A Mind for Numbers

Okay, now, let's talk about this book that 'tricked' me into giving hope for improving Math proficiency. The hard truth is--- there are no shortcuts! Gosh, was I disappointed. Haha. But I should have known better ya?

There are no shortcuts, there is only regular work. 

This book gave many useful techniques, many of which I did not employ and many of which I know boils down to initiative. 

There are many highly acclaimed personnel who sucked at Math, but in their course of work & growth, they fell in love with discovering Math & Science and they've shared their stories on why we must never feel as if we were branded for life because we failed at Math. (real life cases: Neurosurgeon - Ben Carson, Aerospace Engineer- Nick Appleyard, Journalist- Josh Foer who won the US memory championship, Nobel Prize winner & "Father of modern neuroscience"- Santiago Ramon Cajal)

This is not a Math book nor a Science book. It is book of learning techniques, strategies & mindsets, of which are really very simple to follow but first, we have to overcome our "zombies"- distractions.

The "Pomodoro" technique. Pomodoro means tomato in Italian. 

This time management technique was coined by Francesco Cirillo because he used a tomato-shaped timer while he was developing his research. Basically, it says that we could keep focused on a task at hand (eg: doing your homework, researching or learning a new topic, practise music, etc) for 25mins and then take a break (go play with your iPhones, FB etc for 5 mins) so that your distractions are under control. This technique compliments the "Focused & Diffused" method where you will need have a healthy balance of staying focused and being relaxed. 

I know Daiso has kitchen timers but I want to get my own Pomodoro timer, hence I ordered two from eBay. =)  Well, that's my way of mentally giving thanks and connecting to the founder. 

Okay, there's this paragraph that gave me an Ah Ha moment. For so long I have been so wary of highly critical people that I have become so highly critical of myself. All the time beating my psyche up. Instructors are instructors, they may not recognise practicality. In fact, they do not recognise real-deal goodness or greatness 70% of the time because they are too entrenched into being perfect in theory. 

I know this may offend many educators, among my family are many school teachers. But this is my life and I should listen to myself and be kinder.

Other pointers:-

• Lady Luck favours the one who tries. Law of Serendipity.
• We are NOT predominantly Right or Left brained, we use both hemispheres. 
• Toggle between Focused & Diffused modes. Diffused mode: Big-picture, 'sleep mode', creative mode, activities: play games, volunteer with simple task, meditate, pray, watch a movie
• Pause & Recall new knowledge, close your eyes and recall key ideas. Mental retrieval.
• Avoid Einstellung syndrome i.e: getting stuck & having the inability to see solutions.
• Your "learning wall" needs time to stiffen up, the mortar between your neural bricks takes time to dry and fasten the bricks. Space your repetition.
• Frustration & anger shut down key areas of the brain. Watch & observe your reactions. 
• Long term memory: get enough rest & sleep, nap during the day (20 mins) 
• Chunk: Neurons that fire together, wire together. Mental leaps that unite separate bits of information to form meaning. Decide what information to Chunk (integrate together to form a concept or neural thought pattern).
• Practise doesn't make Perfect, it was the biggest lie! 
• Practise makes Permanent; Practise makes Progress. 
•  Practice "Interleaving": ie Doing a mixture of different kinds of problems (instead of overlearning).  Metaphor: Do a big puzzle by sections, have the big picture in mind. 
• We procrastinate about things that make us feel uncomfortable but procrastination is a single, monumentally important "key-stone" bad habit that is addictive. 
• Stages of procrastination: The Cue; The Routine; The Reward; The Belief. 
• The Cure: recognise what launches you into "lazy mode", put away your distractions.
• The Routine: the key to rewiring is to have a new plan, new rituals. 
• The Reward: stop rewarding your procrastinations. understand why you procrastinate. Instead, reward your new routines, give small rewards for small progress.
• The Belief: Believe that your new system is what can get you through. 
• Mental Contrasting: think about where you are now and contrast it with what you want to achieve. Get upbeat with your imagination and then pull yourself back to current.
• Pomodoro- 25 mins task time 
• Prevent learning 'chokes': choking can happen when your working memory is filled to capacity, yet you still don't have enough room for the additional critical, yet you still don't have enough room for the additional critical pieces you need to solve a problem. If that happens, use Chucking techniques to compress the information. Take Tests so as to offload the information you already know. Tests are a form of Chunking. 
• Engage in group work as well as isolation work.
• A "Happy Procrastinator" has a task list. Get a planner journal as your notebook. 
• Hand-write whatever 'difficult' thing you want to learn. Draw, doodle, mind map. 
• Use Flash Cards as tools for learning. Write down pointers and review. 
• Do not over-highlight. Highlighting is only movement of your hands and reading. It does not put information into your memory. 
• Approach your overwhelmed work with 'mirco tasks'. Do three micro tasks at a time. 
• Many ADHD people are creative & successful students, all they need is to schedule. 
• If you find yourself constantly falling into situations where you think 'It's not my fault', something is wrong. You have to stop blaming others. 
• No need for Genius Envy, no need to keep up with the Intellectual Jones. 
• Develop 'Equation Poems', lookout for hidden meanings in larger schemes. 
• Simplify and Personalize whatever you are studying. Bring the abstract ideas to life (in our minds or for real)
• Stage a Mental Play, imagine yourself within the realm of something you're studying. Take different perspectives while you explore. 
• Avoid overconfidence when you refuse to check your work. You are acting like a person who is refusing to use parts of your brain. 
• Brainstorm with others. 
• Testing is itself an extraordinarily powerful learning experience. Embrace Tests! 
• Breathe deeply if you feel anxious. Blink and shift your attention. Check your answers and ask, does this really makes sense?
• In joint study sessions, ensure work is done before turning fun. If not find another study group.
• The textbook is your 'swimming instructor', you will flounder and waste your time if you don't bother to read it.  

Yup, so that's all. Didn't I tell you it's not a book about Math? 
Hope you've enjoyed the summary!