It happens constantly...
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... maybe it happens constantly to you too.
I suddenly need to learn something I know little-to-nothing about, and learn it fast.
In essence, I have to be a fast learner and become an instant expert (or as close as possible within the time I've got).
That's what this Challenge is all about. What are some new (largely AI-driven) ways to rapidly learn something?
I'm curious what you've found are the best ways to pick up a topic quickly.
In the research world, people have written about "micro-learning," tiny episodes of learning that you fit in between the other moments of your day. (Example of an academic paper on this topic)
But I also want to know about "meso-learning" (intermediate scale topics), and even if you've found good ways to organize "macro-learning" (that is, big topics that take a long time to acquire).
Let's divvy it up this way:
Micro-learning - instruction usually taking 10 minutes or less. (There's even a Wikipedia article on Microlearing.)
Meso-learning - between 10 minutes and 1 hour.
Macro-learning - more than an hour, and up to the rest-of-your-life.
(I also realize that people use Microlearning to do macrolearning--like learning a language or do vocabulary practice. We'll ignore that distinction now and return to it next week.)
So here's your Challenge:
1. What are the best AI-inspired (or AI-driven) new Micro- and Meso-learning that you've found? Have you actually tried this method? How well has it worked out for you?
Example: I'm in the process of brushing up my Spanish (because I live in California, so it's handy) and German (because I go to Switzerland fairly often). So I've been using Duolingo as a Micro-learning method. It's not super-AI-ish, but they keep adding AI components to it. I've also been trying AI-driven language tools (e.g., MakesYouFluent) to exercise my conversational skills. (I'll give you my thoughts about each next week.)
But YOU might have a few tricks up your sleeve. For instance, I know of some people who create a Google NotebookLM, drop in a bunch of content, and then have it generate a podcast they can download and listen to as a way of learning something. Have you tried this? Did it work well for you?
What tactics and strategies do you employ to understand a topic area quickly?
Most importantly, what do you do?
Summary next week, along with some thoughts on my part.
Keep searching!
