How To Use

Published at Mar 6, 2025

Table of Contents

Ultralearning

A term coined by Scott Young in his book by the same name, this framework for learning contains great guidance on how to learn better.

In this blog, I will briefly explain these principles in the context of learning through skill trees on Gangilon.

Metalearning

This step consists of drawing a map and making a plan about what you want to learn. In Gangilon, this is already done for you with the help of other learners on the site.

But you can also choose to edit an existing skill tree or create your own from scratch if you want to.

Focus

This means to carve out time where you can study the topic for a long stretch without distractions. I suggest that you use the Pomodoro technique if you’re starting out and then slowly increase the work time from 25 minutes to 60 minutes. For this, I like this app.

As a general rule, the longer the stretch, the more “Deep Work” you perform, which is good.

Directness

Practice the thing that you want to be good at. If you want to learn coding, instead of just coding along with tutorials, code without tutorials. If you want to learn maths, practice maths. And so on.

The general rule is to practice the skill like how you will be using it in the end. So, on Gangilon, to learn as much as you can, parctice what you want to do and a good skill tree should contain suggestions for how to do this. Face the suck. This is the fastest way to learn.

Drill

Improve your weakest points. In Gangilon, this is periodically going back to things you are unsure of and practicing them with the above approach of directness.

An automatic system to notify you for this will be implemented in Gangilon soon!

Retrieval and Retention

Retrieval is the best way to retain information. So periodically self-test yourself on the knowledge that you learn. One approach can be to force yourself to explain the knowledge in your own words. This is the “Feynman Technique” of course which I highly recommend.

An automatic system for this will also be implemented into Gangilon.

Feedback

Get feedback from testing yourself (above) and then review what you got right and what you didn’t.

Don’t dodge the punches.

One other way is to join a community of people that are learning the same things as you (e.g. on Reddit). And then actively participate by asking questions, sharing insights, and helping others with their difficulties.

Engaging in discussions forces you to articulate your understanding clearly, which can reveal gaps in your knowledge.

Additionally, seeing how others approach problems can expose you to different ways of thinking and problem-solving strategies that you might not have considered.

Over time, this active involvement will reinforce your learning and help you internalize concepts more effectively.

Intuition

Try to understand the why behind everything. This implies asking a lot of questions.

Nullius in verba

Take nobody’s word for it

- Motto Of The Royal Society of London

Having a deeper understanding of whatever you are learning is going to be a worthwhile investement because your knowledge will be versatile, not fickle.

Experimentation

I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost ‘The Road Not Taken’

Experiment with your learning and figure out what works for you. Don’t be pressured into doing something only because “everyone else is doing it”.

Compare your results only against your past self and future self. Why? Because you are the only one who has the same limitations and advantages as yourself.

Conclusion

Obviously, you can learn in whatever way that you want to learn. The above are just well-informed pieces of advice.

Now what are you waiting for??? Go and start a skill tree and begin learning. I hope you use your knowledge for good.

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