Page 115 - A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science

Building a chunked library of concepts and solutions helps build
intuition in problem solving.
When you are building a chunked library, it’s important to keep
deliberate focus on some of the toughest concepts and aspects of
problem solving.
Occasionally you can study hard and fate deals a bad hand. But
remember the Law of Serendipity: If you prepare well by practicing

and building a good mental library, you will find that luck will be
increasingly on your side. In other words, you guarantee failure if you
don’t try, but those who consistently give it a good effort will
experience many more successes.

PAUSE AND RECALL

What were the main ideas of this chapter? Almost no one can
remember a lot of details, and that’s okay. You’ll be surprised to see
how fast your learning progresses if you begin to encapsulate ideas
related to what you are learning into a few key chunks.

ENHANCE YOUR LEARNING

1. What does chunking have to do with working memory?

2. Why do you need to solve a problem yourself as part of the chunking
process? Why can’t you just look at the solution in the back of the

book, understand it, and then move on? What are some additional
things you can do to help smooth your chunks right before a test?

3. What is the testing effect?

4. Once you’ve practiced a problem a few times, pause and see if you can
sense the feeling of rightness that occurs when you realize what the
next step in the solution process is.