Resources for Learning How to Learn

Learning how to learn is a superpower. In a rapidly changing world, you can almost guarantee that your job will look different in 10 years than it does today. The only way to thrive in an unknowable future is to make yourself adaptable, able to learn new technologies and ways of operating.

Actuarial exams are the perfect arena to hone this skill. You’ll spend hundreds of hours of self-study, tackling new and challenging material. Each study session is a chance to improve, to test a new study skill or learning strategy.

Invest time in learning how to learn – this skill will pay dividends long after your formal education. Not only will you save yourself time in passing exams, but you’ll become a more effective actuary.

Below is a list of resources that have helped us on exams and in the workplace.

Books

A Mind for Numbers by Barbara Oakley

This book covers general learning strategies, with a focus on how they apply to technical subjects – perfect for actuarial students.

Covers topics like focused vs. diffuse thinking, fighting procrastination and chunking.

For reviews and more details, check out A Mind for Numbers on Amazon.

How We Learn by Benedict Carey

This book starts out with the neuroscience behind learning, segueing into practical strategies to use while studying.

Highlights include: general learning principles, problem solving, and “Tapping the Subconscious – Learning Without Thinking”.

For reviews and more details, check out How We Learn on Amazon.

The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin

Josh Waitzkin is the subject of the movie, Searching for Bobby Fischer. Not only is he a chess prodigy, but he went on to become a world champion in Tai Chi Push Hands. This book details his journey and lessons learned along the way.

Rather than focusing on study strategies, this book emphasizes the mindset behind mastering a skill and performing at a high level.

For reviews and more details, check out The Art of Learning on Amazon.

Make It Stick by Peter Brown, Henry Roediger, and Mark McDaniel

Make It Stick focuses on the science of learning, and it weaves in stories to make for an engaging read.

It debunks the myth of different learning styles, along with other common misconceptions about learning.

For reviews and more details, check out Make It Stick on Amazon.

The 4-Hour Chef by Timothy Ferriss

Despite appearances, this isn’t your typical cookbook. It’s about strategies to learn any skill (using cooking as an example).

Although the book is lengthy, the first 100 pages or so give you everything you need about accelerated learning strategies.

For reviews and more details, check out The 4-Hour Chef on Amazon.

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

“The art and science of remembering everything.” This book dives into the world of memory competitions and “mental athletes”.

The author started as a journalist and chronicles his journey to winning a national memory championship, including the strategies and training along the way.

You’ll learn about memory palaces and other techniques that allow people to memorize decks of cards and hundreds of binary digits. There are surprisingly practical applications (e.g. remembering names at networking events).

For reviews and more details, check out Moonwalking with Einstein on Amazon.

Peak by Anders Ericsson

Anders Ericsson’s research was the basis for the “10,000 hour rule” (you need 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to reach mastery in any field).

In this book, Ericsson outlines how to engage in Deliberate Practice, the gold standard for improvement. The best part of this book is that it applies to any skill – not just your actuarial exams.

For reviews and more details, check out Peak on Amazon.

Actuarial Exam Tactics by Mike Jennings and Roy Ju

Of course, we have to include our own book. After reading every book on this list, we distilled the key strategies that will help you pass actuarial exams.

Learn more about Actuarial Exam Tactics here, or check out the reviews on Amazon.

Courses

Coursera – Learning How to Learn

This has been one of Coursera’s most popular courses over the last few years, and for a good reason. It’s taught by Barbara Oakley (author of A Mind for Numbers), bringing you the main ideas from her book.

Best of all, it’s offered for free. Check out more details at Coursera.com.

Udemy – Become a Superlearner

This course focuses on speed reading and memory techniques. The memory section is similar to what you’ll find in Moonwalking with Einstein, bringing you techniques from memory champions. However, this course goes beyond the memory techniques to integrate speed reading and take a well-rounded approach to accelerated learning.

Check out more details at Udemy.com

How to Pass Actuarial Exams – 5-day Email Course

Most study materials teach you the material (what to study). In our email course, we focus on how to study. We focus on “high ROI” study strategies to study smarter (including the Deliberate Practice framework from Peak).

Check out more details here.

Blogs

Study Hacks by Cal Newport

Geared toward students, this was one of our favorite blogs while taking actuarial exams.

You can check out the blog archive to search posts by topic. One of our favorites is: Anatomy of an A+: A Look Inside the Process of One of the World’s Most Efficient Studiers

Scott Young Blog

Scott Young is famous for learning challenges like the MIT Challenge (completing the 4-year MIT computer science curriculum in 12 months).

He documents his learning strategies on his blog. One of our favorites is: How to Speed Up Your Learning Rate.