On Learning

There are countless “learning resources” online, especially on YouTube and TikTok, that create the illusion of education. Look closer and most of them are just edutainment. These videos are popular because they feel good to watch. They give you a sense of progress without any of the work. It feels like learning, but it is not learning.

This is a trap.

Real learning is not supposed to be fun all the time. It is effort. It is struggle. It feels like exercise. You do not get stronger by watching someone lift weights. You get stronger by pushing through discomfort. Your brain works the same way. It learns when it is forced to think, recall, reason, and fail. That struggle is the source of your real “Eureka” moments, not the passive consumption of content.

Before you start studying anything, set your intent. Are you here to be entertained or are you here to learn? If you skip this step, you will waste time thinking you learned something only to realize you retained nothing when it matters.

Learning happens through repetition and honest cognitive effort. It is wrestling with a concept until it stops slipping out of your hands. It is asking why something works the way it does and not moving on until you have a real answer.

Read the book. Study the derivation. Work through it yourself. Come back in a few days and do it again. Forget. Relearn. Implement. Repeat until mastery. That cycle is where real understanding lives.

Active learning beats passive consumption every time. Take notes if it helps, although it depends on the subject. Personally, I find recall and repetition more powerful. Sometimes I take notes after a delay so I can see what I still remember and fill the gaps intentionally.

And for anyone trying to teach, your goal is not to entertain. It is to educate. Do not reduce the struggle. Lean into it. Make the learner think. Explain concepts clearly. Explain the why. The why is essential, but do not reveal it immediately. Let them wrestle with the idea first. Then show the answer. That is when it clicks.

That is when real learning happens.