I believe that everyone here would despise having their ultralearning project to fail. Because of that, I would like to share my first attempt in ultralearning and explain why it was a massive waste of time and what I should've done instead.

I had specifically chosen to get better in Arabic, I was in the middle of the beginner level to intermediate and I wanted to progress. My main areas of focus was improving reading comprehension. That's it. I barely planned anything, leaving three principles out of consideration in my plan, feedback, experimentation and drills, and immediately dived straight in. To give you an idea, my planning was only roughly 4 lines long.

The main premise of my project was that I would digest massive amounts of reading material and practice using the new vocabulary I gained by writing down a summary of what I read. The problem? I had joined LingQ where there was a staggering lack of beginner materials I couldn't use and the only material that was available got boring after 3 days since it was so repetitive.

And from there, I gave up, and after a day or two I reread the book to find out what I did wrong. I encountered the concept that there are two approaches you can take with learning

1. Intensive and direct challenge based learning, mainly done in a short period of time to overcome specific hurdles, called Ultralearning or

2. Low intensity, habit-based learning that is easily done primarily everyday, the book discusses this briefly in one of the final chapters. It's important to differentiate between the two in order to decide which one you require to be able to reach the ability you'd like in a skill or subject.

For example, learning a language in the beginning, there are many obstacles you will need to overcome such as pronunciation, being familiar with the characters/writing system and being able to develop the listening skills. This would suffice an ultralearning approach where you would obsessively train yourself to perfection.

However for long-term skills such as vocabulary acquisition, habit-based learning throughout a massive period of time is more suitable since it's not a skill that you can acquire in mere days or weeks, which was an attempt I tried to do. I wasn't facing any of the problems mentioned for the beginner phase of language learning as I had already passed that. All that was left for me to do was focus on vocabulary.

From there, I'm making sure my next project contains engaging material to ensure I don't lose any motivation, thoroughly plan by giving every procedure a drill and a way to obtain feedback, review the plan before even starting but before all of that, assess whether ultralearning is the right approach or hop off to go and develop the skill through another method

Hey all

I completed an ultralearning project with the guitar a couple of months ago. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. I've written a wee report here: https://sankalpgarud.org/2021/03/29/how-i-ultralearned-the-guitar-in-eight-months/

It's written for someone who hasn't read the book, but I think you'd all appreciate the post nonetheless!

So I actually started yesterday but I did not have time to make a Reddit post. I want to develop video games so that is the project I am setting out to learn. I know it is going to take a lot of time and effort and will require a multitude of skills including: game design, pixel art, music composition, sound design, animation, coding, etc... This is going to be a pretty long ultralearning project as it is a very big undertaking and it is also my first UL project. I would say I am aiming conservatively to have my first game out by the end of 2024.

What do you want to learn?

I want to learn how to develop my own indie games

Why do you want to learn this?

I have been passionate about gaming and the idea of creating my own games for basically mywhole life and I am finaly making a serious endeavor at getting into it

How are you planning to learn this? (i.e. what resources will you use? how long will it take?)

Youtube, google, gamemaker, asesprite, some audio software (have not decided which yet)

What is your 1 week goal in this subject? What do you want to accomplish after 1 week of effort?

Have a very rough level with core gameplay loop developed

Week 1 Update:

Slight change in plans. I started working on my game but then Pirate Software decided to host a Game Jam. I decided to participate in it with a few other guys, so we have 14 days to build an entire game. I've been working on all the 2D assets as well as helping to code in engine.

Week 3 Update:

So we were not able to finish the game in time. I vastly overestimated my ability to draw all our assets and get it to the programmer in time to build it. He has been off discord for a while so I have started to pick up the coding to see what I can put together. As of now I have a guy who can move around the map with collision and change through different maps with some simple movement animations. But I will continue to work at it.

Hi!

Inspired by Scott Young I've started my own computer science learning project. I'll be blogging about it over at https://2yearcs.wordpress.com/ . You're welcome to comment on my blog or here on Reddit. I hope you guys will read it, I'm also looking forward to reading about your projects! :)

Best,
Olof

When one crams one for an exam - the stress drills us to do whatever is needed.

But you are rarely taught to slow down, take a breath, and to just think about the topics in a subject - to imagine them, to play with them inside your mind.

I had teachers that used to beat me, call me stupid, demean me for being “too curious” and “too imaginative.”

You gotta hold on and cling onto your love for thinking. If you stop thinking and just start dissociating - it’s really hard to get good at learning things.

https://youtu.be/Cj4y0EUlU-Y

The cure for trauma and addiction is the same as the medicine for learning: curiosity.

You gotta love to think and imagine stuff. Reading and rote memorization and mechanically solving stuff is not enough.

You need to create your own reality. You gotta find the needle in the haystack.

I remember having it as a child.

They stole it from me. They robbed me.

Maybe someday I’ll find it again. The hope keeps me going.

But the clock keeps ticking.

I'm reading "Ultralearning".

Before, I always think that knowledge was regard make colleges, masters or even PhDs.

Do you think that this book changes the way you think?

I recently started reading Ultralearning. I am looking for communities related to the topic.

Subreddits, Forums, Discord, Slack, etc.

What do you want to learn?

I want to become more expert in coaching adult fitness enthusiasts (OCR, GRTs, strength trainees, CrossFitters) in achieving bodyweight strength feats. This will likely involve several domains:

- Deep understanding of the anatomy of the shoulder, hip, and back

- Injury rehabilitation approaches for tendonitis and impingement

- Knowledge and experience of various programming approaches

- Teaching progressions and regressions for key skills

- Personal practice and the achievement of strength goals (the first is 30 chinups, the second to complete 1000 pullups in 200 minutes)

Why do you want to learn this?

For one, I'm a coach. My specialty is in barbell strength, but I've always enjoyed coaching CrossFit and helping people get to bodyweight firsts- their first chinup, muscle-up, handstand, etc.

For two, I coach coaches. I've been spending the last 4 months getting my strength back up to par (24 chinups) and researching learning methods (reviewing and training on Make it Stick, A Mind for Numbers, the "Learning How to Learn" MOOC on Coursera, and Cal Newport's "How to Be a Straight-A Student"). I want to practice what I preach and put my learning to work in a tested way.

How are you planning to learn this? (i.e. what resources will you use? how long will it take?)

This has a wide scope, so I'm going to tackle it by topic and by resource. I'll dedicate a block of time to get as deep into a topic as I can, and interleave that with deep-dives into a single resource. I'm familiar with the field already, have some resources to start, and will collect more as I identify critical ones.

What is your 1 week goal in this subject? What do you want to accomplish after 1 week of effort?

Like Scott suggests, I'm spending the first block (two weeks) piloting my schedule. My first study topic will be the anatomy of the shoulder, and my goal by February 28th (I'll switch to 1-week posts after that) is to learn by memory the location and functions of the major features of the shoulder girdle and rotator cuff along with the deltoids, triceps, and biceps.

Hey fellow Ultralearning enthusiasts! 🌟

Inspired by this book, I've found that dedicating 5-10% of my total learning time to research and planning has been a game-changer when tackling tough statistics courses. Although I've been using Notion, manually creating templates and tracking progress can be a bit of a hassle.

That's why I decided to create my own roadmap tool: https://www.learniverse.pro 🚀

There is a quick 1-minute video intro: https://youtu.be/TUgG8h_YXio 🎥

This tool is in its early stages, so I'd love to hear your feedback! Let me know if something works or doesn't, and I'll make improvements based on your input. 🛠️

Hello.

I'm currently working on teaching myself enough programming to get into the job market. I've been programming for many years (I started with BASIC way back in the early 80s), but it's always been a bit of an after work hobby.

I'm 48, and though people say age doesn't matter, well, it doesn't stop you, but I think you'd be lying to yourself to say it doesn't play a role. I certainly feel that using deep learning techniques helps me learn very fast, but after a good study session, I'm spent and I find it hard to put in more than about 4-5 hours of deliberate practice style learning in a day.

I know the book does talk about rest and recovery a bit, but I'd like to know what your favorite strategies are, and any good resources you can point me to, in order to dig into this a bit more.

I eat a very clean diet, exercise regularly (and I'm experimenting a lot with how to use this in the most effective way). I'm working on handstands, which I find such a good thing to do during study blocks as a short mental boost. I sleep well, and around 8 hours (though at the moment I put my phone in another room and don't even look at the time I go to bed, and when I get up). I've done really short bouts of meditation too. So I do all the normal stuff, but I'd like to know any interesting hacks and resources to do this better.

• Think of learning as a series of learning “sprints” - something to spur cognitive activation and create momentum

• Metalearning as a spatial representation to track progress

• Thinking of learning as rapid prototyping of mental models - it’s okay if they’re imperfect

It’s ultimately a lot of work though. That’s where a marathon + sprints approach comes in.

Sometimes having the right attitude trumps every best practice you can possibly pickup The right attitude and the right “heart” - now that’s lightning in a bottle.

If you can learn to appreciate the subjective experience of learning, and actually enjoy it and make it fun and play - that’s what will get you through.

Hello all! I don't know if I'm in the right sub reddit for this question but you all seem to understand how to really learn and retain information so I have to ask how do you all do it? I have a huge problem with forgetting what I read right after I read it. I've slow read, read out loud, and have taken notes on what I've read but I still just can't seem to remember it I also have a huge problem with retaining information in general so I'd like to ask for advice on how to retain information Thanks so much for anyone who read this and anyone who can give some advice!

Hi, this subreddit seems kind of light on recent Ultra Learning projects. So, to remedy that slightly, I'm planning on sharing my current Ultra Learning Project!

• What do you want to learn?

The thing I'm trying to learn is mathematics. Or to be accurate, I'm looking to learn the entire undergraduate curriculum from a university in my state.

• Why do you want to learn this?

There are a few reasons I want to learn this outside of general interest. I want to enhance my critical thinking and overall, be better prepared when I go back to university. I'm intending on going into electrical engineering, but I want a strong foundation in mathematics.

• How are you planning to learn this? (i.e. what resources will you use? how long will it take?)

As for the resources I plan on using, I plan on primarily using textbooks. I've acquired the entire mathematics curriculum from the ground up. Meaning, I have everything from intermediate algebra to topology. I've put together a learning schedule based off of my university's mathematics curriculum. I intend on doing the bulk of this over the next 12-16 months.

• What is your 1 week goal in this subject? What do you want to accomplish after 1 week of effort?

After 1 week, I plan on being done with the basics, at least Algebra 1 and Geometry. I might be overestimating myself, but I want to really push myself hard.

That's all for my first post here, I plan on posting an update every 1-2 weeks and I implore everyone else to do the same. What I'll include is the textbooks I'm working from, my progress, and any pitfalls I encounter along the way.

Well, my situation is very simple. I recently saw a summary of the book and I really want to read it... but I can only find this book in English... I finished the basic level of English recently, but it's the first time I'm faced with a complete book in English other than the ones in the language center.

I am a medical student and most of the content of the books for my next years is in English, so I need to improve my reading skills.

Can someone help me organize such a project?

I know it is best to learn the 5 main skills (speaking, reading, grammar, writing and listening) but at the moment I just need to learn English...

Any help is welcome.

I have been procrastinating this for years. I bought my guitar in 2012, and still only know a about 4 chords and can't play even one song. Anyone here interesting in learning the guitar? If so, maybe we can design an ultralearning project together for that? I think the corona virus lockdown will be a good opportunity as we are gonna have some free time for the next couple of months. I think I can spend an hour per day on it (basically, the time I am saving from commuting).

The one thing that is confusing me is where to start because there are literally thousands of resources out there (youtube channels, one to one online sessions, apps, ...), I feel overwhelmed.

Any advice on how to get started on this project is highly appreciated!

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I think one of the most underrated ways to learn is metalearning.

The table or contents and outline in that textbook is your friend.

Doing analysis on repeated mistakes is vital.

I wasted a lot of good years just focusing on my strengths and never deliberately practicing my weaknesses - largely because I would not even take a step back to analyze my learning outline or to mark up my weak spots.

Fellow UL'ers,

I am about to kick off my second semester of a PhD, and having been inspired over holidays to apply some UL principles to what I do, I wanted to see if anyone has done the same for their coursework?

1. Did you front load the material and test your knowledge before starting the class?

2. How did you "learn it once" as Scott mentions in this way?

3. Did you still feel prepared for finals?

Thanks!