Fire Up the Learner Within: The Art of Self-Directed Learning Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been a self-directed learner for many years (after completing my university education), so the ideas in this book were familiar to me to the extent that I found the book a bit superficial. Nevertheless, the author has done a nice job of summarizing information drawn from many well-known sources, so I do think the book should be a good introductory resource for less experienced self-directed learners. To give a sense of the book's content, here's my summary of the key points:
(1) The world is now complex, not just complicated, which makes lifelong self-directed learning especially important.
(2) We need to be able to unlearn and relearn, not just learn.
(3) Deriving meaning and insight from information has become increasingly important, as compared to memorizing facts.
(4) The abundance of online and other educational resources available today is a boon for the self-directed learner. Avail it!
(5) Learning requires a belief that talent can be developed through disciplined, tenacious, and deliberately engaged hard work in the face of difficulties and setbacks, rather than assuming that talent is inborn (and thus limited). This is why underdogs often come out ahead. Moreover, according to one estimate, IQ contributes (only) about 20% to life success anyway.
(6) Though learning is often hard work, that doesn't mean that we can't or shouldn't enjoy learning, and indeed there should be an emphasis on process rather than outcome (good outcome will generally follow from good process anyway). An ideal process will result in a deeply involving "flow" experience in which one is "in the zone".
(7) Having the curiosity and lack of preconceptions of "beginner's mind" is important at all levels of learning, not just for beginners.
(8) When we look at a topic from multiple perspectives, we learn more deeply, remember better, and resist fragmentation of knowledge.
(9) Studying is best done daily ("little and often"), rather than in blocks of cramming.
(10) Critical thinking is needed to find and remove biases and flaws in our mental models.
(11) Effective learners engage in meta-learning, which means monitoring their own learning and changing their learning approach as needed.
(12) Application of knowledge is a vital part of learning. If this can't be done in real life, various types of simulations (eg, homework problems) are an alternative.
(13) Ideally, one will develop deep knowledge in at least one domain, combined with substantial knowledge in other domains also, so that synthesis is possible.
(14) Expertise tends to be domain-specific. Development of expertise in challenging domains takes about 10,000 hours of deliberate practice, which means about a decade at 4 hours per weekday.
(15) Goals beyond self-interest tend to foster learning.

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Whether you are preparing for an exam, or learning for a new job mandate, or learning more about a hobby, or you simply want to pursue learning for the sheer joy of it, this book will help you improve your self-directed learning skills. The book covers four topics: - To Learn: how to build your inner strength to learn- To Know: how to become better at acquiring knowledge of a subject matter- To Understand: how to develop modes of thinking that help you look at the world in a different way- To Perform - how to attain mastery

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