Advice in learning

Learning 

"The best way of learning is doing (Murat, May 2012)." Starting with learning vocabulary, I have to spell out the words before I can pronounce them correctly and remember them. this is part of the visual aid but mostly it is actually my senses that have the direct contact to the words; I see it, I write it, I pronounce it, I hear it. Ultimately, I experience it and internalize it that it becomes "mine" or "a part of me".

I admire the idea of Dr. Murat's that we always should have a side-project. I think it is a good intellectual entertainment. Especially, in research, we always focus on a specific topic all day long that it stresses us dramatically. Thinking about research becomes a habit that if we do not actively try to relax, it is difficult to make us share attention to other fun things. A side-project may help us pull our mind off the research for a bit, and it is a healthy habit to establish. Thinking about something else may promote creativity that may be beneficial for our research.  We can see our research from a new perspective or we can generate new research ideas or creative ones. Also, experts know very well about one topic and they appear to be weak in the knowledge of other areas. Therefore, if we know multiple areas besides our research by doing some fun side-project, we actually can "show off" in front of other scientists.  

Never afraid to ask, but I usually think twice before I ask because I want to challenge myself how quick I am and how logical I am. When I have the answer, I should rethink the answer to see if it is actually resolve the question. If the answer is good but not good enough, I will rethink about it and discuss my solution with others to justify my thinking. This is an active learning, but it requires practice, experience, and background in order to be able to judge the answer and establish a better answer.