, leading to confusion and debate.
  2. Research on productive struggle focuses on the importance of struggle as a component of learning.
  3. It's crucial to dig deeper and understand the specific mechanisms through which struggle can lead to learning.

Shape of the Week: Zonogon

Pershmail • 58 implied HN points • 17 Mar 23
🚌 Education Mathematics Teaching Geometry Learning
  1. The 'Shape of the Week' feature introduces a new geometric shape each week to expand knowledge and make learning fun.
  2. A zonogon is a parallelogram with point symmetry and can be dissected into multiple parallelograms, creating an interesting mathematical pattern.
  3. Regular zonogons can produce beautiful dissections, and studying them can lead to exploring concepts like Minkowski's First Theorem.

Representing integers as a sum

Infinitely More • 7 implied HN points • 27 Oct 24
🚌 Education Mathematics Learning Teaching Proofs Exercises
  1. Every positive integer can be split into a sum in a specific number of ways. For any integer n, there are exactly 2^(n-1) ways to do this.
  2. To figure out how to split an integer, you can visualize it as a series of ones with spaces in between. Each space can either have a plus sign or not, giving rise to different sums.
  3. A common mistake in math is the 'fence-post error,' where people confuse the number of items with the number of spaces between them, leading to miscounts in things like days or numbers.

Learning to see better by learning to unsee | #15

pole • 78 implied HN points • 03 Apr 23
📖 Philosophy Perception Existence Learning Mind Self
  1. In the journey of learning and growth, it's important to embrace the process and not get too caught up in setbacks.
  2. Sometimes, the key to understanding and creativity lies in viewing the world from different perspectives and challenging existing perceptions.
  3. Learning to unsee and approach situations with a fresh perspective can lead to deeper insights and personal growth.

Math for kids outside of the Calculus Sequence

Kids Who Love Math • 111 HN points • 07 Aug 23
🚌 Education Mathematics Learning Teaching Resources
  1. There's a clear path from arithmetic to calculus in math education, but kids who advance too quickly may face challenges in a traditional school setting.
  2. Instead of just accelerating through the math curriculum, consider enrichment to explore topics outside the typical sequence like statistics, probability, and mathematical finance.
  3. Parents can support their kids in exploring enrichment math by learning alongside them, finding tutors or math circles, and utilizing resources like books and educational videos.

Applying Socratic Wisdom to Engineering Management

The Healthy Engineering Leader • 39 implied HN points • 08 Nov 23
💼 Business Management Leadership Learning Philosophy Engineering
  1. Humility is important in engineering. Recognizing that you don’t know everything helps create a culture where everyone feels valued and can share ideas.
  2. Being a leader means being a lifelong learner. It’s vital to keep learning about your team and technology to support them effectively.
  3. Taking time to reflect on actions and decisions can lead to better results. Regular team retrospectives can help improve processes and boost team morale.

'Human intelligence'

imperfect offerings • 13 HN points • 10 Apr 24
🚌 Education AI Data Work Learning Assessment
  1. The concept of 'artificial intelligence' has historically been used to define and value 'intelligence', leading to discriminatory practices in education and beyond.
  2. The term 'human intelligence' has been co-opted by the AI industry to alleviate concerns about job displacement, but in reality, it devalues certain types of work and people, especially those involving care and emotional labor.
  3. The comparison between artificial and human intelligence creates a double bind for students and workers, expecting them to conform to data-driven systems while also being 'more human', which can lead to confusion and anxiety.

Mental Models: tools supporting problem solvers for better decision making

Poczwardowski Notes • 39 implied HN points • 07 Nov 23
🚌 Education Decision-making Problem Solving Learning
  1. Using mental models can enhance decision-making by offering different perspectives and minimizing blind spots.
  2. Engaging with tools and frameworks like mental models can lead to improved problem-solving strategies.
  3. Learning from mistakes is valuable, but utilizing structured models like mental models can equip problem solvers with additional support.

Presentation Night - Feb 7 - Recap

Omar’s Writing • 59 implied HN points • 02 Apr 23
🎭️ Culture Events Learning Community Presentations History
  1. Presentation Night is an event where people give 5-minute talks about anything they find joy in sharing and learning
  2. The event encourages learning, sharing joy, meeting interesting people in a social setting to talk about their passions, expanding horizons even with topics one may not initially be interested in
  3. Creating a community for shared learning and growth through public and private presentation nights can be fun and enriching

How To Monetise Your Attention

Day One • 439 implied HN points • 10 Aug 20
🚌 Education Attention Content Skill Building Learning Personal Growth
  1. Consuming educational, informational, and entertaining content on the internet is crucial for growth and success.
  2. Focus on seeking out educational content to increase knowledge and improve skills, as it can help you monetize your attention and achieve success.
  3. Take proactive steps like learning new skills, building a business, or enhancing existing skills to ensure you come out stronger and more successful in challenging times.

💫 Co-bots: how to think of the synergy between Humans and Machines

Work3 - The Future of Work • 39 implied HN points • 08 May 23
🕹 Technology AI Automation Learning Personalization Regulation
  1. Humans will always be needed in collaboration with AI for responsibility, personalization, and addressing biases.
  2. Co-bots are collaborative software-robots designed to enhance productivity and efficiency by performing various tasks alongside humans.
  3. Learning in the age of information abundance can be facilitated by AI, providing access to all answers, interactive learning, and practical examples.

[Review] Move First, Think Later: Sense and Nonsense in Improving Your Chess

Arjun Panickssery • 39 implied HN points • 18 Sep 23
🚌 Education Chess Learning Reading Problem Solving
  1. The book challenges traditional chess teaching methods by emphasizing pattern recognition over structured thinking.
  2. Verbal descriptions may not be effective in teaching chess moves, as examples show that pattern familiarity is crucial.
  3. The effectiveness of absorbing chess patterns quickly is compared to language learning, emphasizing the importance of practical application.

Propositional Attitudes and Flying Saucers

The End(s) of Argument • 39 implied HN points • 27 Jul 23
🚌 Education Teaching Learning Critical Thinking
  1. It's important to teach that there is a distinction between a claim and a position on that claim, to avoid confusion and misunderstandings.
  2. When evaluating the likelihood of a claim, it's essential to consider it in relation to other explanations rather than in isolation.
  3. Defending a claim involves defending the most reasonable position on that claim, considering all possible explanations in a broader context.

What's on your mind?

Kids Who Love Math • 83 implied HN points • 16 Aug 23
🚌 Education Mathematics Learning
  1. The author is curious about your thoughts and questions related to teaching math to kids
  2. The author shares information about their kids' math education and current activities
  3. The author is open to sharing book highlights and is interested in knowing if you'd like to read about them

A Blind Classroom

Nuances • 19 implied HN points • 03 Feb 24
🚌 Education Inclusivity Learning Disability
  1. A blind school in Kerala focuses on overall student development through sports and co-curricular activities.
  2. Visiting a classroom for the blind showed the use of braille in everyday learning, highlighting the effort required for blind students to communicate.
  3. Gratitude was felt for eyesight and admiration for Louis Braille and blind individuals using Braille to express themselves.

Rabbitholes as Portals

Working Theorys • 35 implied HN points • 14 Mar 24
📖 Philosophy Curiosity Knowledge Learning Purpose Existence
  1. Delving into rabbitholes, or diving deep into random topics out of curiosity, can lead to valuable and unique knowledge.
  2. Rabbitholes can offer unexpected insights and lead you to passionate areas you never knew you cared about.
  3. It's crucial to differentiate between rabbitholes that are traps, focusing on winning a game, and those that are portals to genuine learning experiences.

Loss. Love. Learning.

The Future Does Not Fit In The Containers Of The Past • 77 implied HN points • 13 Aug 23
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Life Love Learning
  1. Loss is a central part of the human experience in different ways, from losing promotions to facing the loss of loved ones and ultimately losing ourselves.
  2. Love plays a crucial role in making life meaningful despite inevitable losses, and it is intertwined with feelings of attachment and purpose.
  3. Learning is a continuous process that involves building knowledge, skills, understanding, and eventually wisdom, with love, loss, and learning influencing and resonating with each other.

How to learn a new codebase very quickly [Technique Tuesdays]

Technology Made Simple • 79 implied HN points • 07 Sep 22
🕹 Technology Coding Learning Documentation Math Programming
  1. Understanding the context is crucial when learning a new codebase, not just the technical details
  2. Start by understanding the purpose and problem the codebase solves before diving into technical details of components
  3. When stuck on a component, focus on understanding input/output and move forward for efficient learning

Math is a Language. This is how you should learn it. [Math Mondays]

Technology Made Simple • 99 implied HN points • 14 Jun 22
🚌 Education Math Language Learning Teaching Self-study
  1. Math is a language that helps express complex ideas in quantifiable ways, and understanding it is crucial for technical careers like AI and Engineering.
  2. Many people struggle with Math because they try to learn topics without understanding the context around them, similar to trying to learn a language without knowing any words or sentence structures.
  3. Learning Math effectively involves treating it like learning a language, starting with simple 'sentences' for specific situations, practicing, and gradually branching out to more complex ideas.

In praise of glorious messes

Sunday Letters • 139 implied HN points • 19 Jun 22
🎭️ Culture Music Learning Art Creativity Personal Growth
  1. Learning something new, like playing music or coding, starts small and takes time. It's okay to be a beginner and learn one step at a time.
  2. Making mistakes is part of the learning process. Embracing those messy moments helps you improve and grow in any skill.
  3. Staying open to learning keeps your mind fresh. Allowing yourself to struggle a bit can lead to wonderful discoveries.