“Yet we now know that a brief distraction can help when we’re stuck on a math problem or tied up in a creative knot and need to shake free.”

careyAfter having read my share of books about learning, I was initially reluctant to read this one because a reviewer said it is a “gift to guilt-ridden slackers everywhere.” Fortunately, it’s the review, not the book, that is misleading about the effort learning requires.  How We Learn, written by New York Times science reporter Benedict Carey, doesn’t advocate spending less time studying.  Instead, he, like many others, recommends shorter, more frequent, quiz-based sessions that occur over several days.  He also describes the benefits of studying in a variety of locations, alternating topics of study, and taking brief breaks.

Benedict Carey, How We Learn (New York: Random House Paperback Edition, 2015), XV.

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