A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Maths and Science

One of the first steps towards gaining expertise in math and science is to create conceptual chunks.

Once you chunk an idea or concept, you don’t need to remember all the little underlying details; you’ve got the main idea - the chunk - and that’s enough.

Basic steps to forming a chunk:

1. Focus your attention on the information you want to chunk. No television on in the background, don’t look at your phone, etc.
2. Understand the basic idea you are trying to chunk.
3. Gaining context so you see not just how, but also when to use this chunk.

Unfortunately, many of us find it too easy to procrastinate even starting our math homework because we see it as boring and difficult. This thinking comes from focusing on the idea that we only want to finish our work. 

If we instead look at our goal as “For the next 15 minutes I’ll work on this math assignment,” it becomes a lot easier to just begin. When we center our mind on only the process of learning, it’s easier to just go with the flow and relax.

Interleaving means practicing by doing a mixture of different kinds of problems requiring different strategies.

Overlearning means continuing to study or practice a problem immediately after some criterion has been achieved. For example, correctly solving a certain type of math problem and then immediately solving several more problems of the same kind.

Overlearning provides diminishing returns.

Learning to use your memory in a more disciplined yet creative manner helps you learn to focus your attention.

• One of the best things you can do to remember and understand concepts in math and science is to create a metaphor or analogy for them.
• Use spaced repetition to help lodge ideas in memory.
• Create meaningful groups that simplify the material you are trying to remember.
• If you are memorizing something commonly used, search online to see if someone has already come up with a particularly memorable memory trick.
• Beware of mistaking a memory trick for actual knowledge.

There is a direct connection between your hand and your brain. The act of organizing and re-writing your notes is essential to breaking down large amounts of information into smaller digestible chunks.

Writing and saying what you are trying to learn seems to enhance retention.