How I Learned AP Calculus BC in 5 DAYS and got a 5 (Ultralearning HACKS)

Sigil Wen
17 Jul 202015:33
EducationalLearning
32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThe speaker shares their experience of learning AP Calculus BC in just five days as a complete beginner, achieving a top score. They emphasize the importance of effort and the right approach over innate talent. The speaker outlines their strategy, which includes setting up a distraction-free environment, establishing a high-performance routine, researching effective learning techniques, building intuition, deliberate note-taking, focused practice, and testing for feedback. They highlight the significance of deliberate practice, maintaining well-being, making tasks easy to perform, and eliminating distractions for optimal learning.

Takeaways
  • 💡 Effort and approach are crucial for learning; natural talent isn't the sole determinant of success.
  • 📚 Create a distraction-free environment to enhance focus and productivity.
  • 🛌 Prioritize sleep and maintain a healthy routine for optimal performance.
  • 💧 Stay hydrated and maintain good health habits to support your learning process.
  • 📈 Research effective learning techniques and apply them to your study plan.
  • 🎯 Focus on deliberate practice to target and improve weaknesses.
  • 🧠 Build intuition by understanding concepts rather than just memorizing formulas.
  • 📖 Use purposeful note-taking to understand and internalize new information.
  • 🤔 Apply learned concepts through targeted practice with representative questions.
  • 📝 Tailor your practice to recognize and solve different types of problems efficiently.
  • 📋 Test yourself and seek feedback to gauge your understanding and areas for improvement.
Q & A

  • What was the main challenge the speaker faced when learning calculus?

    -The speaker, as a complete beginner, faced the challenge of learning AP Calculus BC in just five days.

  • How does the speaker address the misconception of innate talent being necessary for success?

    -The speaker emphasizes that dedicated effort and the right approach are more important than innate talent, and that relying on the excuse of innate factors can prevent individuals from pushing themselves to grow.

  • What are the two key components to doing anything well, according to the speaker?

    -The two key components are effort, which refers to the amount of work put into something, and approach, which is the way one tackles the task at hand.

  • What is the speaker's strategy for creating a distraction-free environment?

    -The speaker locked up their phone, disabled YouTube suggestions, blocked irrelevant websites, and finished all other tasks that could distract them from focusing on calculus.

  • What routine did the speaker establish to ensure top performance?

    -The speaker created a routine that included sleeping at 11 pm and waking up at 8 am, avoiding electronics an hour before bed, and maintaining good hygiene and hydration.

  • How did the speaker learn about the best approaches to learning calculus?

    -The speaker researched the experiences of others, such as Scott H. Young and Josh Kaufman, and studied the concept of deliberate practice to inform their learning approach.

  • What is the significance of building intuition in learning, according to the speaker?

    -Building intuition acts as a multiplier on learning, making it easier and faster to pick up concepts. It allows for an understanding of topics without just memorizing formulas.

  • What resource did the speaker find particularly helpful for building calculus intuition?

    -The speaker found the 'Essence of Calculus' series by Three Blue One Brown on YouTube to be an excellent resource for building intuition.

  • How did the speaker approach note-taking to efficiently learn from the textbook?

    -The speaker used a technique called 'deliberate note-taking,' focusing on only the topics they were unfamiliar with, and repeated this process to eliminate weaknesses.

  • What was the speaker's strategy for practicing calculus problems?

    -The speaker chose questions that best represented the question demographic and focused on recognizing and practicing different types of questions, applying the right frameworks for each.

  • How did the speaker assess their learning and prepare for the exam?

    -The speaker took past AP Calculus exams in a simulated exam environment, marked their own papers for feedback, and adjusted their study approach accordingly.

  • What are the key takeaways from the speaker's ultra learning experience?

    -Key takeaways include using deliberate practice techniques like deliberate note-taking, focusing on effort and approach, maintaining well-being, creating a focused environment, and making tasks easier to perform more frequently.

Outlines
00:00
📚 Embracing the Calculus Challenge

The speaker begins by addressing the audience's potential reasons for watching the video - either a desire to learn calculus effectively or last-minute cramming for an AP Calculus exam. They share their personal experience of learning AP Calculus BC as a complete beginner within five days and achieving a top score. The speaker emphasizes that their success was not due to innate talent but rather dedicated effort and the right approach. They stress the importance of an open mind and hard work, and introduce the concepts of effort and approach, explaining that a good approach can yield results even with minimal effort.

05:02
🚫 Overcoming Distractions and Building Routine

The speaker discusses the importance of setting up a distraction-free environment for effective learning and shares personal strategies for focusing, such as locking up their phone and blocking irrelevant websites. They also detail their top-performing routine, which includes maintaining good sleep hygiene, staying hydrated, and taking breaks. The speaker highlights the significance of sleep and shares their personal sleep routine, as well as techniques for improving sleep quality. They also talk about the importance of deliberate practice and building intuition, recommending resources like the 'Essence of Calculus' series by Three Blue One Brown for developing a strong understanding of calculus concepts.

10:03
📝 Deliberate Note-Taking and Intuition Building

The speaker explains the concept of deliberate note-taking, focusing on unfamiliar topics to efficiently learn and improve. They describe their process of going through a calculus textbook, estimating the time required for each chapter, and taking notes only on unfamiliar concepts. The speaker emphasizes the value of building intuition through simple analogies and visual aids, rather than memorizing formulas. They detail their method of repeated deliberate note-taking to internalize concepts and improve understanding, which involves gradually writing fewer notes as familiarity with the material increases.

🎯 Applying Concepts and Efficient Practice

The speaker moves on to applying the learned concepts in calculus, stressing the importance of efficient practice. They discuss selecting representative questions from the textbook to focus on, rather than attempting every question. The speaker explains the need to recognize different types of questions and apply the appropriate frameworks for solving them. They share their approach of practicing with past AP Calculus exams to gain feedback and improve, emphasizing the value of simulating real exam conditions. The speaker concludes by highlighting the key takeaways from their learning process, such as the importance of deliberate practice, maintaining well-being, and creating a focused environment for effective learning.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Effort
In the context of the video, 'effort' refers to the amount of work and dedication one puts into learning a subject, such as calculus. It is the commitment of time and energy required to achieve a learning goal. The speaker emphasizes that even without natural talent, significant effort can lead to success, as demonstrated by their own experience of learning calculus in just five days.
💡Approach
The term 'approach' in this video script signifies the strategies and methods used to learn effectively. It is the way one tackles a subject, which can significantly impact the results achieved, even with the same amount of effort. A good approach, combined with effort, can yield better learning outcomes. The speaker's approach involved setting up a distraction-free environment, building a routine, and using deliberate practice techniques.
💡Distraction-free environment
A 'distraction-free environment' is a setting that is free from any interruptions or distractions that could hinder focus and productivity. In the video, the speaker created such an environment by removing potential distractions like their phone, disabling certain features on YouTube, and blocking irrelevant websites to concentrate solely on learning calculus.
💡Routine
A 'routine' refers to a regular sequence of activities that are performed daily. In the context of the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of establishing a top-performing routine that includes adequate sleep, hydration, and breaks to maintain peak performance during the learning process. This routine is designed to support and enhance the learning experience.
💡Deliberate practice
Deliberate practice is a focused method of learning that involves continually pushing one's comfort zone and specifically targeting weaknesses to achieve rapid growth. It requires intentional and purposeful effort to improve in a particular area. In the video, the speaker used deliberate practice by focusing on their learning weaknesses and repeatedly practicing until they improved.
💡Intuition
In the context of the video, 'intuition' is the ability to understand and grasp concepts without the need for explicit memorization of formulas. It is a deeper level of understanding that allows for the quick absorption of new information. Building intuition is seen as a superpower for learning because it multiplies the effectiveness of study efforts and leads to a genuine comprehension of the subject matter.
💡Note-taking
Note-taking is the process of recording information during a learning session. In the video, the speaker emphasizes 'purposeful note-taking,' which involves selectively writing down only the unfamiliar concepts to focus on weaknesses and improve understanding. This method is part of the deliberate practice approach to learning, aiming to internalize and master the material.
💡Application
Application in the video refers to the practical use of learned concepts. After becoming familiar with all the concepts in calculus, the speaker moved on to applying these concepts through problem-solving. This step is crucial for solidifying understanding and being able to use the knowledge in various contexts, which is essential for success in exams or real-world scenarios.
💡Feedback
Feedback in the context of this video is the information or assessment received after testing one's knowledge. It is used to identify strengths and areas for improvement. The speaker used past AP Calculus exams for practice and self-assessment to gain feedback, which helped in refining their learning and preparation for the actual exam.
💡Ultra Learning
Ultra Learning is a term used to describe the process of rapidly acquiring a large amount of knowledge or skill in a short period. The speaker applied principles of ultra learning to teach themselves AP Calculus BC in just five days, demonstrating that with the right effort and approach, significant learning can be achieved in a condensed timeframe.
Highlights

The speaker managed to learn AP Calculus BC in just five days as a complete beginner.

The speaker emphasizes that innate talent is not the sole factor in achieving accomplishments; dedicated effort and the right approach are more crucial.

A distraction-free environment is essential for focused learning, which includes removing potential sources of interruption such as phones and social media.

A top-performing routine involves maintaining good health practices like sleep, hydration, and exercise, without sacrificing sleep.

The speaker used resources like the book 'Sapiens' and melatonin to improve sleep quality, highlighting the importance of rest for learning.

Deliberate practice is crucial, focusing on pushing beyond one's comfort zone to improve weak areas effectively.

The MIT Challenge, where Scott H. Young completed a four-year MIT computer science curriculum in 12 months, served as inspiration.

The 'First 20 Hours' concept by Josh Kaufman suggests that mastery of a skill can be achieved through 20 hours of deliberate practice.

Building intuition is vital for learning, as it allows for a deeper understanding and faster grasp of concepts without relying solely on memorization.

The 'Three Blue One Brown' YouTube series was instrumental in building calculus intuition, offering simple analogies and explanations.

Purposeful note-taking involves only writing down unfamiliar concepts to focus on areas of weakness and improve efficiency.

Deliberate note-taking should be repeated in cycles to continually refine and eliminate weaknesses.

Practicing calculus involves choosing questions that represent the question demographic efficiently, rather than attempting every single question.

Recognizing different types of questions and applying the correct framework to solve them is a key aspect of mastering AP Calculus.

The speaker's approach to learning emphasizes the importance of understanding the learning process itself and applying effective strategies.

The speaker's experience of learning AP Calculus BC in five days serves as a testament to the effectiveness of deliberate practice and the right learning approach.

Transcripts

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AP CalculusStudy TechniquesEffort and ApproachUltra LearningDeliberate PracticeIntuition BuildingNote-TakingExam PreparationTime ManagementSelf-Study