About this Video

• Video Title: Day 30: Experimenting | How to Learn Anything Course
• Channel: Plato University
• Speakers: Brandon Stover
• Duration: 00:13:08

Introduction

This video, part of Plato University's "How to Learn Anything" course, focuses on the importance of experimentation in mastering any skill. Brandon Stover introduces three types of experiments – experimenting with learning resources, techniques, and style – and provides practical tactics for implementing them.

Key Takeaways

1. Experimenting with Learning Resources: Try different learning methods, materials, and resources to find what works best for you. Rigorously apply a chosen resource for a set period, then evaluate its effectiveness.
2. Experimenting with Technique: As you progress, focus on what to learn next in your skill development. Experiment with subtopics to determine the most effective learning path for mastery.
3. Experimenting with Style: Once you master the basics, develop your own unique style. Study the styles of masters in your field to gain inspiration and identify elements to adapt or integrate into your own approach.
4. Why Experimentation Works: Experimentation becomes crucial as skills develop because it helps overcome stagnation, unlearn ineffective methods, and foster originality, which is particularly valuable in many creative and professional fields.
5. Five Tactics for Experimentation: The video outlines five tactics: copy then create, compare methods side-by-side, introduce new constraints, create hybrids of unrelated skills, and explore extremes.

The five tactics for experimentation, as described in the video, are:

1. Copy then create: Emulate the work of a master, then use that as a foundation to create your own work or application of the skill.

2. Compare methods side-by-side: Try two different approaches, varying only one condition at a time, to determine which works best and suits your personal style.

3. Introduce new constraints: Create limitations to force yourself to explore less familiar options and sharpen underlying skills. This is particularly useful when you're already proficient and tend to rely on established routines.

4. Create a hybrid of unrelated skills: Combine two skills that don't typically overlap to gain a distinct advantage.

5. Explore the extremes: Push the boundaries of what others have done with a skill to create something unique and set yourself apart.

The three types of experiments described in the video for skill mastery are:

1. Experimenting with different learning resources (methods, materials).
2. Experimenting with techniques (choosing the next steps in a learning sequence).
3. Experimenting with style (developing a personal approach to applying the skill).

The video doesn't detail specific methods for experimenting with subtopics, but it implies the process within the context of "experimenting with technique." The suggestion is to choose a subtopic within the larger skill you are learning, dedicate time to learning it intensely, and then evaluate your progress. Based on this evaluation, you decide whether to continue focusing on that subtopic or switch to a different one. The process is iterative; you select a subtopic, experiment with it, assess, and then adjust your focus based on results.