如何花最少的时间学到最多的知识How to Learn More and Study Less

Original: How to Learn More and Study Less
Translation: How to Learn the Most in the Least Time
Translated by: Ren Pingsheng

A word from the author: the title of this article may sound improbable? Yet my own learning experience proves that all of it is possible:
I once took first place in a three-province chemistry league, before which I had never even studied the chemistry material.
I won first prize in my school’s English competition;
I got an A+ on the exam for a course I had never attended
I list these not to show off how clever I am, but simply to make one point:
Time spent studying is not the same as time spent learning.
If the study method you use is wrong from the start, then however much time you spend is wasted.
Holistic mastery
Smart people don’t just learn well; what they learn is also different. While many students are memorizing the details of problems, smart learners understand that all they need to master is the structural map that links the pieces of knowledge together. This form of learning I call holistic mastery.
Holistic learning and rote memorization are two opposed ways of studying. The holistic approach does not require reciting lists of facts and formulas; what it requires is that you integrate the pieces, connecting the knowledge from algebra, geometry, history and every other subject you have studied, finding where they join, forming your own structure of knowledge, and then mastering it.
Studying a tangle of redundant knowledge points shows you have not yet grasped the essentials of holistic learning. When you link your knowledge together into a networked structure, learning becomes lean, clear, and effective.
How to improve your study habits
Holistic mastery is not about racking your brain for tricks or building mind maps. What it changes first is your process of grasping knowledge and taking in information. That said, there is no handy ten-step shortcut here for picking it up quickly.
Still, here are some methods for effectively shifting your study habits, for your reference:\

1. Sense memory
   You may have heard of image memory? Sense memory means linking your senses to what you learn. Research shows that people remember vivid, emotionally stirring material far more easily, because it binds sensation and imagery to dry concepts. When you count, you may lean on your fingers for help; so why not do the same when you study.\
2. Metaphor
   Use metaphor to remember knowledge that is complex and hard to grasp. (For instance, the way we often use sound-alike phrases to remember hard-to-recall historical events)\
3. Link the pieces of knowledge
   Put the textbook aside. Start from one piece of knowledge, trace the knowledge connected to it, and keep thinking outward from there, until you have strung together everything you have learned.
   4.Review and browse
   Go back through your textbook, note every point you had not noticed or never fully mastered, and use sense memory and metaphorical analogy to fold them quickly into your knowledge network.
   5.Compress the information
   Not all information is useful; compress and consolidate what repeats, such as the same kind of material you learn across many courses.
   6.Summarize
   On a sheet of paper, write out the knowledge structure you have organized, revise the connections that don’t hold, and reorganize the information with different models, until you arrive at the knowledge structure map that fits best.