Weekly Pulse is content curation and highlights from readings, books, podcasts, insights, ramblings, and other interesting things I discovered during the week.
So, let's go with some discoveries from the week!
#1 - How Do We Learn Complex Skills?
#2 - How to Write Email with Military Precision
#3 - Charlie Munger’s Reading Strategy Changed My Approach to Books
#4 - Unleashing the Power of ReadWise
#5 - Book Notes #80: Noise - Daniel K., Olivier S. and Cass R. S.
How Do We Learn Complex Skills? Understanding ACT-R Theory
Source: Scott Young Website
Author: Scott Young
Year: 2022
Summary: The ACT-R theory proposes a broad picture of how we learn complicated skills. Its paradigm case for cognitive skill is problem-solving, particularly in well-defined domains like algebra or programming. The theory claims that we have two different memory systems: declarative and procedural, and it explains complex skills as an ongoing interaction between these two systems. The declarative system represents the outside world, your inner thoughts, and intentions, while the procedural system acts on those representations to make overt actions or internal adjustments that move you closer to your goals.
3 Highlights:
"... ACT-R argues that we have two different memory systems: declarative and procedural. The declarative system includes all your memories of events, facts, ideas and experiences. Everything you consciously experience is part of this system. It contains both your direct sensory experience and your knowledge of abstract concepts. The procedural system consists of everything you can do. It includes both motor skills, like tying a shoelace or typing on a keyboard, and mental skills, like adding up numbers or writing an email..."
"... ACT-R explains complex skills as an ongoing interaction between these two systems. The declarative system represents the outside world, your inner thoughts and intentions. The procedural system acts on those representations to make overt actions or internal adjustments that move you closer to your goals..."
"... The basic units of skill are productions. Practice generates new productions and strengthens old ones. Skills transfer to the degree to which these productions overlap..."
How to Write Email with Military Precision
Source: Harvard Business Review
Author: Kabir Sehgal
Year: 2016
Summary: Military email etiquette offers useful tips for structuring clear and effective emails in a range of settings. For example, it emphasizes the importance of keyword subjects that make clear what type of response is expected from the recipient. It also recommends using a "Bottom Line Up Front" (BLUF) statement that presents the central point of the email succinctly and clearly. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of brevity, active voice, and attaching files via links to maximize the effectiveness of emails. When applied appropriately, these tips can help recipients to engage more effectively with the content of emails.
3 Highlights:
"... The first thing that your email recipient sees is your name and subject line, so it’s critical that the subject clearly states the purpose of the email, and specifically, what you want them to do with your note. Military personnel use keywords that characterize the nature of the email in the subject..."
"... Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF). Military professionals lead their emails with a short, staccato statement known as the BLUF...."
"... Military personnel know that short emails are more effective than long ones, so they try to fit all content in one pane, so the recipient doesn’t have to scroll..."
Charlie Munger’s Reading Strategy Changed My Approach to Books
Source: Medium
Author: Jake Wilder
Year: 2022
Summary: The author discusses how Charlie Munger's reading strategy impacted his approach to books. Munger advised that one should not feel compelled to finish every book they start but instead should expose themselves to as many books as possible and quickly recognize which ones are not for them. By doing this, the chances of finding a book worth one's time increase. The author suggests that this approach goes beyond reading books, as we learn by experiencing a wide range of new things.
3 Highlights:
"... But going through chapter after chapter of example is probably overkilling. Sometimes you just need to grab the idea, put it into practice, and develop your own experience rather than reading about everyone else’s..."
"... The key isn’t to finish every book you start, it’s to expose yourself to as many books as possible. Then quickly recognize which ones aren’t for you and move on. Have a low bar on which books you try, but a high bar on those you finish..."
"... Start a lot of books. But only finish a few. Don’t burden yourself with bad books...."
Unleashing the Power of ReadWise: How It Changed My Reading Retention Game
Source: Article of the Week
Do you ever find yourself struggling to remember what you read from books or from other materials like articles?
I used to be in the same boat, constantly forgetting the highlights and key insights I came across.
But then, it improved really a lot when I discovered Readwise.
With Readwise, a simple app that syncs with my books and articles (or even more if I want), I've unlocked a whole new level of retaining and revisiting knowledge.
Book Notes #80: Noise - Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony and Cass R. Sunstein
Source: Book Notes of the Week
Noise did not change my life, but it changed the way I thought about my own decisions and thoughts.
We discussed "Thinking, Fast and Slow" last week, a book that helps us reflect on our thinking processes.
Daniel Kahnemann is once again helping us to reflect this week on how our brain makes decisions and judgments.
While "Thinking, Fast and Slow" discusses cognitive biases and heuristics, "Noise" explores another aspect of human decision-making: random variation.
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