Start writing evergreen notes from metalearning

Specifically, from the "Learning how to learn" course.

2020-05-07-21-53-21.org

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 :END:
 #+title: Evergreen notes
 #+date: "2020-05-07 21:53:21 +08:00"
-#+date_modified: "2021-05-07 11:51:21 +08:00"
+#+date_modified: "2021-05-08 12:37:00 +08:00"
 #+language: en
 #+tags: pim writing
 
@@ -21,9 +21,9 @@ Writing evergreen notes is a [[id:0d2264a6-e487-4761-818a-d17d2833120f][Note-tak
 
 * Getting started to write evergreen notes
 
-- [[roam:Start small and improve later]].
-  Most notes start as [[roam:Fleeting notes]] and later create evergreen notes as you get more insight on the topic.
-  [[roam:Create an inbox to store your thoughts]].
+- [[id:05a39f96-fb1c-4d71-9be1-fc4c2e251e8f][Start small and improve later]].
+  Most notes start as [[id:3d1c0313-fa3d-4b18-b435-51d3837e3e2c][Fleeting notes]] and later create evergreen notes as you get more insight on the topic.
+  [[id:810dc8b6-db64-4c80-a0aa-f9e6d5fa4acf][Create an inbox to store your thoughts]].
 
 - Make a habit out of writing.
 

2020-06-25-12-37-23.org

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 :END:
 #+title: Create an inbox to store your thoughts
 #+date: "2020-06-25 12:37:23 +08:00"
-#+date_modified: "2021-05-07 11:54:40 +08:00"
+#+date_modified: "2021-05-08 12:36:58 +08:00"
 #+language: en
 
 
@@ -18,4 +18,4 @@ Like our emails, our writing inbox should be cleaned up each time we visit our i
 Not all of them are going to be important so feel free to remove entries that are not in need.
 
 If you want to store an idea for an indefinite future (e.g., a project idea, future hobbies) that you cannot surely do now, you can then create a dedicated inbox.
-In practice, this is great as a starter point for [[roam:Fleeting notes]] or a reading list to [[roam:Maintain your own digital library]].
+In practice, this is great as a starter point for [[id:3d1c0313-fa3d-4b18-b435-51d3837e3e2c][Fleeting notes]] or a reading list to [[id:66337935-420c-40e6-81a6-f74ab0965ed5][Maintain your own digital library]].

2021-05-02-23-05-42.org

@@ -3,10 +3,11 @@
 :END:
 #+title: The basics of memory
 #+date: "2021-05-02 23:05:42 +08:00"
-#+date_modified: "2021-05-04 20:51:20 +08:00"
+#+date_modified: "2021-05-09 00:13:03 +08:00"
 #+language: en
 
 
+# TODO: desperate to improve this note
 As for this note, we'll talk about the basics of memory neuroscientifically.
 
 The memory can be compared to the muscles as it strengthens the more you use and decays the more you neglect.

2021-05-05-18-06-29.org

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 :END:
 #+title: Start small and improve later
 #+date: "2021-05-05 18:06:29 +08:00"
-#+date_modified: "2021-05-07 22:41:32 +08:00"
+#+date_modified: "2021-05-09 00:27:43 +08:00"
 #+language: en
 
 
@@ -27,6 +27,11 @@ This is a very simple advice applicable on lots of places.
 
 The point is to reach bigger advancements must come from somewhere even in the smallest amounts.
 There is always on opportunity to improve things.
+On the other hand, this gradual progression also presents itself on other areas.
+
+- Video games with well-designed tutorials introducing you to the game slowly building up to more complex levels.
+- Applications with well-designed tours [fn:: Also known as an out-of-box experience.] where it present limited aspects of an app enabling you to combine them and create more complex pieces.
+- Programming documentation often involves the simplest examples then letting you figure out how the rest of the stuff works.
 
 Once you get comfortable with the task you're supposed to do, you're now getting bigger results.
 For an effective start, you can go to [[id:0dbfee88-cdce-48d1-9a10-23fc12d9bcd5][Refer to advanced resources when skill-building for a solid short-term goal]] to gain a 30,000 foot view on the topic and eventually [[id:92a10fe2-f4d1-4e5e-b5f4-3779db13a2e5][Create roadmaps to stay on track]].

2021-05-07-22-46-41.org

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+:PROPERTIES:
+:ID:       c77d109a-4285-402e-aedd-2afa56301adf
+:END:
+#+title: Make a hub note to connect ideas together
+#+date: "2021-05-07 22:46:41 +08:00"
+#+date_modified: "2021-05-07 23:45:26 +08:00"
+#+language: en
+
+
+When initially writing your notes, you may find unrelated ideas hard to navigate.
+For example, you have several notes with no related notes but are best described as different learning techniques.
+The notes have no relation to each other so it doesn't make sense to link them.
+Explicitly linking each note just to navigate between them misses the point of making associations.
+
+In order of preference, there are several ways to get around this:
+
+- Create a note outlining all of the smaller notes to a common topic.
+
+- Depending if the notes themselves make up a single idea, combine them into a single note.
+
+- [[id:c15325eb-4506-449c-b8dd-300801f53adc][A good tagging system for files for reducing information overload]].
+
+As a side effect, writing a hub note enforces chunking of your notes.
+Furthermore, it also [[id:92a10fe2-f4d1-4e5e-b5f4-3779db13a2e5][Create roadmaps to stay on track]] with the ability to select certain notes for a topic.
+You get to explicitly define the topic instead of relying on backlinks or similar features.

2021-05-08-23-12-29.org

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+:PROPERTIES:
+:ID:       9f1f35dd-7cf9-4f47-a9a9-b647e5daa2af
+:END:
+#+title: We are more associative than structured
+#+date: "2021-05-08 23:12:29 +08:00"
+#+date_modified: "2021-05-09 00:21:04 +08:00"
+#+language: en
+
+
+Knowing [[id:25fb4ebf-2cc4-40fe-93ad-37a79aedfb41][The basics of memory]], our neurons represent more like a web of thoughts.
+Innovation often comes from combining aspects from a network of ideas.
+Our brain is good at relating each topic with something else.
+
+This is subtly present in daily life mostly filled with comparisons.
+
+- Most conversations — e.g., "X is just Y but better", "Cuphead is the Dark Souls of run-and-gun", "Markdown is simplified HTML".
+- In marketing — e.g., "This is just Y but cheaper", often features comparison with other products, our tendency to equate price to quality.
+- In learning — e.g., "FANBOYS" to describe the English conjunction words, "Every good boy does fine" to describe the notes placed in the lines of the music sheet.
+
+When knowing a new topic, we strive to compare between the new and the familiar things.
+This tendency also stems to nostalgia.
+Whenever we walked into an old place, we associate the olden days with it.

2021-05-08-23-27-52.org

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+:PROPERTIES:
+:ID:       cb995494-302f-4666-b56f-ea20a8adea10
+:END:
+#+title: Memory palace
+#+date: "2021-05-08 23:27:52 +08:00"
+#+date_modified: "2021-05-09 00:21:46 +08:00"
+#+language: en
+
+
+# TODO: visual aid of the basics of this technique
+A learning technique that uses familiar environments for better recalling.
+For example, you can use your house as a layout and putting new concepts in it such as the related memory for mathematical formulae (e.g., the formula for an area of a square [\(s^2\)] is remembered as 2 stuffed toys, area of an triangle [\(1/2 * bh\)] as a half-hobo).
+You can then write a crazy narrative with those things — e.g., outside of the house are 2 stuffed toys (area of square) and through the entrance is a half-dressed hobo.
+The core of this technique is learning through overlaying familiar topics with newer concepts.
+
+This is effective for memorizing since [[id:9f1f35dd-7cf9-4f47-a9a9-b647e5daa2af][We are more associative than structured]] along with our tendency of chunking.

literature/2021-04-04-11-24-56.org

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 :END:
 #+title: Learning how to learn
 #+date: "2021-04-04 11:24:56 +08:00"
-#+date_modified: "2021-05-04 20:52:12 +08:00"
+#+date_modified: "2021-05-08 19:05:06 +08:00"
 #+language: en
 #+source: https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn
 #+tags: courses personal-info-management
@@ -60,6 +60,12 @@ The memory can be separated into two parts:
 - The *long-term memory contains all of the information that you've stored* and it is where your working memory gets its on-hand information from.
   Continuing on the working desk analogy, it's like the storages of all of the materials and tools you may need in the future.
 
+*Our memory goes through the consolidation process* — that is, our memory is solidified and becames a part of the long-term memory.
+This is when we have familiarity with the topic, getting out from the beginner phase to being a semi-expert.
+It is also the reason why nostalgia occurs whenever we encounter certain things, go to locations we've visited, or watched movies in childhood.
+*When we revisit a memory, it goes through reconsolidation, strengthening that memory including imaginative situations and false memories.*
+The overarching process is the reason why [[Spaced repetition]] is effective.
+
 The following practices are recommended to strengthen your memory:
 
 - Use [[id:063dfd73-dbf5-437b-b6f1-d7aeca196f31][Spaced repetition]].
@@ -72,12 +78,10 @@ The following practices are recommended to strengthen your memory:
 
 ** Chunking
 
-Your working memory is said to have four chunks at a time.
-For more efficiency, your brain can link various neural structures to represent an information.
-An example is numbers and operations such as \(5 * 4 = 20\), \(1 + 1 = 2\), and \(5 - 29 = -24\).
-You know what numbers are, what do the symbols mean, and if you read the equations, you already have the answer just after you read it.
-Another example is reading the word 'electronics' may invoke an image of the common appliances and gadgets you have in home such as your smartphone, fridge, and laptop even though they are different objects.
-This is the gist of chunking.
+The simple process of reading is actually complex from putting letters into words, then words into image, then images into a narrative, and so on.
+When we hear words, read sentences, solve problems, or listen music, we invoke reactions;
+it may invoke imagery, visualizations, a narrative, an association with another thing, etc.
+Those are the results of chunking.
 
 Chunking is the process of simplifying groups of information (or neural structure) as you learn and use more of them.
 Neuroscientifically speaking, a chunk is a group of neurons that learnt to sing in tune as you react to something.
@@ -152,6 +156,18 @@ They are also helpful at pointing out flaws from what you've learnt.
 It's better to think mistakes as a tool in preventing illusions of competence (see [[Pitfalls and illusions of competence]]).
 
 
+** Memory palace
+
+Taking advantage of our tendency to associate and to group things, we can create a technique to learn new things.
+The memory palace technique places the familiar things with the newer topics such as your house, your route to a store, or a collection of things we're familiar with.
+
+For example, you overlaid the [[https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/conjunctions][conjunctions]] into an acronym: "FANBOYS" each letter standing for one of them — e.g., for, and, but, or, yet, so.
+There is a whole memory competition scene that famously use the technique by crafting a crazy narrative around it.
+
+What's interesting with this technique is it can be an exercise in creativity.
+Like most skills, the time to create more memorable narratives in shorter time can improve with more practice.
+
+
 
 
 
@@ -277,10 +293,32 @@ A habit can be sliced into several parts:
   Or in the case when we see the clock, we either get rewarded by worsening our sleep cycle but more awake time or improving our sleep cycle thus reducing the chance of encountering sleep disorders.
 
 For the habit to improve, worsen, or even entirely replaced, we need to change our belief.
-Habits are enforced by belief.
+Habits are enforced by the most important component: belief.
+Believing that your new system works can get you through overriding habits.
 
-# TODO:
-Explain 'Action, Response, and Intervene'
+
+** How to start gaining habits?
+
+Habits are one of the ways to improve without using much willpower as it is scarce.
+Nonetheless, there are ways how to start and override your habits.
+
+- Hang out with like-minded people and community.
+  This lets you remind of the things you stand out for in times of weakness.
+
+- Set in reward for a task.
+  The simplest form of starting one.
+  This step needs some form of self-reflection so you have to make some adjustments what you like and you try to avoid.
+  For example, you could set some candies, a hangout session, or a deadline time that you can then spend the rest for relaxation.
+
+- Eat your frogs in the morning — that is, do the most disliked task first thing when you wake up.
+  This makes procrastination less part of your day as you train yourself in actually doing the task.
+
+- Write your daily tasks the evening before.
+  This lets the burden of holding out the tasks in the back of your mind.
+  It also makes your brain clear on what problems it wants to solve while you're sleeping (see [[Memory and sleep]]).
+
+- Write your weekly key tasks once per week.
+  The tasks should be reasonable enough to accomplish.