How To Study Anything

Spaced Learning

Ernie — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:23:54 +0000

A very effective method for retaining and memorizing topics is something called “spaced learning”. It works on the theory that memories degrade exponentially, and repetitions strengthen them. So something that you learn one day you’ll remember for a few days, but if you hear it all week, you remember it for a month, or if you hear it for a month, you’ll remember it for a year.

According to this theory, the optimal time to have a repetition enforce a memory is right before you forget it. There is software to time this for you, called nmemosyne. It is a flashcard program that supports mathematical formulas, pictures and audio and automatically times the display of flashcards for optimal learning. I’m using it to learn art theory and cascading style sheets.

Prostate Benefits You Could Be Missing

Ernie — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:22:43 +0000

Prostate health is important for all men. As with almost all things in life, a ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. There have found distinct links between diet and cancer risk. Specifically, diets high in fresh fruits and vegetables, omega-3 fatty acids and low in red meat and dairy products reduce risk for prostate cancer. Soy products also are effective at fighting prostate cancer because of a isoflavones present in them.

Foods to Eat:

Brown rice
Fresh raw fruits
Fresh vegetables
Legumes,
Raw nuts,
Seeds and whole grains
Pumpkin seeds
Soy (for isoflavones)

Foods to Avoid:

Milk
Butter
Red Meat
Coffee
Alcohol
Refined carbohydrates (white flours, sugar.)

In coming blog posts, we’ll cover how to alter your diet incorporate these guidelines.

Studying 2007 taxes and understanding the rebate.

Grover — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 19:47:09 +0000

I am always interested in getting money back from the IRS. The recently approved stimulus package seems to have all sorts of angles. Getting the rebate is not necessarily automatic. The IRS site prides itself on having the correct and latest information on the stimulus package. AARP also remains focused on it. Surprisingly, seniors will have to file a 2007 income tax return in order to get the rebate. I know some seniors don’t bother to file income taxes despite receiving their social security checks since they have such low income. Money magazine also has some great details about getting your rebate. It was recently announced that the government will spend $42 billion notifying everyone that they are going to get a rebate before they actually send the rebate. Not filing is fine, but this rebate mandates one according to the IRS.

Did you know that you can have both an IRA and contribute to a 401k for 2007?

Fight bad LDL Cholesterol with Red Yeast Rice

Grover — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 03:05:29 +0000

Seems like everyone is watching their LDL cholesterol levels. I guess that is because it is part of our annual physicals. Television is inundated with commercials to take drugs such as Lipitor.

Today I bumped into a little article in AARP magazine that reminded me of a great resource to study integrative medicine. It is www.drweil.com Andrew Weil is a best selling author and editorial director of his website. I go to his site to get authorative accurate information on alternative medicine, nutrition, and food supplements. The article that got my attention in AARP magazine was about lowering cholesterol by taking Red Yeast Rice. After reading the article, I marched right over to my local Vitamin Cottage and bought both CoQ10, Carlson fish oil, and Red Yeast Rice. Finally, a way to attack the bad LDL cholesterol naturally, instead of using statin. Dr Weil also has a little article about controlling cholesterol too. About.com has alternative medicine that discusses Red Yeast Rice too.

Free Video Tutorials

Grover — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:18:41 +0000

Today I was introduced to another site created by one of the Python users. These people seem to know and appreciate the power of sharing through the internet. The site is showmedo.com It is a great source for learning and studying how to do things on a computer. Their own words: “a site where knowledgeable people could share their knowledge via video…” The site is free, and once you register it is set up to both download tutorials and contribute your own to this growing site. I was very surprised to see such a wide variety of subjects which included Office Skills to Graphics. “Repairing Photos with Gimp” looks really interesting. Check out all the tutorials that teach about Screencasting.

Free Flashcards

Grover — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 18:40:43 +0000

A great way to study is using flashcards. I was introduced to flashcards in the 50’s as a way to study arithmetic. The teacher had a 5 x 7 card with the problem on one side. The other side had the answer. We were suppose to shout out the answer, and then she would turn over the card to see what was right. Over time I got away from flashcards but then saw that some of the best students in college were using flashcards to learn key facts for lots of subjects. They can be used for vocabulary, historical facts, and almost any subject.

There is a wonderful site called Quisition.com that allows you to use flashcards that other people have made or even make your own. It is described as “THE ONLINE FLASHCARD SYSTEM”. The site is free, and you may register to gain access and start using it immediately. I added a deck of cards that contained 5000 vocabulary words to prepare for the SAT. Once I understood the process, it only took about 10 minutes to cut and paste the data into his online tool. The author, James Tauber, shares his talent with all by providing this system and several other sites which he addresses at his homepage.

Selling and buying text books

Grover — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:07:34 +0000

The best site to buy textbooks is Amazon.com I have been doing it there for several years with great success. Other sites have goofed me up by reporting that the book is on back order or not available for a several weeks. Amazon sellers have always shipped very promptly. One time I got the wrong book, and Amazon supported me getting a refund. Looking at a seller’s feedback can give you a warm fuzzy feeling that you are dealing with a known seller. I have been able to buy books well under the local university price, and also sell my used books for more than what the bookstore will give me for trade. My second favorite site is Ecampus.com They have always been very prompt in shipping too.

Studying Work Related Subjects

Grover — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:09:24 +0000

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to study work related subjects? For example, that custom software that the company uses. The one that has no books, or any hits when you search with Google. I have found that the best source for studying subjects like this is a co-worker. I have been pleasantly surprised with quite useful instruction from my co-workers if I take the time to define exactly what I need help with.

Fixing a Leaky Faucet

Grover — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 20:41:18 +0000

Yesterday, I decided to double check how to fix my leaky faucet in the laundry room. Since I had just recently been bragging about Ehow.com, I decided to go there first. On the very first search it came up with a very professional video that showed me the steps. The whole thing took about 3 minutes and I had completely reviewed how to do it. I was so motivated that I then went to the sink and fixed it after having put the chore off for way to long. I must admit that I also have a leaky outside faucet, so I went back to look within Ehow.com for a movie about an outside faucet. After several searches, I couldn’t seem to find anything so I went to google.com and searched there. The first hit took me to yahoo.com. A very short but descriptive answer explained what I needed to do. So, I guess my conclusion is that maybe one site won’t have everything. We all seem to have our favorite sites to go look first.

Studying to do it right.

Grover — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 22:54:37 +0000

This past week we have been experimenting with our new digital camera. Much of what I have learned has been from trial and error. Unfortunately, I lost some really great pictures before I fully understood how the image editing software worked. I realized that self education and studying something is not always a long drawn out process that takes a long time. It can be as simple as checking the manual on how a single feature works, and then following the instructions. To thrust oneself into hands on experimentation might seem like the quickest way to master something, but it all depends on the risks involved. For example, you wouldn’t want to experiment with sky diving or something that could result in severe injury or death. Perhaps if you were responsible for taking wedding photos, the risk of experimenting with a new camera and unfamiliar software would be very high too.

Studying how to do something right can improve the results dramatically. Reminds me of the joke about the owner of a chain saw complaining that the he could only cut a cord of wood in a week. Although the salesman had promised huge improvements in productivity by using the saw. The repairman started the saw to check it out, and the owner covered his ears in pain and said, “What’s that noise?” With the rapid advances in technology we don’t want to be the poor chap hacking on a log not knowing that there is a powerful motor that spins the chain.