Secrets of Memorization, Flow, and Rapid Learning with Lucas Miller
“Figure out the basics of a skill, focus on a specific element, push out of your comfort zone, and get feedback.” – Lucas Miller
In this episode of Nat Chat, we have Lucas Miller. I found Lucas through Max Friedman, who came on for episode 5 since Lucas used Max’s platform GiveButter in order to crowdfund his book Beyond Brilliance.
As a student, Lucas went deep on the science of learning and memorization to figure out how he could rapidly accelerate his learning and make college effortless. No small feat considering he was attending UC Berkeley.
After realizing how useful his learning hacking tactics were for himself, he and a small team combined their knowledge on learning and productivity into Lucas’s book Beyond Brilliance which you can find on Amazon or on his site at beyondbrilliance.org.
We covered:
- Practical strategies you can use to learn anything
- Effective techniques for memorization, and which ones you should discard
- The usefulness of adding variety while you’re training certain skills
- The science of flow states and how to get into them
- Lucas’ efficient note taking method you can utilize while reading
Please enjoy, and reach out to Lucas on Twitter!
If you enjoyed our discussions about teaching yourself new things, listen to my interview with Adil Majid who taught himself design in two years outside of class. You’d likely also enjoy my interview with Scott Britton, author of the “Life-Long Learner” blog.
Links from the Episode:
Find Lucas Online:
Mentioned in the show:
Books mentioned:
- Beyond Brilliance (Lucas’ book)
- Moonwalking With Einstein (Nat’s Notes)
- Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
- The Power of Habit (Nat’s Notes)
- Mastery (Nat’s Notes)
- Thinking Fast and Slow
- The Paradox of Choice (Nat’s Notes)
- A Mind for Numbers
People mentioned:
- Max Friedman (Nat Chat Episode with Max Friedman)
- Tim Ferriss
- Malcolm Gladwell
- Anders Ericsson
- Ryan Holiday
- Maria Popova
Show Topics:
1:31 – Intro to Lucas, his philosophy on our traditional school infrastructure, him speaking on optimizing learning, and him speaking on his book: Beyond Brilliance.
4:21 – Lucas’ techniques for attaining optimal memorizing ability, him on how to learn things efficiently, and useful tools you can use for studying.
11:48 – Lucas’ thoughts on what a perfect study system would look like, him speaking on the value of experimentation and sleep for learning, and the experiments that gave him the best results for improving studying potential.
23:09 – Lucas speaking on what the flow state is and the best way to get into it for optimal performance.
28:37 – Lucas’ qualms on the 10,000 hour rule for learning new things and speaking on what you should do to master things.
34:30 – Lucas on how beneficial reading can be for improving skills and Lucas detailing his efficient note taking system.
39:52 – Lucas’ technique on how to pick the best books to read.
41:06 – Which books Lucas would recommend to the incoming students at Berkeley.
45:04 – The biggest mindset shift Lucas had about education and learning.
47:02 – Lucas speaking learning from his favorite failure and what he is currently working on.
50:33 – Wrap up, some pieces of advice from Lucas on learning and education, and where to find Lucas online.
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe at https://nateliason.com/podcast